This tea is very complex: the dried leaves smell fantastic, the brewed tea does not, however, the flavor is great.
The dried leaves smell rough and natural, like they were not processed or pruned, but they are raw from where they were grown. There is also a spicy, sweetness to the scent. You can smell cardamom and cinnamon.
The brewed tea is very dark, almost unexpectedly dark. The aroma of the tea is more of the rough, natural, earthy smell. The initial part of this bouquet is a little too earthy for me, however, it mellows out into the sweeter and better smell. As the tea cools, the aroma levels out, and becomes more and more of the earthy pu-erh and less of the sweetness.
The flavor is complex: pu-erh, then citrus, then cardamom, then chai, then cinnamon, then ends with more pu-erh. It is complex, it is earthy, it is rich and it is spiced. Very good.
The rating suffers a little because although I enjoy the tea, the earthy aroma I do not like. For me, tea is always all about a complete experience, bouquet and flavor. Here the flavor is good, but the bouquet is off-putting.
