Black Dragon Pearl

Tea type
Black Tea
Ingredients
Not available
Flavors
Chocolate, Malt, Cocoa, Molasses, Honey, Smooth, Cacao, Earth, Scotch, Cedar
Sold in
Loose Leaf
Caffeine
High
Certification
Not available
Edit tea info Last updated by nerditea
Average preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 4 min, 0 sec 4 g 13 oz / 393 ml

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116 Tasting Notes View all

  • “Oh look, black dragon pearl is finally back at Teavana!! Of course, I have to add it back into my collection, as theirs was the first black pearl I ever had, and loved. After yesterday’s gig, I...” Read full tasting note
  • “So I tested the guy helping me out at Teavana yesterday as I asked for this tea. I asked about the flavor of this tea waiting to see if he’d mention the chocolate and malty notes…no he told me...” Read full tasting note
    95
  • “SIPDOWN! and backlog – another from yesterday. This one was not only packed in a travel mug for the drive home but i also shared a few of the steeps and re-steeps with my parents before i left. ...” Read full tasting note
    83
  • “Asked for tea for Christmas; my mother and her posse happened to walk into a Teavana store in Chicago (Lady’s “Lets Go Shopping” roadtrip). After a hour’s guided tour through the intracies of tea...” Read full tasting note
    85

From Teavana

This fragrant and rare hand-rolled tippy black tea from the Yunnan province unfurls to release a smooth-bodied taste with sweet, chocolaty, and malty undertones. Good for multiple infusions. This is a perfect morning and afternoon tea.

How to Prepare

Use 1 teaspoon of tea per 8 ounces of water. Heat water to just before boiling (195 degrees) and steep for 3-4 minutes. 2oz of tea equals 25-30 teaspoons.

Ingredients:

Hand-rolled, pure black tea.

About Teavana View company

Company description not available.

116 Tasting Notes

89
576 tasting notes

I love the subtle cocoa aroma of this tea. Black Dragon Pearl brews up strong but can be re-steeped (re-stept?) if needed. A pinch of sugar or Splenda, in my case, finishes this full-bodied flavor.

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 3 min, 0 sec

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75
80 tasting notes

Very nice black tea – slightly malty and chocolaty. Reminds me a bit of Golden Monkey. Used 5 pearls in a 12 oz. cup and 2 steeps at about 3 1/2 and 5 minutes, water just off boiling.

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 4 min, 0 sec

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75
24 tasting notes

Drank this tea for the morning cuppa and overbrewed it. Bitter.

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100
62 tasting notes

Drank this twice today. Glad it picked me up.

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72
19 tasting notes

As this tea is only harvested in Yunnan Province in the Spring (late march/April), the tea I purchased at Teavana was likely 2015 harvest, and therefore about a year old.

This tea is a strong yet very smooth tea that takes some time to brew as it is rolled into little balls. Eastern-style brew methods should splash (or perform a rinse) with a bit of hot water and allow the balls a minute or two before first steep. Western-style brewing will take 3-5 minutes. This tea worked very well ‘grandma-brewed’ – leaves left to sit in tea pot all evening/night – the next day the tea was still smooth and tasty.

Teavana claims 30 leaves to a ball. As these balls are the size of large peas, I doubt that.

It may be true in other brands of Black Pearl, where the balls are much larger (quarter-sized, one ball per cup) and the leaves are rolled and tied.

This version of black pearl is just ok on it’s own. It is definitely not the best black pearl I’ve had.

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 3 min, 30 sec

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95
136 tasting notes

I think I hit the target on this tea this time. I used 8 pearls for 16 oz the first time. This time, I went with 15. Apparently this is a lot more than most people use, but it gives me the strength and malty flavor that I love, and it’s still very smooth. I decreased my steeping time from 10 minutes to 5 minutes, immediately after boiling. I’m definitely going up to 95 for my score on this one. Overall, regardless of the tea, it seems that I always use a lot more tea leaves than recommended…is this common for anyone else?

boychik

I use a lot of leaf but I gongfu only. If I make western my ratio is 3 g /8oz. I always weight my tea, some leaves are long and fluffy, some tiny, eliminates guessing and works 98% successful brew

Mike

Awesome, thanks! I’ll get a scale and aim for that ratio. This particular tea is very light when the pearls unfurl!

boychik

When I gongfu I use 6 g /100ml for red(black tea) rinse and short steeps 5/10/15. I don’t time it’s approximate. You should give it a try. It’s fun. You can combine steeps in one big mug if you want or don’t have time. But I really like to the changes from steep to steep

Mike

Cool, I’ll have to try it! It is really fun to manipulate steeps to get the qualities you like most out of a tea. I spent more money on this tea at Teavana than I had planned on Monday, so I’m glad I was able to get a nice cup with a simple adjustment. :)

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82
1758 tasting notes

This tea is fairly tasty and fairly malty with notes of chocolate. It is one of the more chocolaty teas I have encountered.

I brewed this once in a 16oz Teavana Glass Perfect Tea Maker/Gravity Steeper with 3 tsp leaf and 200 degree water for 2 min.

Flavors: Chocolate, Malt

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 2 min, 0 sec 3 tsp 16 OZ / 473 ML

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90
26 tasting notes

i was really excited about this tea when i bought it, and i couldnt wait to get home and try it. i have yet to brew a perfect cup of this, but it is getting better and better :)

the best cup so far has been from a 4 oz gaiwan (my only brewing vessel) and about 2 tsp of pearls, about 8 loose pearls. after a quick rinse, i use 195 degree water, and infuse for about a minute, adding 15 seconds at the third infusion.

tasting this is pure heaven :) it has a nice, full flavor, without being too “in your face” about it. it is lightly sweet, and has a nice taste of cocoa with a slight hint of molasses.

this tea changes its taste quite quickly with minor changes to how you brew it, so i highly suggest playing around with it quite a bit to see just how you like it :)

Flavors: Cocoa, Molasses

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 1 min, 0 sec 2 tsp 4 OZ / 118 ML

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65
19 tasting notes

I bought this tea about a year ago on the recommendation of the salesperson at the Teavanna location I purchased it at. It was kind of a disappointment to me. Part of the reason for that is that it took me a while to figure out the best way to brew the tea. It really does best when it’s brewed in a teapot or a single cup infuser where the leaves are allowed to fully unfurl. Also, I prefer my teas brewed strong and this tea was rather weak for my taste. I found that I have to use small amounts of water, no more than 8 or 9 oz, to get a decent flavor. As I like to drink mugfulls (sp?) of tea, that’s a rather small cup and not satisfying. Still, it’s a good tea but not one I’ll be restocking my cupboard with.

Flavors: Honey, Malt, Smooth

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 0 sec 2 tsp 9 OZ / 266 ML

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82
18 tasting notes

Great stuff. Lots of caffeine, holds up well for multiple steeping, cool little balls, smooth and sweet. I’ll be buying more black dragon pearls when I run out.

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 0 sec 3 tsp 16 OZ / 473 ML

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