Okay, this tea is insanely delicious. It tastes like a very expensive cup of tea and it definitely is not expensive from S&V. Wow. Just the complexity alone amazes me, and I will not be able to capture that complexity here. The fragrance of the dry leaves is something very different from the usual plain black tea, that I have not noticed before.. the smell is almost like what heated raisins might smell like? A fragrance I’ve never noticed in any tea! The leaf is on the smaller size with an occasional gold hint here and there. The flavor is intoxicating: I think it’s most similar to a really good assam: that slightly brisk, slightly fruity, sweet assam that I love to keep in stock. But this tea is more unique than that. It’s just so tough to capture the complexity of this tea. It has bite, but it’s also very sweet. Slight fruity juiciness but also a bready quality. I love teas like that and I will be keeping this one in stock. It might be one of those teas that are the fresher, the more complex the flavor (but that probably goes for all teas.) Is it enough for me to say it is so good? You should try some!
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 teaspoons for a full mug// 13 minutes after boiling // 3 1/2 minute steep
Steep #2 // couple minutes after boiling // 4 minute steep
This is You :-D
Profile
Bio
Hi! I love tea and trying new ones – it adds a bit of variety to my day! Books, music, TV & movies are my thing… and tea, of course.
Some of my favorite tea shops (still operating):
birdandblendtea.com
teavivre.com
52teas.com
svtea.com
whisperingpinestea.com
justea.com
harney.com
Dammann Freres
fusionteas.com
shop.Javateaco.com
Lupicia
Octaviatea.com
Davidstea.com
eco-cha.com
what-cha.com
singleoriginteas.com
teasenz.com
tealyra.com
Mandalatea.com
verdanttea.com
Favorite tea shops (RIP):
butikiteas.com
steapshoppe.com
steepcityteas.com
aquartertotea.com
dellaterrateas.com
zentealife.com
angrytearoom.com
theteamerchant.net
joysteaspoon.com
tealiciousllc.com
Rivertea
Specialteas
My icon photo is Richard Mayhew from the graphic novel ‘Neverwhere’ by Neil Gaiman, Mike Carey & Glenn Fabry.
Most of the teas listed in my cupboard are actually sample sizes. I don’t really have 2,000 ounces of tea around here! Many of my teas have only one teaspoon left… maybe two. But I like keeping them in my cupboard list for reference to what I could be sipping. Usually, I write tasting notes once for each tea. I’m still drinking them, just not writing tasting notes each time!
I’m always in search of: Hattialli, Qu Hao black, Jin Jun Mei, teas using marshmallow root.
My dislikes: hibiscus, ginger (unless in chai), turmeric, bee pollen, charcoal type flavors
My ratings:
95-100 – Super awesome deliciousness favorites – cupboard essential
80-95 – Also pretty delicious
65-80 – Pretty good
50-65 – Okay
1-50 – Probably won’t want to sip it again
I’m planning on being a Steepsterer as long as there IS a Steepster, so if you’re not hearing from me, that means something happened to my health… if you know what I mean. (Or as evidenced by the great computer hiatus of 2019, something happened to my computer… I have a dumb phone so can’t access internet on that. As of 12/20/21 my wifi might start getting unreliable.)
Happy sipping!
Location
USA
Sounds perfect!
Sounds fantastic!
Vietnamese blacks are always soooooo good!
Well, Mastress Alita, I ordered this because you wanted to try it since I needed fresh teabox ideas, so expect to be able to try some in the teabox. :D