So excited to be trying this tea today! I recently placed an order with Verdant and now have quite a bit of Laoshan black after being out of it for almost a year! I have a soft spot for oolongs and was thrilled to see a new laoshan version. The leaves are thin, slightly curled and a bit of a stormy grey color.
First Infusion: the smell of this tea is quite toasty and reminds me a bit of a sweet bread. The scent has a kind of complexity that I can’t wait to experience! Sipping… very smooth, toasty & sweet. It has a rather thick mouthfeel that I’m enjoying. Mmm.. so far, tasty!
Second Infusion: this cup is a little bit more toasty. It’s changing from being thick and bread-like, to something a little bit thinner and bitter. When I say bitter, I mean the kind of bitter flavor one gets with dark chocolate. It actually reminds me of a watery dark drinking chocolate with a touch of cinnamon.
Third Infusion: It smells a bit more like chocolate + a hint of nuts… perhaps almonds? Sipping… ah, such a strong chocolate note! A creamy chocolate flavor hits my tongue and slowly fades into a bitter cocoa powder. This is absolutely my favorite cup so far!
Fourth Infusion: The scent is not as strong this time, but the wheat bread and sweetness are still present, if a little faint. The chocolate seems to have balanced out with the bread flavor. This cup is a bit more earthy, almost savory and isn’t as sweet. It’s a tiny bit astringent, but still tasty.
Fifth Infusion: A significant loss of flavor — most of the notes are very muted, but the other cups make up for this one!
This is an interesting oolong because it almost seems like a very light black tea to me… that might just be that so many of these flavors are present in the laoshan black tea as well. I think that I would purchase more of the laoshan black over this roasted oolong, but I did indeed enjoy these infusions and wouldn’t mind having more in the future!
