88

Woo, I’m so glad to keep finding more Chinese black teas in my untried box. I’m not sure how I kept missing this one, but I’m super pleased to have it today.

Opening the packet, the dry leaf smell immediately evokes chocolate and salted caramel. I’m not exactly sure why the salted part, but that was my impression. The leaves are small, dark and twisty.

Steeped 1tsp for 2:45 in 95C water. The smell is very potent – my one cup scents the air. Still a bit of caramel and chocolate, but now there’s a lot of frutiness in the forefront. Rich fruits, like dates and prunes. Hint of smoke, but not a lot.

The flavour matches the smell – prunes, dates, chocolate, caramel, touch of smoke. This cup has good body and a very mild astringency.

So very tasty.

Flavors: Astringent, Caramel, Chocolate, Dates, Fruity, Plum, Smoke, Stewed Fruits

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 2 min, 45 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML
Sami Kelsh

Oh, gorgeous.

leaf in hot water

sounds so good!

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Comments

Sami Kelsh

Oh, gorgeous.

leaf in hot water

sounds so good!

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

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Bio

I grew up drinking jasmine green tea with meals, but really fell in love with tea on a trip to Britain in elementary school. My first great love was Earl Grey, and I still adore it and all its variants.

I discovered the beauty of loose leaf tea much later, when, on impulse, I picked up a few teas that were on clearance at a home store. My introduction to loose leaf teas were Masala Chai and Provence Rooibos by the Metropolitan Tea Co and an unknown brand of kukicha and gyokuro (little did I know what a precious treasure I’d stumbled onto with that.)

At the time I was lucky to live in a place with multiple tea shops and several places to have afternoon tea, which is a delight I still miss.

Tea is part of my daily ritual and a nice, affordable way to appease the collector in me.

I enjoy distinctive whites, greens and oolongs, flavoured blacks, and herbals that are heavy on the citrus, lavender or mint.

Rating rubric, to give myself some consistency:
0-15 Yuck, not even drinkable.
16-30 Disappointing, not really inclined to give it a second try.
31-45 Disappointing, but maybe there’s potential? Worth one more try, prepped differently.
46-60 Mediocre, not terrible but not memorable.
61-75 Not bad. I’ll definitely finish what I have and might buy again.
76-90 Very enjoyable. Tasty, complex, it’ll keep me coming back.
91-100 BEST! I love everything about it and I will drink it forever.

Beyond tea, I’m a sex educator, polyamory activist, and radical queer. I love backwoods camping, abstract painting, baking & cooking, nail polish, cats, ceramic sculpture, and home nesting.

Location

Winnipeg, MB, Canada

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