Once again I am behind on tasting notes! I was so absorbed with tasting out my Red Leaf matcha samples and making sure I have sufficient notes for each that I’ve had about 7 other teas so far that I have yet to log, all of them new. Sigh! Well, I’ll start with this, which I am drinking right now. I made my dad Teavivre’s Yunnan Golden Tip earlier today and the smell had me really craving a Chinese black. I got a sample of these in my recent order and they seemed like just the thing.
I love how these look! They’re my first pearl-type tea that wasn’t a Jasmine, which are generally pretty smaller. These are big and chunky, I used 4 for a big cup and they unfurl into so much tea! It’s fun to watch, they start dissolving as soon as you pour water over them. And among all the black tea leaves was one stray green one—wonder how it got there?
This is a strong, malty tea with heavenly cocoa notes. It’s a bit astringent but in a pleasing way, in fact it reminds me of an Assam but lighter and with less body. It brews up a surprisingly light amber color, very pleasing, and has a light flavor to match. Not bad light, just less heavy than I expected from the heady, yeasty cocoa smell. However, it’s the most chocolatey black I’ve tried, so scrumptious! Reminds me of a bakery shop, which I think most Chinese blacks do… or maybe I just really like pastries and associate everything with them!
Comments
I just tried basically the same thing from another company. Agree with the chocolate/cocoa remarks. Really surprised me.
At Teavana they call them Black Dragon Pearls. Basically it’s the only tea I buy there. I love them!
yeah, I haven’t actually compared them to TeaVivre’s, although I’ve had theirs too. Just not side by side. I think Mandala also carries them.
I just tried basically the same thing from another company. Agree with the chocolate/cocoa remarks. Really surprised me.
At Teavana they call them Black Dragon Pearls. Basically it’s the only tea I buy there. I love them!
I have a sample of the Teavana ones, I’ll have to do a comparison!
yeah, I haven’t actually compared them to TeaVivre’s, although I’ve had theirs too. Just not side by side. I think Mandala also carries them.
and mine are called Red Dragon Pearls from thepuriTea (but same thing)
I’ve now tried these, the Teavana and the Mandala ones, and these are definitely my favorite!