This was far more interesting than Verdant’s regular Jin Jun Mei. Lots of bold flavor, beautiful color, and a rich body with hints of malt chocolate. On the nose, I get sweet cocoa, malt, and cherries. The wet leaf adds some ash and woodsy notes.
First steep is thick and malty with a little molasses in the finish. Bittersweet chocolate notes come out as it cools. The second steep produces a deep dark cherry red liquor. Much stronger flavor with some hints of bitterness. This was probably because I oversteeped it. The next few infusions tasted like Golden Monkey with lots of brown sugar and malt. A syrupy, honey like sweetness sets in during later steepings.
I enjoyed this one a lot. It was robust and delicious. However, I won’t be rushing out to order more as its similar to some of the Chinese black teas I already have.
Flavors: Cocoa, Dark Bittersweet, Malt, Molasses
