This is the last of my Black Savant Sampler. The smell is smokey, chocolatey, and a little piney. It’s a rich brown liquid, but not as dark as the Pu-Erh Dante I botched yesterday.
The first sip burned me. Apparently I didn’t let this one cool down enough… My tongue was still tingling in a pained way when I tried my second sip, so I couldn’t taste much except for an earthy tone. The third sip was really good. This is rich tea with a faint hint of sweetness amongst all that earth. I can taste chocolate, earth, and maybe some sort of fruit.
I think it’s really exciting how one’s palate develops. If I had tasted this in September, I probably wouldn’t have even liked it, let alone taste all the different notes in this tea. I’m not sure when my turning point was, but it’s like all of a sudden my eyes [taste buds?] have been opened!