Being desperate for some black tea, and unwilling to finish off my imperial golden monkey, i grumbled, resigning myself to a bitter cup of the crushed stuff i got.
Remembering how when i first bought this from teavana, steeping this differently messed with the flavors. So i decided to pretend that these crushed pearls were actually green tea. So i loaded up my gaiwan, forgot about rinsing, and steeped at 170. The first steep was the longest to open the leaves, around a min or so, and then i was able to do the 30 second steep, 45, ect.
It wasnt AS bad! The bitterness is still there, but there is a memory of the lovely cocoa, malt, and molasses that i fell in love with in this tea. Sadly the honey notes are still on hiatus. BUT this is a drinkable brew! Score one for the home team :)
