Having never tried Balhyo cha before I didnt know what to expect. The chocolate & cocoa aroma is really prominent from the dry leaf. Bit of research there is debate over whether its yellow or black. From the voices I read & tasting it says black to me.
Booting up the tea we have more of the aroma, and when I tasted it I expected malt, but the malt was not there. Instead there was a mixture of some roast & fruit-red-wine hidden in the slightly lively body, like a keemun-roasted-oolong. That’s the simplest way to describe it.. Oh and the aroma has the cocoa. The body is Keemun-sweet-ish with a little salt & fruit.
In fact it reminded me more and more of Keemun or unspoken lapsang as im finishing the cup. But with other things going on. It was really nice!
Steeped 5g 12oz fish-eye bubbles 1 minute which I need to try with some other teas as it was a perfect cup.
I can see why this was on my list of teas to try – i think there was a premium one from what-cha people were raving about last year or the year before.
Its a good black/red tea for people who dont dig too much malt but want a cup of something that envelopes them with soft warmth.
Flavors: Chocolate, Cocoa, Fruity, Red Wine, Roasted, Salt
Crap, and I was so close to getting a sample. At the same time, this Lapsang Souchong sample is going to make me want more too.