Here’s another tea from the book club trade with Alpha Kitty!
I immediately liked the looks of this tea! It’s dark, rolled up, & visually appealing to me, with a dry smell of sweet apple pipe tobacco with a hint of chocolate! MmmmmMMMMmm!
There were no instructions, so I went with 3 minutes.
The wet leaf does not smell quite so appealing to me. It still smells fruity, but there is a bitterness to the aroma.
The cup of tea smells fruity, malty, & bitter.
Flavorwise, it’s ok. Malty, for sure, roasty, a little bit of a buttery taste, & the aftertaste de apple-like. I drank it straight.
Not bad, but not on my list to purchase. Nice to sample though.
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I admit that I picked this one more on the name than on the taste—I mean, it’s one of the characters’ nicknames, how could I resist including it? Sorry if it didn’t quite hit the spot, I find it’s kind of finnicky with water temperature.
When I first saw the names, I was thinking of Black Pearl, like the big pearls of yummy black tea that you can get at teavana, mandala, teavivre, etc. Part of me was expecting something like that in the taste. Anyway, I didn’t dislike it, just probably not something I’ll buy. But, don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed sampling it & I am grateful for the trade! What are your suggestions on brewing? I have enough for another cup :D
I think this one is best in a gaiwan, it tends to be better the shorter the steep. Western, I go with 190 for 2 minutes!
how long in gaiwan, 4 -6 secs per steep?
I usually do slightly longer steeps (10sec) but whatever you normally do would probably be best for your palate!
I admit that I picked this one more on the name than on the taste—I mean, it’s one of the characters’ nicknames, how could I resist including it? Sorry if it didn’t quite hit the spot, I find it’s kind of finnicky with water temperature.
When I first saw the names, I was thinking of Black Pearl, like the big pearls of yummy black tea that you can get at teavana, mandala, teavivre, etc. Part of me was expecting something like that in the taste. Anyway, I didn’t dislike it, just probably not something I’ll buy. But, don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed sampling it & I am grateful for the trade! What are your suggestions on brewing? I have enough for another cup :D
I think this one is best in a gaiwan, it tends to be better the shorter the steep. Western, I go with 190 for 2 minutes!
how long in gaiwan, 4 -6 secs per steep?
I usually do slightly longer steeps (10sec) but whatever you normally do would probably be best for your palate!