Da Hu Sai Village Wild Arbor Black Tea of Yunnan * Spring 2015

This tea starts out with notes of raspberry and dark chocolate. In later steeps, the Assam character emerges, with smooth, malty, sweet flavours predominating. I’ve had this tea twice in a row now and still can’t make the more interesting (to me) flavours last much beyond the fourth infusion. Maybe it’s getting old?

I steeped it for 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, and 80 seconds.

Another from terri. This one is…“ok.” it’s not a bad cup of tea, but it’s not quite up my alley. i think it’s because i’m getting a little of that roasty oolongish note that i’m not a fan of. still though, glad to try it and it’s certainly not a bad cup. thanks for sharing terri!

Beautiful deep amber. The flavours are balanced and tilted in all of the right directions for me. There’s malt, chocolate and dark raspberries. A very gradual evolution of flavours without any dips.
This seems to hit on certain base desires: rich, smooth and sweet, it’s hard not to like it. Not pushing the limits, but highly comforting

This is a rival for my Yunnan black tea affection along with the Jingmai Mt. Wild Arbor. Equal parts chocolatey and fruity, with just the right amount of bite and a bit of a nutty finish. Super drinkable: it’s one of those teas where you turn around and realize you’ve guzzled the whole thing down. Kind of like my relationship with Skinny Pop popcorn.

Good morning Steepster.
I found this lurking in my tea collection this morning and evidently I haven’t reviewed it (until now). This came as one of my dark tea of the month selections from Yunnan Sourcing a while back.

I decided to steep it for 2.5 minutes and with boiling water, which may have been overkill for this tea. It is an assamica variety and definitely has a lot of malt and chocolate. I am getting a slight bitterness in the finish which could be cut down with decreased steeping time, or a lower water temp. This is good on its own or with a splash of soymilk. I will certainly enjoy the rest of the package but I don’t think I will need to purchase this.

This tea has an incredibly strong chocolate flavor, moreso than any other tea that I’ve tasted. As a result, it’s a heavier, more full bodied tea. Brewed strong this is great for cold evenings and cloudy afternoons. There is very little astringency.

The price is also incredibly low for such an excellent tea.

This is a tasty black tea with only a little in the way of bitterness or astringency. The first note I detect is malt, very strong, but somehow not overpowering. Behind the malt is a note of chocolate or cocoa, not sure which is a better description. I only brewed this western style and I’m getting a lot of flavor and a lot of complex notes, very tasty.

I brewed this once in a 16oz Teavana Glass Perfect Tea Maker/Gravity Steeper with 3 tsp leaf and boiling water for 3 min.