Fengqing Dragon Pearl Black Tea

Tea type
Black Tea
Ingredients
Black Tea Leaves
Flavors
Jasmine, Chocolate, Leather, Toffee, Dark Chocolate, Wood, Berries, Cocoa, Dried Fruit, Honey, Malt, Strawberry, Sweet, Sweet Potatoes, Autumn Leaf Pile, Bread, Fruity, Mineral, Floral, Smoke, Raisins, Wet Wood, Wet wood, Brown Sugar, Molasses, Musty, Spices, Thick, Creamy, Milk Chocolate, Thin, Burnt Sugar, Earth, Toast, Smooth, Apricot, Earthy, Stonefruit, Wheat, Woody, Wet Earth
Sold in
Not available
Caffeine
Medium
Certification
Not available
Edit tea info Last updated by SimplyJenW
Average preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 0 sec 5 g 24 oz / 708 ml

From Our Community

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55 Want it Want it

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77 Own it Own it

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313 Tasting Notes View all

  • “I used 4 “balls”. and eventho the product description says ‘slight chocolate’ I picked up a whole bunch of chocolate-malty-goodness in this! Incredible! I’m going to do another infusion after this...” Read full tasting note
    90
  • “After having Loaded Baked Potato Soup, I served Italian Cream Cake. I didn’t make it! A friend sent it to me and it came from Sam’s club and was delicious! The frosting tastes a lot like the...” Read full tasting note
  • “another tea from this morning. the world has distracted me today. :) However, i am looking forward to sipdown saturday! and sample sunday! woot woot!” Read full tasting note
    86
  • “I went on a casual date last night. The guy messaged me afterward, and this morning I sent the “hey-I’m-not-really-into-dating-right-now-but-thanks-for-meeting-me” reply. Which shouldn’t sound like...” Read full tasting note
    100

From Teavivre

Origin: Fengqing, Yunnan, China

Ingredients: The leaves come from wild tea trees

Taste: Taste sweet and smooth, with a slight flavor of chocolate

Brew: 3-4 pieces for 8oz of water. Brew at 212 ºF (100 ºC) for 1 to 2 minutes (exact time depends on your taste – a longer time will give the tea a stronger taste and color)

Health Benefits: Being a fully oxidised – or fermented – black tea, it does not have the same level of antioxidants that our White and Green teas have, however it is still a good source of these and so will also help reduce the risk of cancers and lessen the affects of aging. Black teas such as our Fengqing black also are considered to help prevent tooth decay and help lower your cholesterol levels.

About Teavivre View company

Company description not available.

313 Tasting Notes

95
4843 tasting notes

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!!!

Azzrian

:) Tell us how you REALLY feel about them! LOL yes they are great!

Charles Thomas Draper

Truly one of my favorite teas…

Michelle Butler Hallett

WOW. Gotta try some of these.

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368 tasting notes

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.

Preparation
Boiling 0 min, 15 sec
Bonnie

I thought this was very much reminiscent of cocoa nib. Maybe I missed the thinness because I steeped a tad long and later made the brew into a quite tasty latte just to see if it would hold up.

SimplyJenW

I am drinking it now. I usually brew western style, though. I think I steeped for 4 minutes. Definitely not thin… It amazes me how much steeping parameters affect the taste of tea!

Jim Marks

I’m doing gongfu steeping and it definitely doesn’t have the texture that many other teas have — even other Tea Vivre teas.

Again, the flavor is plenty strong, I’m talking about thin mouth feel here.

Bonnie

Don’t know JIm, Knew what you meant but I didn’t get that thinness brewing Western Style either.

SimplyJenW

I knew what you meant, too.

Bonnie

Well, I knew what SimplyJenW meant.

Bonnie

I just knew you’d hate that Jim but you are so irresistible to mess with! :)

SimplyJenW

In general, though, I don’t think most black teas have the mouthfeel of a greener tea (oolongs, greens, and most of the whites I have tried, really). A few of them obviously do. I almost wonder if it has to do with the oxidation processing for black teas. I will have to try this in my gaiwan at some point to see if it is thinner by mouthfeel. I know you meant nothing to do with the flavor. I appreciate gongfu brewing, I am usually just too easily distracted so western wins out.

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90
1186 tasting notes

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!

Fjellrev

I’m also listening to classical music! And I’ve been tempted by my last sample of this but I’m hoarding it haha.

mrs.stenhouse12

Classical music is the best at work, I listen to that or ambient electronic mostly haha. I say drink your sample, it’s so worth it! I might even spring for 100g of this tea, every time I have it I’m like mmm it’s so good, I need this all the time.

Veronica

I’ve considered getting 100g of this one, too. Unfortunately it’s sold out right now. :(

mrs.stenhouse12

Awe really? I will have to watch for when it returns :D I am enjoying the staying power of the pearls! They have held up to multiple steepings throughout the day quite nicely!

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95
239 tasting notes

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!

Preparation
Boiling 1 min, 15 sec
Terri HarpLady

There is an order of this in a box, along with several other teas, somewhere in between Toronto & St. Louis, that Sil sent & I am eagerly awaiting! :)

Sil

i’m surprised it’s taking so long… it’s a little worrisome

Terri HarpLady

I know…I thought of it yesterday, & then tried to dismiss those thoughts immediately. Monday’s a holiday here (Columbus Day…why do they keep celebrating that? ) so all the banks & PO will be closed, but Tues I’ll go to the PO & have them check the shelf. We have a new mail delivery girl that is lazy, & I think she leaves the packages behind on a shelf, where they seem to remain, forgotten. I’ve had to go pick things up a couple of times now.

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63 tasting notes

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?

Insence&Tea

This tea is great for traveling if you don’t have a scale because you can just count out how many pearls per ounce. I bring it everywhere if I want gongfu black tea

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1430 tasting notes

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.

Preparation
Boiling
TeaVivre

Sorry for letting you wait a long time, we’ll try to find a faster shipping method to Canada.

Crowkettle

Thank you, although the wait wasn’t too bad! The staff at TeaVivre were amazing at tracking my order and keeping me updated; I felt really looked after the whole time.

CHAroma

2 months?? Phew!

TeaVivre

Due to some reasons, the package will take a longer time than usual. Here we list the actual delivery time of major countries we delivered packages last month (May, 2013). http://www.teavivre.com/faq/_c_shipping-information/

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91
1040 tasting notes

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.

JustJames

I’M GETTING THIS ONE SOON!!!!! dexter… why is it that whenever i’m waiting for a tea it gets to you first?

Dexter

Ummmmm, great minds think a like? We have similar tastes?

Terri HarpLady

I have some of this on the way!
I try to have strict rules, but little terri never follows them.

JustJames

i can’t wait for this one, and dexter your review just made it worse, lol.

TeaLady441

You guys need to split orders or something. :P

JustJames

i’m willing! lol.

Sil

Terri – when I get home ill spend the first weekend I’m
Back getting tea organized and out to you.

Terri HarpLady

No rush, I want you well rested & healthy! :)
Although I am working on your box as we speak!

Dexter

Justjames – I’m willing to share/split/swap teas, but I’m not sure I’m allowed to buy anymore until I wrap my head around these black teas – please see tasting note and comments after this one in my log – second flush darjeeling from Davids

TeaVivre

It’s amazing tasty will always leave us craving for more! Thanks for the review!

JustJames

dexter, i have a first flush darjeeling from jagasilk (local to the island) which i’m willing to send you if you’re interested…

Bonnie

There should be a discussion board to help you out called ‘What are your top 3 Black Tea’s!’ Now that would narrow the field.

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1220 tasting notes

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?

Preparation
Boiling 1 min, 45 sec
kOmpir

What about its character? Can you compare it to some other tea?

momo

I honestly don’t know. I couldn’t think of anything else like it that I’ve had at least recently. Maybe like the Yun Nan Dian Hong from Teavivre got together with an Assam, I’d say is how it tasted.

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93
294 tasting notes

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.

Bonnie

I made the mistake of using the right amount the first time purely by accident! It is so good! I ordered some because it’s a wow cocoa black tea! Stands on it’s own and not comparable to my other 3 favorite Blacks!

Charles Thomas Draper

Very true Bonnie. It does stand on its own. Truly unique

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97
807 tasting notes

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!

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 30 sec

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