Laoshan Badger - Laoshan Black

I admit I’m a sucker for a good Laoshan Black tea. This one is not only cute with it’s a little badger picture but also pretty tasty.

#adventageddon Day One – 3/5

Another #adventageddon tea; Lao Shan Badger from Tea Bento!! I did a lot of research on different tea advent calendars this year because I REALLY wanted to include a straight tea/traditional tea advent and I had all but given up on including one when I saw Tea Bento announce they were doing one!! I’ve ordered from them previously, though years back (still have some of the teas though) and in general I’m really enjoyed their tea selections; the quality is great and there’s an awesome balance of standard offerings and unique and fun things! I’m really glad I included it; I may not gongfu their tea every day but I’m really glad I have that option!

This was an incredibly delicious black tea – the dry leaf aroma is intense and fragrant; very rich and chocolate heavy with nutty undertones. The tea steeps up full bodied and sweet, with dense coating notes of milk chocolate, caramelized sugar, raisins, brandy, peanut brittle, malt, and wood!! Despite the sweetness, it’s well balanced and the finish leaves me salivating waiting for the next steep!!

Eight infusions total!

Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/B5iidEWA2wE/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fTsWU6ME-4

Sipdown!

Sad to sip this down, but I still have other laoshan black in my cupboard that needs to be finished off. This one was just delicious, so rich, chocolatey, and smooth.

Drinking another one from my teabento order tonight. his is ok – some bitter chocolate, some bread – tastes like a laoshan black should. But it’s still just ok, it tastes as it should but it’s still a little flat or not as bold as it should be or something. There are better laoshan blacks out there.

My boss gave me a cute little cup with infuser as a Christmas gift. I like it but the holes in the infuser let some of the smaller leaves through.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BdMN3NghfQ5/?taken-by=dex3657

Day 4 of the homemade advent canelder: Chocolate teas

Laoshan black teas are the classic unflavoured chocolate tea so of course I would drink a sample of this tasty “Laoshan Badger”. Lightly malty, slight sweetness, lots of cocoa and dark chocolate notes. Lightly Earthy as all Chinese blacks are.

mmm this one is tasty but it’s my least favourite of the 4. It’s smooth, there are cocoa-y notes in the background and it’s an enjoyable cup…but it’s not as LB as i want it to be.

Thank you to Teabento for providing a generous sample in my parcel! This was a lot lighter than I would have expected. Almost crystalline in comparison to what I’m used when it comes to LB. By crystalline, I’m referring to the airy floral notes in here. There is only a faint dusting of cocoa mixed in with the grainy undertones in here.