Laoshan Black

Finding myself at a loss for words especially with the dried leaves it is like no tea I’ve ever smelled before, its deep and rich but also fresh, it smells of quality.  Brewed leaves are a bit more familiar, chocolaty.  The small wiry dried leaves unfurled into long dark luxurious leaves.  

The first sip is amazing so sweet and bold and smooth (in a cool way rather than buttery warmth) there is definitely cocoa notes, dark chocolate, with a hint of fig and warming up to a bit of butter, later comes the spice, the end note is a tiny bit dry but I’m going to attribute this partially to my throat and it is much better than teas that start off dry.  

So… sweet, rich, butter, spice, repeat at least for the first steep.  Would make a good morning tea as well as an excellent dessert tea.  Second steep is even more sweet if that is possible and has less spice.  This tea is so accessible, I would recommend it to everyone.  

I did try a third steep and while there was some sweetness left it was but a ghost of its former glory.  Perhaps I would have extended it to 5 mins, but even still I dot think it would have been a whole lot stronger.  Still I drank it all.  I am okay with it only producing two delicious western steeps, not all tea needs to last all day long and this one is certainly special enough while it lasts.  Of course would be interested with gongfu brewing. The first steep I did at 195 for 3 mins, second at 200ish for 4 mins and third at 212 for 4.5 mins.

Sample from a friend from Athens120 ml gaiwan, ~2gr tea, 93+C water, 45 sec infusion + 15 sec consquent

Dry leaves:
Appearance very small curly, mostly broken, very dark, maybe almost black. They do look that they got roasted to a very high degree. They do look like a green and I could assume that it’s the same leaves oxidized and roasted, but I might be wrong.

Aroma is roasted and malty, it’s almost like smelling chocolate malt(for brewing beer) but it has got a sweet quality, like dark dried fruits(if that makes any sense). I can’t say it reminds me of WuYi because it’s a bit to the sweeter side. I totally love the aroma and I can’t wait to smell it after steeping! Aroma is more to the roasted side than the oxidized side.

Color of brew: Dark amber, especially the first brews and if you brew a little longer, then deep orange and almost light orange the last brews. Amazing clarity but it’s easier for this style to have good clarity.

Gaiwan lid aroma: Amazing, especially the first brews, sweet, smooth, malty, dark candied caramel, overtones of chocolate. Amazing I won’t even smell the wet leaves.

Ok I smelled the wet leaves, they have an addition of smoke and light wood-ish :)

Wet leaves appearance: They don’t unfold much because of high roasting. Mostly broken (maybe because of my friend?), many buds and some leaves. Almost black.

Taste: Not very sweet, it’s got some smoke and wood to but ALL the fragrances come through amazing. Intense roasty, high roasted/baked bread crust, I won’t mention the aromas again…

Sweetish finish, beautiful aroma once again. Not much aftetaste and a very very light astringency, maybe from the roasting.
Medium bodied, light creamy texture and smooth though it’s very high roasted.

Amazing red tea mainly to the roasted side, but you can really see that Chinese people really know how to make Hung Cha. Respect to the roaster/tea master. I wish I could buy some but it’s very expensive for me. It really amazed me!

So this time I’ll try to rate a bit more technically, always by style:
Appearance: 15/20
Aroma: 18/20
Taste: 18/20
Body/Finish/Aftertaste/Qi: 17/20
Extra: 18/20
It could be lower because today I saw the cost of verdant teas but I guess I didn’t pay for it so… :)

Sooooo goooooood. Chocolately and malty and mmmm. I love black tea with malty notes to it and this is perfect.

When they say malty, chocolatey and smooth they aren’t kidding. I’m really loving this black tea. An interesting note, in the steeping notes they recommend steeping it 4 times. Normally, I haven’t heard much about resteeping black teas, but I followed directions. I can say that the 4th steep is lighter but still has good flavor.

I love love love this black tea! I usually don’t go for blacks other than an occasional Earl Grey, but this tea makes me want to try more blacks because this is my favorite sample from them so far.

I’m most likely going to re-order this or try their Golden Yunnan Fleece tea. We’ll see, but I’m loving the rich roastiness and smooth mouthfeel!
So complex and so delicious. Even my mom is a fan. Haha.

Last Words: Black tea skeptics beware, Laoshan Black will knock yer socks off! Great tea!

Chocolaty, Decadent, Deceivingly Sinful Laoshan Black has all the aspect of chocolate with none of the guilt of sagging waistlines save for the the guilt of running out of this stuff! A tea wonderfully composed of orange pekoe and buds that opens up with an aroma of cacao beans when brewed or luscious freshly baked brownies in dry leaf form. Brewing this finely textured curled leaves has the sensation of drinking hot chocolate in its purest form or eating baking chocolate too add a velvety touch at the end of the palate. The most memorable trait is its signature vegetal character akin that is most akin to traditional Chinese greens that gives this Black Tea, a reminder of the versatility of tea and nature. Enjoy this tea immensely dear tea lovers and do drink on!

Backlogging into another taste note this time around together with the cacao beans and intense milk chocolate like flavor that seems to caress ones palate is then followed by a youthful bean flavor much liken to green beans. Loving every sip of this tea!

I really have little to add to what has been said. This tea is excellent. Lots of chocolate brownie the first infusion, cinnamon with the second, and a creamy citrus with the third

1.5 tsp of leaves in 12 oz steeping mug.

The dry leaves have a strong malty smell and some smaller chocolate smell.

I made two steepings of these leaves.

1st: 205F, 4 min. The liquor is a clear, light brown-red. The aroma over the cup is like the dry leaves. The taste is surprisingly smooth, without astringency, with light to medium body for a black tea. There is a deep malty flavor and some soft bitter tastes. There is a tongue-tickling sweetness that I like, too. Some light astringency comes out with swishing this tea around my mouth with some air. I have no desire to add milk or sweetener.

After this cup, I went out to get the mail. As I was opening the mail box, I was hit by a strong, sweet aftertaste like after eating cookies.

2nd: 205F, 5 min. After tasting this company’s “First Picking Spring Laoshan Northern Green,” I expected some steamed edamame flavors from this tea. They appeared in this second steeping. All aromas and flavors noted above are here, but muted. However, this is definitely not just a cup of hot water. There is still no astringency, but I note a stronger bitter flavor. This cup is also quite smooth. The malty and chocolate flavors are smaller. A sweet flavor and a vegetal bean pod aroma are more noticeable. A sweet and beany aftertaste remained through a short walk to see the nice sunset after dinner.

This was THE tea that led that taught me there is more to tea than tea bags of earl grey. I absolutely LOVE this tea. Never knew that tea could be so simple yet complex. Each steeping is better than the last. It’s very refreshing iced as well.

Uh, sipdown. (No bold or exclamation marks, as I have lots more tea in my real cupboard than in my virtual one, so the virtue of a sipdown! is not mine!)

ANYway, this came from sil – thank you again, sil! Second time I’ve had it, and have to admit, this is a bit of a miss for me. Not a bad miss, but just a miss in comparison to the hit it is for a huge number of people here. The thing about it is that I got one overpowering aroma/taste/memory, and that is cocoa, as in the beverage, rather than the cooking ingredient, but more specifically, the kind of cup of cocoa that gets a skim of milk on top. Now, I haven’t had any kind of cocoa for a while, especially any made with milk (migraines and diary intolerance), and I have to doubt that that kind of a cup of cocoa smells any different from your ideal cup of cocoa, but that’s what my smell memory brought out. It’s slightly burnt-roasty, a little malty, and it’s not what I imagine when hearing a tea described as having chocolate notes. When it cooled, especially on later infusions, I got a bit milder taste, and maybe a raisin smell behind the cocoa one, but never got cinnamon or honey or caramel… Not unpleasant but not something I’d rush to buy either. Unless possibly this is the autumn/spring thing, in which case I’d try the spring.

I got this one as part of my verdant sampler set. I was really excited to try it because it had such fancy reviews everywhere.

I didn’t have brewing instructions with me, so I went with a 3min steep with boiled water. It smelled very smoky/woodsy. After I read that it was supposed to have a chocolate aroma too, I recognized that as part of the aroma that I was having trouble placing at first. The flavor was woodsy too, almost seemed sort of fruity, but not too much. I am not so good at recognizing flavors (yet). As it cooled to more comfortable drinking temperatures, I could definitely pick up more on the chocolate. I am still uncertain I am really noticing all the other flavor notes just yet, but I will get there.

I like this one quite a bit. It is a likely (but not definite) repurchase. I don’ think it is quite as exciting as everyone has made it out to be, but I haven’t tried enough variety of black tea to necessarily recognize what is particularly special with this one.

Laoshan Black has really grown on me — its a creeper that has slowly and quietly nudged its way into my heart and into my tummy, owing mostly to its bright and unique complexity paired with an overall comforting drinkability.

This tea offers a departure from many flavor profiles associated with traditional “black teas”. To me, Laoshan Black tastes closer to an oxidized “rock” oolong than it does an assam, keemun, ceylon etc. To my surprise, the initial few steeps brew an uncharacteristically bright yellow cup, which I find quite interesting as well. Flavor wise, there is a kind of malty/nutty/saltiness present that really sets this tea apart in my mind, its quite delicious.

Many people have commented on the chocolate taste this tea has. Now i’m a fairly staunch chocolate extremist; an 80-100% cacao kind of guy (none of that weak sauce milk chocolate) sooooo… my take on what constitutes “chocolate flavor” is probably skewed from the general public. I’ll admit, I didn’t initially taste chocolate until someone mentioned cocoa wheats. Yes… cocoa wheats is definitely the flavor i’m getting here, almost to a tee (okay, okay: tea).

In my experience, the first one to two steeps, be it gaiwan (~20 seconds) or brew cup (~1 minute) tend to be the best. I do not prefer to rinse this tea, rather i’m “all in”. Later steepings see the tincture move from bright yellow to an increasingly mellow brown and at this point the tea loses some of its unique salty/nutty/cocoa flavor and settles into a more traditional semi-sweet pleasant maltiness. Brews are fairly consistent with regard to body however the intensity of the “cocoa wheats” chocolate flavor can be a bit finicky, dependent on temperature, brew time and sadly, freshness.

Overall excellent tea. Unique, pleasing, comforting and a capable daily drinker with enough complexity to keep things interesting. I will be ordering more.

So what can i say about this almost legendary tea here on Steepster. Nothing new that the 120 other reviews have not said. So all i will say is i was not disappointed with the very high expectation i had of this tea. Expensive… yes, but it commands this price and is well worth it. and a must buy.

Should I believe the hype? After reading many great reviews for Verdant Tea, and particularly for their Laoshan Black, I succombed to the pressure and ordered. Their website is excellent, being both clean and very informative. In addition, my order came with a hand-written thank you note. Nice touch. On to the tea!

The dry leaf scent screams chocolate. It’s almost like putting your nose in a tin of powdered cocoa. The wet leaf is more grainy and muted. The scent of the liquor is a real star with an aroma not dissimilar to a creamy hot chocolate. Sipping this tea, I’m a little surprised. It’s not as chocolatey as the liquor scent would suggest. There is a grainy-malty taste that wraps around the cocoa. Verdant describes this taste as barley and I won’t argue. Taking a second sniff of the liquor, I now get plenty of this barley in the scent; it sneakily escaped my nose the first time around. The malty-barley and chocolate dance and vibe great together. Rich. After swallowing, I get malty notes in the middle of the tongue and the chocolate notes in the back of the mouth and throat. Interesting combination. If I have one slight personal criticism, I find the graininess of the tea does begin to get a little tiresome toward the end of the pot. It gives me flashes at times of a crafty/hopsy beer. A beer or two is ok, but too much can be a problem.

I enjoyed drinking a pot of this tea. But having said that, for me, it’s not an everyday tea. It doesn’t have quite the strength and vigor I look for in a morning tea. Additionally, it’s graininess makes it too rough for a dessert tea. It’s something in that nebulous, undefinable, and opaque middle, which is not necessarily a bad thing.

Update: Over several weeks of drinking this tea, I have really come to like it much more than my original tasting. The graininess of the tea has become an acquired taste. I must up my rating. This is good stuff.

My first shipment from Verdant Tea! I ordered this (autumn pick), the Yanxin Reserve ‘04 Shu nuggets, and the Autumn Tieguanyin. As I’m waiting for the water to boil, I’m clearing out a new section in my comfort drawer (filled with teas, chocolates, and coffees) for somewhere to put these new teas.

The dry leaf aroma really, really reminds me of hot chocolate. After steeping, the tea has more of a toasty/woods-y(? I don’t know where that thought came from, but it reminded me of walking in the woods on my high school campus just as spring was beginning to dry out into summer), malty aroma. I also want to say that I can sort of detect a hint of something cinnamon-y, but not as strong. I don’t know if it’s my mind playing tricks on me, though.

On first sip… tastebuds stunned, mind blown. Be back later.

One of the finest black teas I ever drunk. And the price is so right!
It tastes powdery with strong bittersweet cacao notes and smells like iris flower in full bloom, deep and mysterious. After tasting Bai Lin fromTeavivre or Black Gongfu from Zhi, one would think that it is impossible to get any better, then Verdant appears with his Loashan tea and beats them both. I am rushing to buy more while it lasts. Bravo David!

So I have been waiting to write a tasting note on this tea because I’m still trying to figure it out. The dry leaf is intoxicating. Like a bittersweet cacao. The wet leaf smelled the same but with undertones of honey. Hmm malty..but there is something else there that I can’t put my finger on.

When I opened the pack I knew I was in for a treat. Anyone with an Irish-English heritage loves a good black tea. This is a great one. When I poured the boiling water on I immediately smelled cocoa, caramel and honey. I recieved this as a sampler with my Pu-Ehrs. It will be ordered! I want to do side by side tasting with the Harney Hao-Ya A and the Zhi Gung Fu black….

Drinking this presently as a day-starter before breakfast . Brewing it Gongfu style in my gaiwan. First couple infusions were more intense than I remember from my last experience with it. Perhaps I used too many leaves this time. In any case, it’s mellowing out nicely on the third infusion. Quite delicious. Fourth infusion is even better, and nearer to what I remember from the first time I tried it. I’ll have to experiment further with the quantity of leaves to reach it’s sweet spot. My initial impression of this tea at a Verdant Tea tasting was that it offered what I would consider a nearly ideal black tea experience. I’ll probably write a follow-up note the next time I brew this to round out the picture.

Wow this is so good! Not a hint of bitterness and it smells a lot like chocolate.