Black Needles

Tea type
Black Tea
Ingredients
Not available
Flavors
Not available
Sold in
Not available
Caffeine
Not available
Certification
Not available
Edit tea info Last updated by bree
Average preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 4 min, 30 sec

From Our Community

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5 Want it Want it

11 Own it Own it

13 Tasting Notes View all

  • “Yum yum yum yum.. I don’t know how any flavoured tea can compete with this. I mean, seriously? Ok, to be fair, this type of tea apparently uses lychee, rose and longan (Wikipedia: Dian hong tea) in...” Read full tasting note
    100
  • “Smell: Before and after brewing, it smells like a standard black tea, maybe a bit “woodsy” Flavor: Nothing strange here, just a pleasant, very smooth and kind of earthy black tea. I could easily...” Read full tasting note
    80
  • “I was surprised at the flatness of the batch of Black Needles I got. Flat taste, I mean. I got some of the pepper but only a teasing hint of musk, and then a stale-wininess. Has a sharp scent,...” Read full tasting note
    70
  • “Two weeks ago I got another 100g of this tea and this batch tastes even better than the first one!!! Unfortunately, when this batch is gone, it’s gone for good. Like their Himalayan Traveler’s...” Read full tasting note
    97

From DAVIDsTEA

Discontinued

Stay sharp
These tippy, golden-black leaves from China’s Yunnan province are a real treat. They’re grown on land mostly dedicated to pu’erhs, and are particularly hard to come by. We spent months tracking them down. You’ll understand why when you take a sip: the sweetness is irresistible, with mild astringency and deep, earthy notes of honey. Can you taste that this pan-fired tea is almost 100% hand produced?

About DAVIDsTEA View company

DavidsTea is a Canadian specialty tea and tea accessory retailer based in Montreal, Quebec. It is the largest Canadian-based specialty tea boutique in the country, with its first store having opened in 2008.

13 Tasting Notes

100
85 tasting notes

Yum yum yum yum.. I don’t know how any flavoured tea can compete with this. I mean, seriously? Ok, to be fair, this type of tea apparently uses lychee, rose and longan (Wikipedia: Dian hong tea) in the “fermentation” (oxidation) process, so it could be vaguely classified as a flavoured tea, but its creation is so masterful and the way it stands up to so many infusions gets me rambling on and on about its wondrous ways………

I sometimes have a hard time throwing out these leaves, they’re so beautiful. Do you ever play with tea leaves?

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 4 min, 0 sec
politicalmachine

you know, after reading your nonstop praise about this tea I think I might just pick up a sample of this one next time!

Wayne

You won’t regret it, trust me! :)

Wayne

But you may have a hard time finding it since it has been discontinued – do what I did and contact the company, see if they can send some to your local store.

politicalmachine

Wayne, i got a solution for you! Yunnansourcing.com (http://www.yunnansourcing.com/store/category.php?id_category=5) has plenty of this stuff but fresh from the source at a great, shipping might take awhile but it would probably be worth it.

politicalmachine

or if you feel like staying local, (http://camellia-sinensis.com/tea/teas/)
I actually just picked up some of their Nilgiri Parkside, wanna have a few more go’s at it before i put up a tasting note on here!

Wayne

Hey you’re right political thx for helping me think outside the DT box :) I haven’t ordered tea online before but it’s worth a shot

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80
326 tasting notes

Smell: Before and after brewing, it smells like a standard black tea, maybe a bit “woodsy”

Flavor: Nothing strange here, just a pleasant, very smooth and kind of earthy black tea. I could easily drink this all day, multiple days throughout the week. To me, the best characteristic is how smooth it is.

Reminds me of: Other black teas I’ve tried, except much more soothing.

Aftertaste: No bitterness, just a hint of the initial flavor

Memorability: Very

Steeps: 2 (both were flavorful, resteep was 5 mins)

Would I buy this again?: Yes. I’ve actually refilled this 3 times so far, and will continue to do so.

Other notes: Out of all of the plain black tea that DavidsTea carries (excluding Lapsang Souchong), this is without a doubt my favorite.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 30 sec

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70
652 tasting notes

I was surprised at the flatness of the batch of Black Needles I got. Flat taste, I mean. I got some of the pepper but only a teasing hint of musk, and then a stale-wininess. Has a sharp scent, almost of sweat. If this had been my first ever black needle Yunnan, I might have liked it better, but my local teashop and Stash Teas both supply better versions.

A decent tea, but not an excellent black needle Yunnan.

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 0 sec

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97
26 tasting notes

Two weeks ago I got another 100g of this tea and this batch tastes even better than the first one!!! Unfortunately, when this batch is gone, it’s gone for good. Like their Himalayan Traveler’s tea, it’s no longer available on their site but thankfully they now carry another wonderful black tea: Nepal Black

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 5 min, 0 sec

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100
3 tasting notes

What’s the worst day of your life?….this tea is the complete opposite of that. This gorgeous deceitfully mellow black tea is so smooth. It is earthy but just barely it blends in so smoothly with a slight hint of honey along with the richness of black tea. Do not over steep this sucker you’ll lose those lovely notes of honey. Sadly discontinued Black Needles is the best addiction involving needles you will ever have.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 5 min, 0 sec

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88
138 tasting notes

Just bought this tea from DavidsTea. I had a hard time deciding which straight black tea I wanted. I usually like dark musky black teas that can stand with a little milk and sugar. I even did a little taste test with my favorite black tea. Copper Knot from Teavana. I brewed both for 3 minutes, same amount of water and same temp. The Black needles had a sweet smell, and very light color like scotch. It had a smooth honey taste, no astringency from it .

I have been drinking it without milk or sugar, its that smooth. love it

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 3 min, 0 sec

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80
8 tasting notes

I love the sweet, smooth taste of this black tea and prefer it to the Wild Black Yunnan tea that is also available at David’s Tea. This has a very clear, honeyed flavour that makes it very pleasant to drink.

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