Everything about this tea was subtle. This tea seemed to have all the flavor profiles of a black tea with all the strength of a green or a white. Almost all the flavor was washed out after the first steep, which was disappointing. There’s quite a bit of astringency, which I’m also not a huge fan of.
There’s a bit of molasses, or maybe a dark, dirty sort of caramel? It’s faint, but pleasant. There are hints of chocolate, and more than hints of maltiness. The brew is slightly on the smoky side, though it’s a natural flavor of the tea; I don’t think the leaves were actually smoked in any way. There’s a nice hint of tobacco in there as well, which is a nice touch with the smoke and molasses.
It was nice, but the single steep of flavor doesn’t make it worth it. It reduces to watered down minerals after the first western style steep.
Flavors: Burnt Sugar, Chocolate, Malt, Molasses, Smoke, Tobacco
