Nepal Golden Tips Black Tea

Another What-Cha tea! This black tea has twisty leaves that range from brown to gold. Just as the hot water was hitting them I got this aroma of spicy baked… something. Not spicy enough to be gingerbread, but like, maybe a sugar cookie with cinnamon on top? Once brewed, I smelled it again and was like “Oh, so when people talk about a sweet potato flavour in black tea, this must be what they mean!”. The flavour is malty and sweet potatoey with just a hint of cinnamon or nutmeg or something sweet and spicy. Yum.

Yum yum yum. Sweet potato forefront, with a hint of cocoa and a bit boozey today. Delicious.

Dry leaves smell like sweet raisin bread and they are all perfectly uniform with tons of golden color mixed with tan medium sized twists. The leaves are really perfect looking.
Did a very quick rinse in my gaiwan with their suggested 185F temp. This lower temp produces a clear auburn broth that also smells like the dry leaves,,,sweet raisin bread.
Wow! This is super smooth!! And the flavor of sweet raisin bread as well.
At this low temp, you can steep it for a pretty long time to extract more flavor. This tea is super super clean. Love it.

After reading on Reddit yesterday that this tea is Alastair’s (of What-Cha) favorite black tea, I put it in front of the tea line for this morning’s cup. Definitely not disappointed! I don’t know that I had ever had a tea from Nepal before but now I am really intrigued! My favorite teas are the malty blacks from Yunnan, and I could easily have mistaken this for one of those. Even the look of the leaves – with that delicious cocoa like powder on the inside of the envelope – was the same. Really, really delicious and definitely worth your attention!

This…Tea…Is…Awesome! I know I tend to love just about everything I try. But really almost everything I have tried of late has been really good. Admitting that – This one may well hold the record for the most malt I have ever smelled in a sample pouch. The leaf is gorgeous. I think it is better looking than the picture. Less orange, more tan, than Teavivre’s Golden Tips but every bit as beautiful. It tastes like liquid malted milk balls. I can’t decide if I am really tasting the chocolate coating or if the mental image is just too hard to shake. The first cup is super smooth with zero bitterness and zero astringency. The second cup is far less malt. It has a slight edge with a mineral note and a fruitiness in the aftertaste.