Discontinued. Similar tea available.
“I have drink lots of tea. Black Dragon Pearls Black Tea is best from all of them” Read full tasting note
“It Contains many flavours.” Read full tasting note
“I’m surprised I didn’t have this tea included in my cupboard or any tasting notes written about it… I got this last year when Culinary Tea was on sale at Teavana, and I grabbed a bag of this tea as...” Read full tasting note
“OH MY LORD…. how long has it been since I’ve written a tasting note on Steepster? Years? It’s good to be back! (And I’m happy to see the interface is mostly the same!) After living in a rural...” Read full tasting note
Fashionably rare spring-harvested black tea pearls are as coveted as the legendary gems they were inspired by. Just as their bejeweled counterparts take years to become perfection, each tea pearl consists of thirty leaves and buds hand-picked and immediately rolled before the leaves can dry. The famed pearls carry sweet undertones of chocolaty romance, creating a smooth, sweet- bodied exquisiteness in each cup.
I’m surprised I didn’t have this tea included in my cupboard or any tasting notes written about it… I got this last year when Culinary Tea was on sale at Teavana, and I grabbed a bag of this tea as well, since it was also on sale. I have drank it a few times since then (although it’s been a while), and I thought I had written about it already. Another case of the Steepster thief perhaps? Not sure this time.
Anyway, this tea is fairly basic. Not too sure what exactly the effect of it being rolled into balls is, but it does make it harder for me to figure out how many I am supposed to use, lol. It’s a smooth black tea base with faint notes of cocoa. Nothing else to add, the tea is fairly simple. It doesn’t have any astringency, which is nice, so it’s pretty alright to drink. Nothing amazing, however.
I would say use a digital scale, if you have one. Those little pearls need to unfurl too, so two steepings x 3 minutes.
Thanks for the suggestion! I do have one, but I keep forgetting to use it. :) and I will try the double steeping too, I can see how it would make the flavour of the tea develop more.
Sorry, just to clarify. Steep. Drink. Steep. Drink.
As opposed to steeping the same tea twice. ;)
OH MY LORD…. how long has it been since I’ve written a tasting note on Steepster? Years? It’s good to be back! (And I’m happy to see the interface is mostly the same!)
After living in a rural neighborhood all my life, I moved to a township in Dayton a few months ago and I still can’t believe things are actually close to me. Although Teavana is hit-or-miss for me, I was so excited to have one within a ten-minute drive from my place that I stopped by to pick up this and another tea.
It’s funny because BDP is my favorite kind of tea overall, but I haven’t managed to get this particular version to be quite satisfying. It’s either not flavorful enough or I brew it a little past its prime. I think I’ve had similar problems with some other Teavana teas in the past. This morning, I can taste a hint of the trademark BDP cocoa/raisin sweetness, but it’s just a little oversteeped. Might have used too many pearls, but with any fewer I can’t get the flavor to come out. Egh.
Honestly, it’s just so nice sitting on the couch in the morning, drinking a cup of tea and writing about it, that I don’t care!
Flavors: Cocoa, Malt, Raisins, Wood
Very smooth, full-bodied and delicious. Cocoa undertones are more subtle than Teavana’s Golden Monkey, but are still unmistakable! This is one of my favorite pure black teas.
Flavors: Cocoa, Honey, Malt, Smooth
My wonderful boyfriend picked some of this up on our adventure to Teavana this past weekend. He was looking for a low maintenance, high caffeine, loose black tea to have at work, and this fit the bill.
We made some to try. The dry pearls smell fishy and earthy. Once sipped, it’s very malty, smooth, and hearty. Reminds me of a Scottish Breakfast tea, although not at all astringent. He’s very happy with his purchase.
