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“Yum yum yum yum.. I don’t know how any flavoured tea can compete with this. I mean, seriously? Ok, to be fair, this type of tea apparently uses lychee, rose and longan (Wikipedia: Dian hong tea) in...” Read full tasting note
“Smell: Before and after brewing, it smells like a standard black tea, maybe a bit “woodsy” Flavor: Nothing strange here, just a pleasant, very smooth and kind of earthy black tea. I could easily...” Read full tasting note
“I was surprised at the flatness of the batch of Black Needles I got. Flat taste, I mean. I got some of the pepper but only a teasing hint of musk, and then a stale-wininess. Has a sharp scent,...” Read full tasting note
“Two weeks ago I got another 100g of this tea and this batch tastes even better than the first one!!! Unfortunately, when this batch is gone, it’s gone for good. Like their Himalayan Traveler’s...” Read full tasting note
Discontinued
Stay sharp
These tippy, golden-black leaves from China’s Yunnan province are a real treat. They’re grown on land mostly dedicated to pu’erhs, and are particularly hard to come by. We spent months tracking them down. You’ll understand why when you take a sip: the sweetness is irresistible, with mild astringency and deep, earthy notes of honey. Can you taste that this pan-fired tea is almost 100% hand produced?
DavidsTea is a Canadian specialty tea and tea accessory retailer based in Montreal, Quebec. It is the largest Canadian-based specialty tea boutique in the country, with its first store having opened in 2008.
Yum yum yum yum.. I don’t know how any flavoured tea can compete with this. I mean, seriously? Ok, to be fair, this type of tea apparently uses lychee, rose and longan (Wikipedia: Dian hong tea) in the “fermentation” (oxidation) process, so it could be vaguely classified as a flavoured tea, but its creation is so masterful and the way it stands up to so many infusions gets me rambling on and on about its wondrous ways………
I sometimes have a hard time throwing out these leaves, they’re so beautiful. Do you ever play with tea leaves?
Smell: Before and after brewing, it smells like a standard black tea, maybe a bit “woodsy”
Flavor: Nothing strange here, just a pleasant, very smooth and kind of earthy black tea. I could easily drink this all day, multiple days throughout the week. To me, the best characteristic is how smooth it is.
Reminds me of: Other black teas I’ve tried, except much more soothing.
Aftertaste: No bitterness, just a hint of the initial flavor
Memorability: Very
Steeps: 2 (both were flavorful, resteep was 5 mins)
Would I buy this again?: Yes. I’ve actually refilled this 3 times so far, and will continue to do so.
Other notes: Out of all of the plain black tea that DavidsTea carries (excluding Lapsang Souchong), this is without a doubt my favorite.
I was surprised at the flatness of the batch of Black Needles I got. Flat taste, I mean. I got some of the pepper but only a teasing hint of musk, and then a stale-wininess. Has a sharp scent, almost of sweat. If this had been my first ever black needle Yunnan, I might have liked it better, but my local teashop and Stash Teas both supply better versions.
A decent tea, but not an excellent black needle Yunnan.
Two weeks ago I got another 100g of this tea and this batch tastes even better than the first one!!! Unfortunately, when this batch is gone, it’s gone for good. Like their Himalayan Traveler’s tea, it’s no longer available on their site but thankfully they now carry another wonderful black tea: Nepal Black
What’s the worst day of your life?….this tea is the complete opposite of that. This gorgeous deceitfully mellow black tea is so smooth. It is earthy but just barely it blends in so smoothly with a slight hint of honey along with the richness of black tea. Do not over steep this sucker you’ll lose those lovely notes of honey. Sadly discontinued Black Needles is the best addiction involving needles you will ever have.
Just bought this tea from DavidsTea. I had a hard time deciding which straight black tea I wanted. I usually like dark musky black teas that can stand with a little milk and sugar. I even did a little taste test with my favorite black tea. Copper Knot from Teavana. I brewed both for 3 minutes, same amount of water and same temp. The Black needles had a sweet smell, and very light color like scotch. It had a smooth honey taste, no astringency from it .
I have been drinking it without milk or sugar, its that smooth. love it
you know, after reading your nonstop praise about this tea I think I might just pick up a sample of this one next time!
You won’t regret it, trust me! :)
But you may have a hard time finding it since it has been discontinued – do what I did and contact the company, see if they can send some to your local store.
Wayne, i got a solution for you! Yunnansourcing.com (http://www.yunnansourcing.com/store/category.php?id_category=5) has plenty of this stuff but fresh from the source at a great, shipping might take awhile but it would probably be worth it.
or if you feel like staying local, (http://camellia-sinensis.com/tea/teas/)
I actually just picked up some of their Nilgiri Parkside, wanna have a few more go’s at it before i put up a tasting note on here!
Hey you’re right political thx for helping me think outside the DT box :) I haven’t ordered tea online before but it’s worth a shot