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Another free sample from Stacy with my recent order. Thank you Stacy! I don’t tend to go for assams so I left this one behind when shopping but am very excited to try it as a bonus sample. The dry leaf is beautiful, mainly golden and very full leaf. After discussing steeping parameters with Stacy from Butiki I have decided to follow her directions to the best of my ability to produce the best tasting tea I can – and also to stretch the leaf out as far as I can. Accordingly, this got 3.5 minutes with boiling water. Admittedly I used 10 oz of water rather than 8 but I seem to like my tea a little less bold than others. Basically, I will do anything to avoid astringency.

Steeped, this is remarkable. I find this very cocoa-y, rich, with some malt but no bitterness or astringency. Basically, it reminds me of a Chinese black rather than an Assam. Very cool! I really like this. This is the sort of tea that could change ones mind about assams. Man. Okay, if/when I do another order, I think I might stock up on this one. I wish a had a little more because I wanted to try it side by side with a couple teas I love from Teavivre, as the taste reminds me of their Golden Monkey and maybe even my long-gone beloved Golden Snail from Harney and Sons.

As I continue in the cup, the cocoa only intensifies for me. This is good drinking tea! This is definitely a bit more expensive than many teas I enjoy, but if I could get this on sale it would be great to have on hand. I will definitely be giving it a second steep to try to squeeze some more goodness out of it.