Black Dragon Pearls

Scent:
-Before Steeping: Very earthy, typical black tea scents, with an undertone of cocoa.
-While Steeping: Very mellow. The scent of cocoa is a little stronger, but not much. Not much other scents really, but that might just be because of the temperature.
-After Steeping: A nice, malty, black tea scent. I can no longer smell the cocoa either.

Flavor:
Still hot. Very hot, burnt my tongue trying it. It tastes bitter, and that’s all I can really say for the first taste. After it cools down a little I’ll probably be able to taste more. Then I will taste after I add sugar, and then milk.

After cooling down a little, it’s still bitter, but there is another taste there, that I just can’t place. Almost cocoa, but not quite.

After adding a little sugar (don’t ask how much); the cocoa flavor stands out quite a bit more, the sugar brings out the sweetness in it. The bitterness is pretty much gone completely, leaving behinds faint earthy and cinnamon tones, with a flavor that tastes how molasses smells.

Adding a shot of milk (literally a shot); the milk adds a creamy texture that goes so well with the sugar that it’s not even funny. Intense chocolate tones mixed with the rich, creamy flavors, mixing in well with the traditional black tea undertones. It’s glorious! It’s sweet and rich and yummy, the faint cinnamon tones blends with the cream and sweetness, the molasses taste rich and gooey-like, rich honey-like flavors; the sweetness just overwhelms engulfing the mouth in an avalanche of candy-like goodness. Oh god, I like this tea. I love this tea- with sugar and milk it fits my tastes so perfectly it’s not even funny.

Ridiculously convenient, smells like trees straight out of a forest, and tastes marvelous.

Simple as that.

Fabulous tea. Great smokiness.

Love the flavor and watching the balls open slowly adds extra points to this tea.

Definitely has slight hints of cocoa. I use about 3 pearls to 6oz boiling water for 3 minutes… 4 pearls for 8oz or for 6 if I’m in the mood for something stronger than usual. VERY good tea. I asked for more for Christmas in 2010 and despite having a large variety of teas, have already gone through one of the 4oz bags… Mostly at work. Note: Can be brewed in a gaiwan if you drink it within reason; does not turn bitter as quickly as some and can be rebrewed at least once or twice before it begins to get wimpy. I’ve also had luck brewing as I heat the water, in a microwave for 2 minutes on high using adagio’s ingenuiTEA, 4 pearls, and 8oz of water all at once. (You can also add the tea after heating the water, but whatever… I got lazy a few times.)

I’ve had this tea twice now and each time I steeped the “balls” twice. I love this tea. In my opinion, its a good quality black tea that adds a hint of something, maybe the cocoa? All I know is when I finish this sample I will definately be buying a larger quantity of it and am sharing it with some friends. To see if they feel the same way about the tea as I do.

Malty and chocolatey with decent body and an earthy character. Very smooth.

This tea is delicious, especially with milk/sugar. It has a sort of almost-but-not-quite cocoa taste to it.

It’s certainly entertaining. But the taste is nothing special.

This tea is a wonderful black tea that is smooth with chocolate notes. I use 3 pearls per pot and that does well.

I found this to be a very smooth black tea, that you could brew for a long period of time without adding bitter notes, and it is also good for at least 2 or 3 brewing sessions.

Meh. Not too impressed. Not much flavor, really.

This is my second cup of this tea. First time, I used 4 balls. This time, I went with 5. The flavor is definitely better, more intense with 5, but it doesn’t seem remarkably complex. Maybe my slightly-congested nose is masking some subtle notes, though.

Steeped 6 minutes at 212°F. Prepared in Adagio IngenuiTEA teapot.

I really enjoyed this. Reminds me of a smooth, clean, earl grey, without any substantial after taste or scent. I used two pearls, but I think one would be plenty for my taste in weak tea. I also assumed I could steep this without a filter, but the pearls unfurled completely and I got a mouth full of leaves.

I love the complexity of this tea. There’s a wonderful earthy flavor with gorgeous dark chocolate undertones. Mmmm. A hint of milk and sugar and I’m in heaven.

Delicious! Benefits from re-steeping. One of my favs.

This has a very earthy flavor and I’m not sure if I can taste the cocoa.

Loved it! Earthy, with a hint of chocolate taste at the end. It was also fun to watch the pearls unfold (I used 4 for a good-sized mug of tea).

Not sure how I feel about this one, I think I made my cup a little too strong.

Tastes like a standard black tea. Good, but nothing spectacular.