The dry leaves have a strong scent of cocoa, but pouring water on them turns it into a smokey, mushroomy aroma that reminds me of some sheng puerh. The leaves are chopped up, but they’re quite large. This being a large leaf Chinese black tea, I brewed it quite long to get more of the cocoa flavor I smelled in the dry leaves knowing that it probably wouldn’t get bitter or astringent.

The flavor was mostly what I expected: the mushrooms and light smokiness were definitely there, as well as some typical Yunnan notes of malt and black pepper. It was thick and smooth with a silky texture, finishing with the sweet chocolate note that I hoped for. Despite the long first steep, I got a good second cup out of it with a similar flavor to the first, but a lighter body.

I enjoyed this and think I’ll get a larger amount to have a basic Dianhong (I’m pretty sure that’s what this is) around. It’s not complex, but it’s good and very cheap.

Flavors: Black Pepper, Cocoa, Malt, Mushrooms, Smoke

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 7 min, 0 sec 2 tsp 10 OZ / 295 ML

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Bio

I mostly drink roasted oolongs, Chinese black tea, Darjeeling, and occasionally sheng puerh, aged white tea, or Japanese green tea. Assam, Ceylon, etc., don’t interest me much, and I don’t like flavored tea except Earl Grey and chai.

I don’t think rating tea is very helpful when everyone rates on a different scale and looks for different things in tea, so I will probably never rate anything I review.

Aside from tea, I also like single origin coffee, wine, and craft beer. Other interests include listening to and making music, music-related electronics, sci-fi and fantasy, writing, and cooking.

Location

Michigan

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