Dawn

This tea courtesy of Doulton!

I am very excited because I’ve been wanting to try this tea ever since I read about it. The leaves are absolutely GORGEOUS! Long, dark and handsome! It’s so hard to believe they are not blended with chocolate!!

This tea is ridiculous, and I mean that in the most highly complimentary way possible! It’s deliciously tea-ish and a chocolatey roasty flavor. Not hot chocolate, not coffee, not chicory although all these things come to mind. It’s something all it’s own and simply sublime!!! I want to wander the streets and go up to random strangers and say “Taste this tea! It is simply pure camellia sinensis, but have you EVER tasted anything like it!?!?!?!?”

!!!!

Now that it is cooling a bit I am tasting a caramel note joining in with the tea/chocolate/coffee/chicory. Wow. This is one of the highlights of my tea tasting experiences thus far!!!! THANK YOU DOULTON!!!!!

EDIT: Great resteep! 6 minutes, more roasty chicory chocolate. Lighter but so delicious. Better than many teas first steep! but steep #1 is the best one.

Lovely, lovely Carolyn sent me some of this to try and I can see right off the bat why she likes it. It is a really delicious tea. The aroma is heavy and rich. The flavor profile evokes things that would make most dessert lovers drool – cocoa, caramel, honey.

It is smooth, and the flavors blend seamlessly. It is a tea that benefitted for me from sticking to the tip of the tongue and the back of the mouth, where the sweeter flavors came out to play. Sucking in air over it intensified the sweetness, but inhaling through my nose with a closed mouth evoked a kind of honeyed perfume taste that was extremely pleasant.

Dawn is a decadent tea, and yet it doesn’t leave you with a weighty feeling. Some teas are so luxurious that I feel like I should be in a food coma afterwards [tea coma?]. This certainly has that heavy, silky feeling in the mouth that I love, but something about the finish doesn’t feel heavy. The aftertaste is nice and light.

When I first saw the name of this tea, I didn’t really “get” it. I mean, it was a pretty name and all, but it seemed abstract to me. Now, I completely get it. From the dark leaves to the light amber liquid, to the heavy flavors lifting into airy sweetness. I don’t think I’ve ever had a tea that was a metaphor before [though the fact that I can find one in this may partially be because I have a tendency to overanalyze things]. However, it makes complete sense to me, as someone who has already seen more than a few sunrises in her quarter of a century already.

It reminds me distinctly of one of my last days before winter break at UVA, when a bunch of us trekked up a big hill to the nearby-ish observatory around midnight. We had no real agenda other than spending some time with each other before the semester ended and we all went to our respective corners of the country. Boys tackling one another and girls huddling in the chill. Climbing trees and drinking beer out of a pony-necked bottle. Telling stories and laughing, and waiting for the sun to rise together. We grew quieter as morning approached and eventually settled down in a section where the trees cleared enough to see part of the campus. All you could here was us breathing, and our breath streaked the air around us. The darkness began to lighten as the sun started to warm the horizon as the blushing, yellowed, amber tones bled across the sky. The almost heavy feeling in the atmosphere that seemed to settle in as the typical waking hour approached started to lift, and within a span of time that seemed to pass far too quickly we’d witnessed a natural phenomenon. It’s an act that’s occurred more times than I can count, practiced and perfected over the eons, but I hope that it never gets old.

For a tea to mimic such a simple, beautiful thing that is strongly tied into the memories of so many people is pretty powerful, and I can see why this would be a true delight to wake up with. So I must say thank you to Carolyn, and make sure that I order some more of this. And soon.

I am tasting this tea thanks to the amazing JacquelineM who miraculously produced a sample of this long unavailable tea. When I first joined Steepster, this tea was all the rage. I put it on my wish list, but the company that sold it – sob! – closed before I could buy any. I think losing the opportunity to try this legendary tea bothered me more than any other that “got away.”

And here I am with a generous sample. She could have sold this on the black market to some tea head for lots of money, but instead she sent it to ME! And I saved it for my birthday, which is today! This is my evening cuppa, a treat for myself in the quiet now that the day is winding down.

This is beautiful, beautiful leaf. Dark, long, twisted leaf that is highly aromatic, especially when you scent your cup first. (Thank you, Garret, at Mandala Tea for teaching us to do that. It adds so much to the experience. Pour your hot water in your empty pot, let it warm a moment, then pour out the water and add the leaf. Put the lid on for a moment. Now, lift the lid and take a long, deep sniff of the pot and leaves. Once you have experienced the aromas, add your hot water and steep.)

This is an extremely complicated tea. I am so glad I tried the hojicha first because my thoughts went something like this: Cocoa! Rough cocoa! Roasted cocoa! Roasted….something….coffee, caramel, smoke like hojicha, and…was that a hint of cinnamon? Chicory, yes, it is there also.

No wonder everyone loved it. Thank you so much, JacquelineM, for blessing my birthday with “the one that got away.”

On another note, when I looked up the plantation on google I saw an article that said a tea garden manager of that area was abducted in fall of 2012 and held in the jungle by some group – I forget now exactly who – but had been rescued. Oh my! Glad to read that he was rescued.

Weird. Yesterday I wasn’t really tired as such, I just couldn’t be bothered. Today, I had an hour over time, I’m really really tired, I’ve found a bagel-place where I can get Dr Pepper (!!! (It’s not impossible that I’ve seen that before and forgotten it, actually)) and I haven’t opened it yet. It’s just standing there looking inviting and yummy.

And what I really want is tea. More specifically, the Dawn from JacquelineM. I don’t know, maybe I had to sort of… prepare myself mentally for it. Whatever it was, I knew for absolute certain that I was going to try it now.

I’ve been really looking forward to this one because all the posts I’ve read about it have reminded me of the beloved Tan Yang from TeaSpring. You know… the one they don’t have anymore! And that was one awesome tea. Seriously.

The leaves look really big and long and to my surprise they smell of chocolate. Not cocoa as I had expected, but real chocolate, all sweet and milky, as if the bag I got the sample in used to contain sweets. After steeping it has this funny sort of smell that I know what is, I just don’t know what it is. But I know I know the smell. It’s sort of like a dark oolong, with some chocolate notes and some fruity notes and something kinda malty. It’s… It’s…. I don’t know what exactly it is, but it is it.

Interesting flavour! It definitely reminds me of the Tan Yang with the initial fruityness and then some cocoa-y chocolate and a touch of… is that smoke??? IT IS!!! Just a touch, but it’s there. Just like in the Tan Yang. Seriously, if I didn’t know better, I would swear it was the same tea. This is really really REALLY good. I’ll savour the sample, and I’m looking forward to seeing if it’ll turn properly smoky on second steep.

I need to check this company out, their shipping policies in particular. If this is available to me, I must have it. (But later.)

Holy guacamole! I finally got to try this tea courtesy of JacquelineM. Thank you so very much!!!!!

I’m on my third steep (which tastes kind of like a waterier/chocolatier version of Adagio’s Golden Monkey), and had to do a quick peek at others’ notes on this tea. I knew it had great reviews, but I was curious about what others compared this tea to. I think others do a great job of giving full-out notes, so I’ll just add my highlighted impressions:

Yes, these leaves are insane! LOOOONG and a matte black. These might be the coolest leaves that I have yet to see.

I am completely flabbergasted that there are not additives in this tea. I think I want to call this a “black oolong.” Yes, I know that that’s impossible, but what I mean to say is that like an oolong it has a clearly veggie-base that’s not my favorite, but then the magic is what happens all around that base. I could grow to love this tea like I love oolongs. And that’s saying a lot. The only thing holding me back from a higher grade is the chocolate — which here is lovely, but I wouldn’t care to have it too often because of that particular taste in this tea.

I regret not having my first steep at boiling (subsequent ones have been so). My initial response was “Green beans? Yes, green beans.” I wonder how much of that had to do with the lower temp. It was like malty green beans. And there was what another reviewer mentioned: the hint of hash. But then the lightest milk chocolatey notes started to play with my tastebuds as an aftertaste. It was unbelievable. And suddenly, there were about four sips-worth of “MALTED MILKBALLS!” as the green bean taste subsided.

This truly is a remarkable tea. This tea reminds me how amazing tea is and how much I love it. TG

I’ve been wanting to try this tea for ages because of the Steepsterite raving. Thanks to Doulton, I finally get my chance!

Visually, the leaves are so long and twisty – they remind me of when worked at a tobacco company and one day opened up the break room freezer only to find 8 gallon-sized plastic bags stuffed with dried tobacco leaves. Those leaves smelled nice but these smell better – cocoa-y, but unlike some cocoa-smelling teas there’s no dryness to it, making it smell richer. But once the tea was in my cup? Oh, that’s lovely. Chocolaty and insanely sweet – like honey or syrup or sugar – and then a little touch of something that makes me think of maybe honeysuckle but that I wouldn’t go so far as to say is floral. So not really sure what that bit is about but it all combines to make something lovely.

With as light and sweet and fluffy as the tea smells, it is surprisingly solid tasting. It’s very smooth with only the barest hint of astringency/dryness at the end. It tastes a lot like a good Tanyang Gongfu actually, but instead of the sweetness being figgy (well, figgy to me… I think technically it supposed to be plum), this one is more of a lighter-than-clover-honey taste. There are strong cocoa notes, especially as it cools and particularly in the aftertaste. There’s also a hint of something that is sharper, something that I can really only identify when I slurp and then it reminds me of burnt sugar or a marshmallow that got a little singed while being roasted over a campfire.

I can see why it has such a fan base – it has really full and yummy flavor that is quite enjoyable. But as good as this is, I think I prefer TeaSpring’s Tan Yang Te Ji (which is no longer on their site – what’s up with that?)
^3g/8oz

Oh wow.
Oh man.

Okay. So.

Wow.

I’ve found a new favorite tea. Dawn is a wonderful, full-bodied black tea. The dry leaves smell like cocoa, and when steeped, there is a hint of cocoa in the taste.

For such a simple tea, I’m having a hard time describing it.

The texture is so smooth and creamy. It is so simple and delicious. I highly recommend this to everyone, especially black tea lovers.

Wow.

I am seriously drowning in tea now. My orders from 52teas and The Simple Leaf both came in today, and now I’m starting to think that investing in a better tea storage solution is completely critical. This wouldn’t be such a disaster if I were capable of ordering just one or two samples, but I’m really not. My counter is a minefield of new tea.

Soooo, anyway!

What can I say about this tea that other people haven’t already said?

Opening the bag, you’re hit with the scent of cocoa powder — the light, fluffy, dusty kind. To me, the aroma was a lot like chocolate milk. Everyone to remark on the leaves themselves is utterly in earnest — they are incredible. Thick, woody, substantial, smooth. They are tea leaves that you could kill a man with. They have heft.

They are also very difficult to estimate by eye, reinforcing for me that a scale is something I’m overdue to invest in.

Steeped, while still very hot the aroma slips occasionally toward something distinctly honey. Honey and cocoa are definitely there…and so is a woody depth that reminds me not just a little bit of Golden Moon’s Imperial Formosa Oolong. You never lose sight of the fact that this is tea, either; what I think of as the quintessential tea flavor is there, but darker, shadowed.

The other note I can identify is one I’ve gone back and forth about adding here for reasons that will become obvious, but it’s just so prevalent that I can’t really see any way to get around it:

Cannabis.

Not fresh. More like…hash. Why yes, I did spend a few years in my youth doing things you’re not technically allowed by our country to do!

Seriously, though, it’s there. In small quantities, and more like the memory of something than the fact of it, but recurrent enough that this note would be incomplete without its mention.

For all that the list of flavors is dark…the tea itself is surprisingly not so, with a very low and subtle sweetness on the tail end that uplifts the oolong-like fullness in the mouth.

A delicious tea, and completey worthy of whatever ranting and raving people have been doing.

PS: Good for a second steep.

So I’ve been sitting on this one for almost a year thanks to Tamm. I’ve tried some here and there and well…it’s one of those teas that you don’t want advertise that it’s in your cabinet. I also have realized that after being a steepsterite for two years now and that The Simple Leaf ceased to be before I became an avid tea drinker. To my dismay, but I’m also realizing the freshness window might be waning. I’ve been making cups here and there just saving it for special time or when I just really want a good tea(like the Imperial Pu-Erh I keep on hand). Today I felt like I needed a pick me up. It’s been really crazy at work. Which happens every year at this time because we are a station that goes all Christmas music for a month. Oddly enough we are one of three radio stations that goes all Christmas music every year. How Cleveland became a Christmas music battleground…I don’t know. It also means it takes me longer to get music logs done as the music director because I have to look over the logs more with a fine tooth comb. Besides that this is time of the year that things get tight financially in our house(which also means drink what ya got because not too many new purchases are going to be made). This year more so than others since my wife is working part-time instead of full, and there aren’t nearly as many wedding gigs as there are during the summer. The wee man has been battling his first cold the less sleep he gets the less sleep mommy and I get. This seemed like a good idea this morning to make a full pot. So I pulled out the pouch and breathed in the goodness. I breathed in an aroma of cocoa that was just outstanding. I could feel an endorphin rush that brought a smile to my face. I have seen this one compared to a black oolong, beans, raisins, chocolaty. Yes it’s all the above. Like Assam and his cousin Ceylon were hanging out a swanky jazz club. Listening to the band do their best rendition of Brubeck’s-Take 5 and throwing back Scotch on the rocks(Macallan not Glenfiddich). So what I needed today. Normally I’ll make a cup of Mate, Pu-Erh, and Coffee in the morning. Today only the coffee and Dawn. I don’t know if there is too much to say but this is just an exceptional tea. After searching the internet high low for other places that carry tea from Arunachal Pradesh sadly there is only one. It is very much like an Assam Oolong. So good.

Quite simply excellent. I don’t know how many orthodox teas I actually manage to drink, but this shows its pure pedigree. As Ricky wrote, it is a “complicated” tea in the best sense—each sniff, each sip, offers up a brave new world of taste sensations.

I would call it highly refined, elegant, and pure. It is smooth and sweet. I thought I detected a bit of chestnut, although others have not mentioned that. I think that this will be another tea that must always be here and will always be reordered.

Just a quick blurb before dinner:

Oh my god, this is cocoa tea!! Everything about this tea is cocoa-ish—from the dry leaves, to the brewed aroma, to the taste! It’s like bittersweet, malty cocoa. Gosh, how many times can I say “cocoa” in this note? But that’s the best thing I can compare this to. It’s smooth, slightly smoky cocoa. Please get this if cocoa (or chocolate) is your love!

This came in the mail yesterday. (Well, I bought it and it was delivered to me.) I tried a cup this afternoon, and it was very enjoyable. It’s a complicated kind of tea. Not flavored, but lots of flavors are there. Sort of a miracle of nature. There are caramel notes and a little cocoa flavor lingering in the wings. It’s interesting, and I think most tea drinkers would enjoy trying it.

I’m going to try this one iced very soon. I live in Florida. It’s March. That means our summer will be starting soon.

I received a sample of this in a swap with Meghann – thanks Meghann! It’s one I’ve been wanting to try for a long time, so it’s very exciting to be able to get my hands on some.

The dry leaves are big and luxurious, and remind me of Samovar’s Hawaii-grown black. The smell is heavy on the malt/bread/yeast side, and immediately brings to mind cookies, rolls, and other fresh baked goods.

It looks like it can take a long steep well – I gave it six minutes and ended up with a medium-dark brown liquor full of roasty aroma. The taste is heavenly; it’s like liquid Grandma’s house, full of warm ovens holding sweet surprises. It follows through on the yeasty/bready promise of the scent and is crying out for me to drink this with something sweet and starchy. I’ll have to try that next time, and see how it works with cream and sugar too. Yum to the nth degree!

Hey Steepster! Sorry I haven’t been around much lately. I went on vacation for a week, then we decided we wanted to upgrade homes (we have a very small little house, and we’re trying to get a larger one). If any of you have ever sold a home, you’ll know, it’s a LOT of work to get it ready to put it on the market. So I’ve been running around like chicken with my head cut off. The house goes on the market on the 9th. Cross your fingers for me.

Anyway, here’s a review I wrote a while ago for www.itsallabouttheleaf.com – one of everyone’s favorite teas.

These are some of the most beautiful leaves I’ve ever seen with a black tea. Usually black teas are all short pieces, small and fairly boring looking. This tea has long, twisty leaves with the occasional silver highlight. And the aroma.. oh it will take your breath away. Sweet, malty, and exotic with hints of dark chocolate.

These elements come across in the flavor as well. For an unflavored tea, its got a lot going on. And, it has a lot going on while being one of the lightest black teas I’ve ever had. There’s hints of malt, the chocolate, and some other dark flavors that all blend together and in the melding end up quite light, almost refreshing.

This is a must-try tea – even for those who are unmoved by black teas. This may be your gateway drug tea. (Come to the dark side – we have cream and sugar!)

http://www.itsallabouttheleaf.com/808/tea-review-the-simple-leaf-dawn-3/

This is “Nature’s Miracle”. Hard to believe that a tea without any additional flavorings or additives (natural OR artifical) can conjure up the flavors of chocolate and coffee and maybe caramel…. This tea is bold but not bitter or astringent in any way..

Thanks to Doulton for this sample and I will soon be purchasing this one…I definitely agree w/the other Steepster-ites who have been raving and praising this one…..

Steep Information:
Amount: 1 tsp
Additives: none
Water: 6 oz filtered, boiling, 190°
Tool: Mesh basket strainer in cup
Steep Time: a little over 5 minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: not much
Steeped Tea Smell: vegetal
Flavor: buttery smooth, vegetal, then black tea, complex, a little sweet
Body: Full
Aftertaste: black tea, slightly astringent, perhaps a touch bitter
Liquor: Dark translucent brown

A generous gift from SoccerMom, since I was drooling over everyone’s posts.

The dry leaves are amazing, they are long thin rolls and just neat to look at.

The smell surprised me, I don’t associate vegetal with black tea.

Sadly I am not getting the chocolate, caramel or honey others were picking up.

I must echo takgoti that it is a rich tea, yet leaves you lightly. Some teas feel as though you have drank a thick shake, and although delicious fill you up. The flavors and scent are rich with Dawn, but leave you with room for more of the re-steeps.

This is not a flavored black, yet it is rich and complex and very enjoyable! quite a contrast to this morning’s PG tips.

Although I can’t jump on the ‘favorite tea’ bandwagon, I am extremely grateful to SoccerMom for letting me try some. I am enjoying my tea and it’s re-steeps and I think if I ever place an order from the simple leaf Dawn will be included. Right now I am not going to rush and place an order just for Dawn.

Post-Steep Additives: none

Resteep: 5 min, much the same as the first, very impressive re-steep really. One leaf fully unfurled, hopefully you can see it in the picture.

MilitiaJim took a sip and made an awful face and declared it tasted like mud.

I decided everyone else found chocolate, and I was defective and had a glass with some chocolate cake. Still no chocolate found.

images: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/04/simple-leaf-loose-leaf-black-tea-dawn.html

My order from The Simple Leaf arrived today and I’m so excited to try this tea! I’ve been reading some really fantastic reviews about this tea on Steepster, so my expectations are high.

The aroma is amazing. I can smell the hint of cocoa, and there is a deep earthy undertone to it as well… almost smoky, but not quite. I think I’d describe it as a roasted characteristic – kind of like roasted cacao beans.

The flavor is remarkable. Very smooth. Honey-like sweetness with an appealing cocoa note. Lovely, complex, and absolutely delightfully delicious.

I thank each and every one who had reviewed this tea previously – it was your reviews that inspired me to try it, and I’m so very glad that I have.

What an odd black tea.

Here’s my immediate tasting note…all taking place in my head:

“Oooh, this smells sweet like baking chocolate or dark coco powder…and sort of barnyard-y. sips Hmm? Interesting. This is black tea, right? Umm, I did not put honey in this. Why does it taste like I put honey in it? What the heck? Chocolate honey?!?”

The taste of honey creeps in until it is oh so sweet. The chocolate note lingers slightly bitter but pleasant in the aftertaste. I taste a light smoky taste that is apparent in some sips and not in others. This tea is complex and confusing. I must drink more in attempt to figure it out. What a terrible, terrible thing. :)

Thanks for another fascinating sample, Doulton.

Was able to carve out a very few brief moments to enjoy this at my parents’ farm yesterday before a day full of packing, power washing, and insurance headaches. I think I may be getting my chops back - could really enjoy the dark, cocoa essence that I’ve been reading about.

In case you need to know, it is impossible to put one’s life completely back together from scratch in three weeks working 14-16 hour days. Therefore, since it’s a lost cause anyway, I am going to resolve to carve out a little time to restore with a cuppa and a good book (right now, I’m hanging on to my Good Book for dear life) every day. Life can wait.

Thanks again, Doulton, for providing this lovely respite-in-a-pouch.

Thank you Kristin for sending this tea my way.

I love the size and shape of the large black tea leaves. They remind me that I really need (want) to get a tea scale/food scale so I can weigh my teas out. These were hard leaves to measure by the teaspoon. I just used a few pinches of tea. Dawn’s dry leaves smell like a decadent dark chocolate. Like those Lindt 80% cacao bars right after peeling away the tinfoil. Wow!

The wet leaves turn a little sweeter, a honey sweetness to the dark chocolate. This tea wasn’t as pungent looking or smelling as I was afraid of. It is a nice, sweet, slightly earthy tea. I do smell something earthy (not quite the manure Kristin mentioned) but their is something there that I can’t quite place. But oddly enough I like it in this tea.

Mucho Gracias Kristin.