From Daylon! When I read your descriptions, I thought these would be great for a friend, so I dipped a sample from each and sent them on their angry way.
6 Japanese black teas, 5 of which have some level of smoky intrigue.
Dark Peach
Smokey, woodsy, smooth but also too astringent and thin for me to appreciate. Salty, bitter-dark tannins. Cloaked fruit. Cream gives a slight smoked meat flavor and draws the fruit out but the liquor is ultimately too thin to handle cream.
May Black
Papery, woodsy, did I write pulpy? Bold, fruity and floral but thin. Starchy, malty and buttery smooth but also astringent. Tastes like ‘tea’. Dry leaf scent and liquor aroma hold much more intrigue than what I experience in the mouth. In the dry leaf, there is old, whitened chocolate, berries, twigs and malt; in the liquor, I finnd a chocolately-woodsy aroma but also a really, smooth Darjeeling lilt of muscatel, apricot and vanilla. Too disjointed for my liking.
Cacao Smoke
Dark and dirty and oily. Bold and smooth. Ashy-smoky, bitter, earthy. I love it. Old mechanic shop being swallowed by overgrowth in a humid forest, an ashtray tucked somewhere in the undergrowth. The taste of staring into pitch black, no stars. Cream brings that cacao to front but also makes the tea almost too oily.
King
Fruity whiskey, smooth smoked meat. Has a nice astringency. This one’s a winner, too. No doubt why this is called King. Well done!
Yuzu Cloud
Slightly sweet smoked sausage with fruit — pineapple? Dark, smooth, light astringency, salty, fruity. This one is noticeably cooling in the mouth which adds a welcome dimension.
Whiskey Cloud 9
Whiskey like in King but milder, smoke is more like smoked salmon and more prominent but still smooth.
I’m pretty certain these are all teas that are sold by a Japan-based vendor well known around these parts.
