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I’ve been looking forward to trying this tea ever since my very first order at What-cha and I must say that it was worth the wait.

The harvest date on the label of my package says spring 2016, I do believe that this is the newer version of this tea from Feng Qing.

The pearls were larger than I’d expected, and slightly varied in size but all around the size of cherry tomatoes maybe? The dried leaf smells faintly of sweet chocolate, streaked with gold and dark brown leaves. I actually only used one of the larger pearls for one mug, brewed western style for about 3 and a half minutes. The leaves unfurled to fill half the brewing basket!

The aroma of malted milk balls filled the air, and the tea was surprisingly light. No earthy tannins, just silky smooth layers of chocolate, malt and butterscotch swirling over my tongue. This tea almost had me convinced I’d liquefied a tootsie roll somehow, it was so sweet. I adore butterscotch candies and being able to taste little hints of it here was lovely.

The pearl had one more good long western steep, maybe about 6 minutes or so. The flavor was even lighter, but still filled with chocolate, and maybe a hint of leather in the background somewhere.

This tea is overall delicious, almost like a dessert tea. If you’re looking for more tannins or heavier earthy flavors this might not quite catch you, but I’d still recommend trying this tea at least once to see just what Yunnan black teas are capable of!

Flavors: Butterscotch, Caramel, Chocolate, Leather, Malt, Milk, Smooth, Sweet

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 30 sec

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From the North West US, slowly building my tea repertoire. :)

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