Fengqing Dragon Pearl Black Tea

I do love black pearls … OMG. It’s been a while since I’ve had some, and it’s kind of like meeting up with an old friend that I’ve not seen in a while. Lovely!

I brewed this in my gaiwan just so that I could watch the pearls unfurl … and I don’t know if it’s the brewing method or that these pearls are just awesome but, these taste even better than I remember (I’ve tasted the black pearls from thepuriTea and these are just as good if not better, red blossom tea company – these are just as good if not better and also the black pearls from teavana, and these are better than I remember those tasting)

Rich, malty, and very deliciously chocolatey! So very yum! I do love these pearls. Love LOVE love them!!!

Tea Vivre free samples round #3, tasting #2

Sadly, Liz did not get to review this tea before leaving for Tokyo, but she did get to taste it and I know she really enjoyed it.

This is a very good, and unique black tea. Cocoa and malt and roasted fruit. A bit like a Yunnan golden, but not at all sweet. There’s a crisp, dry finish and no lingering astringency.

The only really strong critique I could offer is that the mouth feel is thin. Not the flavor, but the texture.

I forgot how amazing this tea was, and I am very sorry I forgot how awesome they are lol, because I would have finished off my final sample of these ages ago. But luckily I didn’t, because this is just what I need on this Monday morning. I am not entirely with it this morning and a fair bit irritable, so hopefully this delicious, sweet, malty tea will help me to smooth out and not be annoyed with certain somebodies at work….ugh. Also listening to classical music, so the combo should do a lot to get me on track haha. See previous notes on this amazing tea!

8p / 220ml zhuni yixing
1:10m/1:40m/2:20m @ 100C

After a tough week with a cold and loads of work today on a saturday :/ i felt i needed a treat. So i brought out my favorite black.
Superb as always. Full of sweet honey and maltiness with a bit of chocolate and a wee hint of citrus. First infusion was pure magic! i did the three infusions in rapid succession. first in a cup the other two in a pitcher. Don´t want to let the leaves cool between infusions.

jummy!

Ohhh yessss. This is what I’ve been waiting for. It’s taken quite a bit of will power for me to wait making this again until I received my glass teapot from Teavivre. Well, it’s here now (came only yesterday) and I can wait no longer.

I can’t get over how much this makes me think of chocolate croissants with all the yeast, dark cocoa and buttery flavors I find in this tea from its dry state to the wet leaves and all the way into my cup.

On a whim I’ve decided to sweeten the second steep with a Splenda tablet to see how it goes. The tablets are supposed to be equal to 1tsp of sugar, and that’s half a sachet. I think it’s over-sweetened now, so if I want to sweeten it at all in the future I’ll have to try it with a half tsp of actual sugar. Not that it needs it. Just sometimes I feel like I want a little treat and sweet tea can often do the trick, know what I mean?

This is so delicious.

I put four pearls in my tiny glass gongfu and have re-steeped them about six times today. The first cups were chocolate and malt but the last cup was quite peppery!

It took over two months for Teavivre’s package to reach me but I’m already down for two teas I need more of. It was worth the wait.

I received my first Teavivre order today. I usually have strict rules about drinking open teas first. Not today. I opened this one right away. I have so been looking forward to this, and it was so worth the wait.
This is a great tea. This is what I think black tea should be. It’s rich and chocolaty, not astringent at all. Just soothing goodness in a cup. This is going right back on the shopping list to pick up more.

This tea is fun to watch steep. Not as fun as flowering teas, but close.

This tea is really sweet and chocolatey. It actually kind of reminds me of a mocha. It’s a bit malty too. I’m not getting much of other notes than that. That’s not to say it’s boring. It’s super smooth, and the flavor is really enjoyable.

I imagine this will be good for a couple resteeps since the pearls didn’t entirely come apart. I think this would be really good to have in the morning too! I’m hoping it’ll get me back to working on my paper but I had so much tea arrive today I just want to try it all. A cup of something new per page, perhaps?

I brewed this this other day and my intial reaction was that it was ok. I assumed that I should increase the amount of tea and adjust the steep time. Today with 7 pearls and brewed 1 cup basket style I am loving it. The first steeping was light and flavorful and it gave me a nice wake-up cup. A good energy. The second cup I gave the eternal steep. In other words I lost time. Just like with other pelleted teas the second cup shined. Maybe this tea would benefit from a rinse? Either way my order went out to Teavivre without this. It will be on my next order. I am glad I changed my brewing method on this beauty. A superb selection.

I love black dragon pearls! So sweet and cocoa tasting. The notes of chocolate are on the dark chocolate spectrum of cocoa flavors which is wonderful, but there is also this sweet, roast, almost marshmallow like flavor as well. Add to that a baked flavor goodness this tea reminds me of smores!
A staple for sure.
I am enjoying this cup SO much that I am finding it difficult to allow it to cool down much – burns be darned I will sip this tea boiling hot! lol beware!
I will need to pour a second cup to let it cool a bit as we find new flavors when a tea cools a bit … so … be right back … ohhhh mmmmmm nummy.
Yes I realize my review is not flowering with eloquent words here and in no way can my words match the goodiness of this tea but it is transporting that is for sure.
This is not only a tea that can perk you up but also unwind you depending on what it is you need in the moment. There is this slightly smoky flavor coming through as it cools but nothing like a lapsang souchong by any means just this nice toasty flavor that is very understated.
I do pick up a subtle yam flavor in here as well but I LOVE yams so that is alright with me!
This was a free sample from Angle at Teavivre and I want to give her a big thank you for it! Now I have to get some ordered! So delicious!