31 Tasting Notes
I could have sworn this tea had been sweetened; it’s so sweet! Sipping this is like sipping honey. And, though I’m speaking out of order, the dry leaves smell like raisins. Actual raisins. I love this tea. I’ve gotten resteep after resteep of this tea and overstepped it a few times too, and every single cup has been enjoyable.
This said, this is my first Chinese black tea (shocking, I know) so I’m keeping my rating a little lower before I have another Yunnan to compare it to. But I really like this tea.
Flavors: Honey, Raisins, Stonefruit, Thick
Preparation
So I made this chai a little too concentrated and I had some extra coconut milk that I needed to finish. So, one plus one being two, I made a latte. Well, not a proper latte, but tea mixed with milk anyhow. So, to keep things short, it was amazing.
The aroma of the dry leaves smells like peppermint patties and chocolate mints, exactly like them. The aroma of the liquor carries the same sugary, mint candy qualities. It’s really conjuring Christmas memories for me, which is totally out of season but I digress.
On to the taste. First and foremost is mint. Though the mint is the strongest note, it’s good mint, and it’s balanced by the chocolatey flavor. I say chocolatey because I’m not tasting a very strong presence of chocolate, more of a smooth, warming hint of chocolate. Either way, it’s rather tasty.
This said, I’m not tasting tea at all. In this case, I don’t mind because it tastes very good, but it is something to consider.
Flavors: Chocolate, Peppermint, Sweet
Very good tea! It has a mouthfeel that is almost juicy, like a fresh nectarine. The aroma is part peach orchard and part coniferous forests. The taste is similar to the aroma, but a little bit more on the fresh, woodsy pine forest side, though the peach element is still very present. Anyways, great tea!
Flavors: Fruity, Peach, Pine
I’m mostly unmoved by this tea. For bagged tea, it’s perfectly pleasant. However, I don’t get much jasmine; it just tastes like a vaguely floral green. This is preferable to an overdone, bitter, perfumey jasmine, though, I guess. Also, this tea feels very dry on my mouth, but I don’t get bitter astringency from this tea. Overall, adequate.
Flavors: Floral