Dawn

Holy guacamole! I finally got to try this tea courtesy of JacquelineM. Thank you so very much!!!!!

I’m on my third steep (which tastes kind of like a waterier/chocolatier version of Adagio’s Golden Monkey), and had to do a quick peek at others’ notes on this tea. I knew it had great reviews, but I was curious about what others compared this tea to. I think others do a great job of giving full-out notes, so I’ll just add my highlighted impressions:

Yes, these leaves are insane! LOOOONG and a matte black. These might be the coolest leaves that I have yet to see.

I am completely flabbergasted that there are not additives in this tea. I think I want to call this a “black oolong.” Yes, I know that that’s impossible, but what I mean to say is that like an oolong it has a clearly veggie-base that’s not my favorite, but then the magic is what happens all around that base. I could grow to love this tea like I love oolongs. And that’s saying a lot. The only thing holding me back from a higher grade is the chocolate — which here is lovely, but I wouldn’t care to have it too often because of that particular taste in this tea.

I regret not having my first steep at boiling (subsequent ones have been so). My initial response was “Green beans? Yes, green beans.” I wonder how much of that had to do with the lower temp. It was like malty green beans. And there was what another reviewer mentioned: the hint of hash. But then the lightest milk chocolatey notes started to play with my tastebuds as an aftertaste. It was unbelievable. And suddenly, there were about four sips-worth of “MALTED MILKBALLS!” as the green bean taste subsided.

This truly is a remarkable tea. This tea reminds me how amazing tea is and how much I love it. TG

So I’ve been sitting on this one for almost a year thanks to Tamm. I’ve tried some here and there and well…it’s one of those teas that you don’t want advertise that it’s in your cabinet. I also have realized that after being a steepsterite for two years now and that The Simple Leaf ceased to be before I became an avid tea drinker. To my dismay, but I’m also realizing the freshness window might be waning. I’ve been making cups here and there just saving it for special time or when I just really want a good tea(like the Imperial Pu-Erh I keep on hand). Today I felt like I needed a pick me up. It’s been really crazy at work. Which happens every year at this time because we are a station that goes all Christmas music for a month. Oddly enough we are one of three radio stations that goes all Christmas music every year. How Cleveland became a Christmas music battleground…I don’t know. It also means it takes me longer to get music logs done as the music director because I have to look over the logs more with a fine tooth comb. Besides that this is time of the year that things get tight financially in our house(which also means drink what ya got because not too many new purchases are going to be made). This year more so than others since my wife is working part-time instead of full, and there aren’t nearly as many wedding gigs as there are during the summer. The wee man has been battling his first cold the less sleep he gets the less sleep mommy and I get. This seemed like a good idea this morning to make a full pot. So I pulled out the pouch and breathed in the goodness. I breathed in an aroma of cocoa that was just outstanding. I could feel an endorphin rush that brought a smile to my face. I have seen this one compared to a black oolong, beans, raisins, chocolaty. Yes it’s all the above. Like Assam and his cousin Ceylon were hanging out a swanky jazz club. Listening to the band do their best rendition of Brubeck’s-Take 5 and throwing back Scotch on the rocks(Macallan not Glenfiddich). So what I needed today. Normally I’ll make a cup of Mate, Pu-Erh, and Coffee in the morning. Today only the coffee and Dawn. I don’t know if there is too much to say but this is just an exceptional tea. After searching the internet high low for other places that carry tea from Arunachal Pradesh sadly there is only one. It is very much like an Assam Oolong. So good.

Quite simply excellent. I don’t know how many orthodox teas I actually manage to drink, but this shows its pure pedigree. As Ricky wrote, it is a “complicated” tea in the best sense—each sniff, each sip, offers up a brave new world of taste sensations.

I would call it highly refined, elegant, and pure. It is smooth and sweet. I thought I detected a bit of chestnut, although others have not mentioned that. I think that this will be another tea that must always be here and will always be reordered.

This came in the mail yesterday. (Well, I bought it and it was delivered to me.) I tried a cup this afternoon, and it was very enjoyable. It’s a complicated kind of tea. Not flavored, but lots of flavors are there. Sort of a miracle of nature. There are caramel notes and a little cocoa flavor lingering in the wings. It’s interesting, and I think most tea drinkers would enjoy trying it.

I’m going to try this one iced very soon. I live in Florida. It’s March. That means our summer will be starting soon.

This is “Nature’s Miracle”. Hard to believe that a tea without any additional flavorings or additives (natural OR artifical) can conjure up the flavors of chocolate and coffee and maybe caramel…. This tea is bold but not bitter or astringent in any way..

Thanks to Doulton for this sample and I will soon be purchasing this one…I definitely agree w/the other Steepster-ites who have been raving and praising this one…..

Steep Information:
Amount: 1 tsp
Additives: none
Water: 6 oz filtered, boiling, 190°
Tool: Mesh basket strainer in cup
Steep Time: a little over 5 minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: not much
Steeped Tea Smell: vegetal
Flavor: buttery smooth, vegetal, then black tea, complex, a little sweet
Body: Full
Aftertaste: black tea, slightly astringent, perhaps a touch bitter
Liquor: Dark translucent brown

A generous gift from SoccerMom, since I was drooling over everyone’s posts.

The dry leaves are amazing, they are long thin rolls and just neat to look at.

The smell surprised me, I don’t associate vegetal with black tea.

Sadly I am not getting the chocolate, caramel or honey others were picking up.

I must echo takgoti that it is a rich tea, yet leaves you lightly. Some teas feel as though you have drank a thick shake, and although delicious fill you up. The flavors and scent are rich with Dawn, but leave you with room for more of the re-steeps.

This is not a flavored black, yet it is rich and complex and very enjoyable! quite a contrast to this morning’s PG tips.

Although I can’t jump on the ‘favorite tea’ bandwagon, I am extremely grateful to SoccerMom for letting me try some. I am enjoying my tea and it’s re-steeps and I think if I ever place an order from the simple leaf Dawn will be included. Right now I am not going to rush and place an order just for Dawn.

Post-Steep Additives: none

Resteep: 5 min, much the same as the first, very impressive re-steep really. One leaf fully unfurled, hopefully you can see it in the picture.

MilitiaJim took a sip and made an awful face and declared it tasted like mud.

I decided everyone else found chocolate, and I was defective and had a glass with some chocolate cake. Still no chocolate found.

images: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/04/simple-leaf-loose-leaf-black-tea-dawn.html

What an odd black tea.

Here’s my immediate tasting note…all taking place in my head:

“Oooh, this smells sweet like baking chocolate or dark coco powder…and sort of barnyard-y. sips Hmm? Interesting. This is black tea, right? Umm, I did not put honey in this. Why does it taste like I put honey in it? What the heck? Chocolate honey?!?”

The taste of honey creeps in until it is oh so sweet. The chocolate note lingers slightly bitter but pleasant in the aftertaste. I taste a light smoky taste that is apparent in some sips and not in others. This tea is complex and confusing. I must drink more in attempt to figure it out. What a terrible, terrible thing. :)

Thanks for another fascinating sample, Doulton.

This is another sample from Kristin.

The dry leaf almost smells like dark chocolate. At first I assumed it was a flavored tea sample for Liz. But when I looked it up, it was clear that it was not. So, that’s a pretty neat trick for dry leaves.

The wet leaves have that sharp, roasted, almost citrus-y aroma too them that many darker oolongs have, in spite of this being a black tea on the listing.

It tastes more like an oolong than a black tea, as well. No astringency at all and the kind of roasted notes that have a sweetness to them. The way sugars caramelize in roasted garlic or grilled vegetables. Not that this tastes like either garlic or vegetables! It just has that same kind of sweetness to the roasted flavor.

It reminds me of Barley tea, is what it does. Except not that subtle.

At any rate, this is a good, soft black tea if you prefer to ease into your morning, rather than yesterday’s one-two punch with the mountain malt.

Many heartfelt thank yous go out to Dan for his generous gift of this fascinating tea! I have been waiting for enough money to be able to order it for months now only to find out last week that the company had closed up shop. Needless to say, I was quite disappointed but then Dan stepped up with his generous offer of a sample of this tea and I must say I was over the moon.

But of course Murphy had to have a good joke on my behalf this morning. As I was waiting for my tea to steep my son needed to use the bathroom. Being just under four he still needs someone in there to make sure he washes his hands. Just as he was turning on the faucet I caught a glimpse of the time on my watch and I let out an expletive. MY TEA! Rushing to the kitchen I hurriedly removed the leaves from the pot and looked at my watch again. 8 1/4 minutes! I had oversteeped it! This tea I had been waiting so long to try and would never be able to buy more of. Not one to waste tea and being much more hopefully optimistic than most (or just plain mule-stubborn!) I poured a cup, added sugar and waited for the liquid to cool a bit.

Oh my goodness! I was overjoyed to find that this is one of those rare teas that do not go bitter when mildly oversteeped. The toasty, nutty notes hit my tongue first. It wasn’t until about halfway through the cup that I picked up the vaunted cocoa flavor that had hit me full in the face when I opened the sample package. I certainly tasted it through the rest of the pot though!

Currently working on my second pot (9 minute infusion) and the flavor is just as lovely as the first steeping.

Again, many many thanks to Dan! I’m looking forward to trying the other teas he sent as well :)

I tried this earlier today thanks to Meghann M and even though I am not a big black tea fan I decided to give some “finer” black teas a try and I must say this is pretty good and I can taste a cocoa taste to it which is pretty cool! I personally couldn’t drink this every day or even often but, that’s just me who doesn’t care for black teas that much. But I can tell that is a black tea that is of great quality and for that I will mark it high, because it is good…it’s just not for me… the non-black tea lover hehe.