I really enjoyed this one, LiquidProust. It’s very similar to Numi’s Chocolate Pu-Erh, but a little bit more complex. It was silkier, with milk chocolate being followed by a floral moss. The texture was pretty creamy, and fairly smooth. I soaked it the first time in three minutes, then the second in four. It started to fade in the third, with bits of grass, moss and flowers, but still smooth.
I added sugar the second time after sipping it a few moments pure, and it brought out the chocolate a little bit more. If were to guess, I think the base might be a roasted Tie Guan Yin because it has remnants of the floral character of one. The only other Tie Guan Yin I could compare it to is maybe the one by Rishi, which is partially roasted.
I liked it on it’s own, though I wish there was a little bit more strength the first time that I had a session with it. I brewed it again last night while painting, making the teaspoon heap a little bit more. It was then exactly what I wanted, and exactly what I needed to get working on my painting.The first time, I felt like there needed to be more flavor especially with the chocolate, wanting something a little bit fuller and not as light. Last night, it had a more complete profile to me with a little bit more chocolate and roasted oolong sweetness. I even got a few other tasting notes, like graham cracker and even s’mores as little hints. This tea deeply satisfies my cocoa craving, and the roasted oolong as a background that really compliments the chocolate. The chocolate is strongest in the first steep, and over the other two steepings, second being four minutes and thirty seconds, and the last being closer to seven, it transitioned to roasted then to floral grass with graham cracker.
I’d recommend it to any one, but ‘d say this is more for an intermediate tea drinker, with some younger tasters and more aged ones possibly going for it. I think that more experienced drinkers would appreciate the complex character of the roasted oolong itself. This might also be a good medium ground between a pure tea and a flavor one since the chocolate is extremely natural to me, and doesn’t have the slightest artificial character that a lot of other chocolate teas typically have. I’ve said originally in this post that a part of me prefers a darker chocolate, but after steeping it with just a few more leaves, I definitely changed my mind. I think that the milk chocolate in this would appeal to a broader demographic, and make people slightly newer to teas much more willing to try oolongs and other chocolate teas similar to this one. My mom especially liked it, though she is not a huge fan of chocolate teas. She even said that it’s one she might keep in her cupboard.
I am so glad that I have this one in my cupboard, and I am going to be especially depressed when I finish it up. I really hope that this one becomes one of the main teas on Liquid Proust’s menu, for it is one of my favorite ones that he has made thus far.
Flavors: Chocolate, Creamy, Floral, Graham Cracker, Hay, Moss, Roasted Nuts, Smooth, Sweet
Preparation
Comments
One thing about this: mine aged faster than anticipated. It’s still good, but not as sweet. The oolong itself is still roasty, not quite as nutty and the chocolate is not as present. I could also be wrong and it nothing having to do with aging, but I swear it lost some flavor.
Interesting. Was it exposed to light?
The oolong will keep its roasted taste for sure, but as for the chocolate/nutty notes there shouldn’t be a change unless air or light found its way to it. I can shoot you a PM in regards to how it was flavored so it makes more sense. It’s not a scent nor an oil, but it is possible that the roasted chocolate did faint… I will have to check into this. A month seems lame and if that’s the case I will need to be careful with this method.
The chocolate itself was what was weaker to me then the actual tea- the tea was still had most of the same notes except the one nut note(probably a brewing difference because I had more leaves the last time). No light got to it; I kept it in the back of a cabinet in a another closed zip lock bag over it. I’m thinking air might have found it’s way in considering how often I drink it (I JUST finished it).
One thing about this: mine aged faster than anticipated. It’s still good, but not as sweet. The oolong itself is still roasty, not quite as nutty and the chocolate is not as present. I could also be wrong and it nothing having to do with aging, but I swear it lost some flavor.
Interesting. Was it exposed to light?
The oolong will keep its roasted taste for sure, but as for the chocolate/nutty notes there shouldn’t be a change unless air or light found its way to it. I can shoot you a PM in regards to how it was flavored so it makes more sense. It’s not a scent nor an oil, but it is possible that the roasted chocolate did faint… I will have to check into this. A month seems lame and if that’s the case I will need to be careful with this method.
The chocolate itself was what was weaker to me then the actual tea- the tea was still had most of the same notes except the one nut note(probably a brewing difference because I had more leaves the last time). No light got to it; I kept it in the back of a cabinet in a another closed zip lock bag over it. I’m thinking air might have found it’s way in considering how often I drink it (I JUST finished it).
*than