Reserve Spring Laoshan Black

Very, very chocolatey in smell and flavor. But, there is an extremely bitter aftertaste, and a dry mouthfeel that are not pleasant.

Chocolate silk.
Must say, the price reflects its quality for sure.

The aroma of the dry leaves is stronger than the regular, sweet and chocolatey with a bit of a bread scent. I brewed about 4g in 50ml at 205ºF, ranging from 10 seconds to 3 minutes, and the color brewed into a nice dark, golden honey color that smelled of earth, yams, and chocolate. It’s a dark, seductive kind of flavor that comes up the palate and out the nose. There’s also a very slight bitterness and peppery flavor on the finish.

The cocoa and sweet potato notes are highlighted more on subsequent steeps, but caramel and honey are also introduced after steep 4. After a while, I started to lose counts of the steepings, but I got a little dark honey bread flavor toward the end.

Full post and pics here: http://www.catlaittea.com/2016/08/28/review-verdant-tea-2016-laoshan-and-reserve-laoshan-black/

The steeped leaves smell like cheap chocolate and cranberries. Yet the steeped tea itself smells like orange-flavored cheap chocolate. The mouthfeel is smooth, but I can’t get over how much it smells like a cheap European candy that’s been going stale a store shelf for the last 2 years. But hey, if that isn’t what’s conjured up for you by this tea, then you might really like it. Certainly, one of the smoothest and least overwhelming black teas I’ve ever had.

Going to be off on vacation for a couple weeks so i’m missing out on a lot of quality tea drinking time in August. As i’m working from home today, trying to finish off a few of my teas that are either near sipdowns or have one cup left. Sad to see this one go, as i do enjoy it – glad that i have more laoshan teas in my cupboard to continue to have :)