Good Roasty Black Teas? Oolong haven't done the trick...

I’ve recently discovered I love really roasty black teas. Not smokey. But super roasty. Laoshan Black is a great example. I have no idea how to find more roasty black teas as I’m not even sure what “type” of tea it is. What are some other good roasty teas? I love all the genmai cha, hojicha, and kukicha green teas, but would love to add to my roasty black tea collection.

26 Replies

I usually go for Oolong if I want something roasty or a weak Lapsang Souchong for something black. I can’t think of much that’s purely black…interesting question.

I just started trying out the oolongs. Are there any roasty ones you’d recommend?

Teavivre do a heavily roasted Oolong that you may like.
http://www.teavivre.com/organic-nonpareil-roasted-tie-guan-yin-tea/

A lot of Oolongs come into two types really: floral or roasted. Will update to a few more as I think of some particularly roasty ones. :)

Oh last thing, a lot of aged Oolong I have tried is heavily roasted and very thick (like a black tea). Tea from Taiwan had a nice aged Oolong.

Dinosara said

I don’t have a specific company (although Teavivre’s is likely good), but for dark roasty oolongs you should check out Da Hong Pao (Big Red Robe). I always find those particularly roasty! Other dark Wuyi oolongs are usually very roasty too.

Thanks! This is great! I’m so glad I asked. Such a great community!

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Lala said

Its not really described as roasty but I thought that black dragon pearls were similar to laoshan black.

http://steepster.com/teas/teavivre/26683-fengqing-dragon-pearl-black-tea

Funny, I had black dragon pearls earlier today which is what made me post this. It does have a similar flavor to laoshan black. Yum!

tperez said

If you like the dragon pearls you might want to check out some other Yunnan blacks. Tippier/golden needle type blacks are usually mellower, leafier ones have more of a roasty flavor :)

Great to know! Thanks!

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You may like DAVIDsTEA Gyokuro Black. I always describe it as roasty (although it’s actually steamed): http://www.davidstea.com/portal.aspx?CN=10FA5682DEC5

Thanks! I’ll put it on David’s wishlist. Ones of these days I’ll place my order. :-)

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OMGsrsly said

Any Big Red Robe, I think (Anxi fo Shou). Some are more roasty and toasty than others. Verdant’s is too much for me at a 2 minute steep, but at a shorter steep it’s really tasty.

Nice! I grabbed a small thing of this in my last order. I’ll try it out tomorrow! Thanks!

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Yunnans tend to be nice and roasty, and Adagio’s Fujian Baroque fits the bill pretty well.

I think I have a sample of that somewhere buried in my sample drawer. Time to dig it out! Thanks!

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Well, we might just have similar taste in teas! I like roasty blacks too. Yunnan, Anxi/fujian, sun moon lake are all my favorite provinces to get tea from.

Some teas that you may be interested in:
- Golden monkey. My everyday tea. it hits the spot every time!
- Wuyi oolong. I like Tie Luo Han and Big Red Robes. Sweet slow roast liquor.
- Tie Guan Yin. Iron Goddess of Mercy is a thumbs up. There is a dark roast available too for more roast. Very nice, more floral flavor.
- My Green Tea has a delicious Kuki-hojicha mix.

Seconding Wuyi—it puts the “Ooooh” in oolong.

This is perfect! I can’t wait to try them!

I just ordered a bunch of samples of these from upton so I can try out some flavors before I spend too much money at the fancier places :-)

Thanks!

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Anyanka said

I’d consider this one ‘roasty’- even toasty, but it isn’t very complex, if that’s what you prefer.

http://steepster.com/teas/upton-tea-imports/35888-kamakhya-estate-gbop-spl-ta35

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david said

Da Hong Pao is delicious. My favorite tea.
My second favorite traditional is our Yunnan King. Bombastic.

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I’ve tried a variety of oolongs and I like them, but I definitely prefer black teas. I’m back to searching for more roasty chocolatey teas similar to Laoshan Black or just roasty black with other flavors. I’m bummed as the newest harvest of LB (while still tasty) isn’t as roasty chocolaty as previous batches. Anybody had any good roasty black teas lately?

Uniquity said

Oh no! I am placing nm order next week for more Laoshan black. I know some people were a bit disappointed with last fall’s LB but I hoped the Spring batch was powerful. As to good black teas I am always a fan of Teavivre. I love their black dragon pearls, golden monkey, yun nan dian hong and bailin gongfu.

Which Laoshan Black is it that you recommend?

The first order I placed was in march of this year, so whatever the batch prior to the most recent was. That one blew my mind! I’m sure it’s like wine and every harvest/year will have its own attributes. But that one I really loved.

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Have you ever tried mugicha? SUPER roasty AND caffeine free! :)

http://www.denstea.com/cold-brew-iced-teas-mugicha-iced-barley-tea-bags-450-c-139_429.html

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