At first smell…black tea, like a berry-plum-like scent and a hint of something that almost smelled like a cleaning supply! Ek! While steeping the aroma morphs into more of a black tea with a hint of earthiness to it. Very interesting. After the steep there is even a hint of blossom or something – the scent really morphs. The taste is certainly a black tea on the lighter side of bold. Nice even taste. Pretty darn good!