Vietnam 'Wild Boar' Black Tea

Woo, I got my What-Cha order! I forgot how many samples I ordered, and taking them out of the box made me feel a bit like Mary Poppins because they just kept coming. There was a little village of pouches on my coffee table by the time I was done unpacking. Thanks to Alistair for including two bonus samples and a lovely handwritten note! I admit, I ordered two Vietnamese teas mostly because the names were so epic! Seriously though, Wild Boar and Red Buffalo? Too awesome. The leaves of this tea are large and twisty, and there are a few golden tips included. Dry scent is malty and sweet but also savory in a way that I can’t describe.

The steeped cup smells rich and malty. Hmm, this is a simple but yummy tea. Definitely quite malty, and the texture is very thick and rich. I can definitely see a comparison to unsweetened dark baking chocolate or very dark cocoa powder. I have a hard time tasting chocolate when there’s no sweetness, but since I already read the description and know it’s supposed to be there, I can taste it. There’s perhaps a tiny bit of dried fruit flavor? Overall, it’s a strong tea with Assam-like intensity but without bitterness. Perhaps the tiniest touch of astringency?

Man, did I need caffeine this morning. So of course that means road blocks at every turn. The biggest hurdle was getting the CTC from yesterday out of my teapot. That won’t happen again.

So this smells malty, dry. It smells malty, and a little baked brownies, steeped. It tastes lightly malt and unsweetened chocolate. There is a much desired, by me this morning, briskness to it that starts at the front, early in the sip, and expands around to the sides. It drifts into a sharp finish. Along the way I sense a fruity taste like the Muscat of the Darjeeling I had a couple days ago.

Not a one note tea by any means but not super complex either. Perfect for my first couple cups of the morning.

Tastes like a dark chocolate heavy on the fruit notes. Husband would not share, so I had to make my own mug.

Very smooth black tea. It has a warm and dark aroma and taste. Both are very welcoming. It reminds me of Adagio’s Yunnan Jig. It’s a nice simple black tea that I could give to friends who aren’t into tea without having to go into much explanation about what they’re about to drink.