This is another older review of mine. I think it comes from either April or May of this year. At this point, I should also state that I always dread posting reviews of teas from Bihar because they are so hit or miss for me. As a matter of fact, the only Bihar tea I recall liking was a silver needle that also came from Doke Tea Garden. Naturally, I still need to review it. Anyway, this struck me as being kind of a typical Doke black tea in that it was earthy, woody, kind of vegetal, and somewhat reminiscent of an Assam black tea, only not nearly as satisfying. Honestly, this struck me as being a very mediocre black tea overall.
I prepared this tea in the Western style. I steeped approximately 3 grams of loose leaf material in about 8 ounces of 194 F water for 5 minutes. I did not rinse before steeping, and I did not attempt any additional infusions.
Prior to infusion, the dry leaf material emitted aromas of cedar, earth, and cured tobacco. After infusion, I picked up new aromas of grass, smoke, malt, plum, leather, wintergreen, and cooked spinach that were accompanied by much subtler scents of straw and cinnamon. In the mouth, the tea liquor presented notes of grass, malt, butter, smoke, earth, cooked green beans, spinach, seaweed, green wood, cedar, sweet potato, autumn leaves, wintergreen, leather, and cured tobacco. There was also something of a salty umami note reminiscent of vegetable broth, hints of plum and brown sugar, and an odd mix of lemon rind, allspice, black pepper, straw, and cinnamon notes left on the back of the throat after each swallow. Aside from the aforementioned tart citrus, straw, and spice impressions that marked the tail end of the finish of each sip of the tea liquor, each swallow was largely drying, tannic, bitter, and vegetal. This tea just refused to go out in a smooth, pleasant manner. It very quickly became a challenge to drink.
Overall, this tea was very much a mixed bag. It presented a rather unique mix of aroma and flavor components, and while many of them expressed themselves quite well, they didn’t really work together. I have had a similar issue with every other Doke black tea I have tried. And then considering the way each sip of this tea ended in a harsh and punishing manner, I just could not find a ton to like about it. I only purchased 25 grams of this tea, but I had to force myself to finish the pouch because it quickly became such a chore to drink. I doubt that I will be in any rush to try more Doke black teas in the near future. They just don’t do it for me.
Flavors: Astringent, Autumn Leaf Pile, Bitter, Black Pepper, Brown Sugar, Butter, Cedar, Cinnamon, Earth, Grass, Green Beans, Green Wood, Herbaceous, Leather, Lemon, Malt, Plum, Seaweed, Smoke, Spicy, Spinach, Straw, Sweet Potatoes, Tobacco, Umami
