The dry leaves smell fantastic, like chocolate almost. It was a real shock to me to be greeted with such a wonderful chocolate-y scent. The wet leaves are like somewhat nutty kind of, I think.
For this review, I did a few rounds of gongfu!
First infusion was awesome. So, so creamy mouthfeel!! I really enjoyed this one immediately. The chocolate flavoring comes through in the tea, along with that characteristic malty taste. I thought the smell was a bit neutral, but the taste is great. Very, very cocoa-y. I enjoyed this immensely. RATE: 8/10
Second infusion came out quite a bit darker, which might have been my fault. The smell was a bit stronger than the first time around too, it reminded me back to that chocolate leaf scent. The taste is less chocolate this time, more neutralized. I think I oversteeped this one a little, as it had a bit of a bitter aftertaste, but that didn’t take away from the overall experience. It was pretty good, if not a little neutral. Actually, thinking about it, the cocoa flavor from before now comes through as a more bitter cocoa, like dark chocolate. Very interesting. Second infusion was overall pretty good. RATE: 6.5/10
Third and final infusion tonight ended the experience with roasted cocoa notes, very yum. The bitterness from before has gone away and a more neutral roasty flavor has replaced it. Also, the color! Beautiful! Very reddened, so nice. That malt comes back too, but not as strong as in the first infusion (it was almost absent in the second one). This infusion’s flavor is very complex, and I am not sure how to describe it. Definitely very “tea”. RATE: 7.5/10
Overall, this tea was awesome! I love it. It was so tasty, and dynamic between infusions. Very interesting overall, and I will most likely buy more of it once I get done with what I’ve got. Very, very good.
Flavors: Chocolate, Cocoa, Dark Chocolate, Malt
