Angry Black Tea

From Daylon! When I read your descriptions, I thought these would be great for a friend, so I dipped a sample from each and sent them on their angry way.

6 Japanese black teas, 5 of which have some level of smoky intrigue.

Dark Peach
Smokey, woodsy, smooth but also too astringent and thin for me to appreciate. Salty, bitter-dark tannins. Cloaked fruit. Cream gives a slight smoked meat flavor and draws the fruit out but the liquor is ultimately too thin to handle cream.

May Black
Papery, woodsy, did I write pulpy? Bold, fruity and floral but thin. Starchy, malty and buttery smooth but also astringent. Tastes like ‘tea’. Dry leaf scent and liquor aroma hold much more intrigue than what I experience in the mouth. In the dry leaf, there is old, whitened chocolate, berries, twigs and malt; in the liquor, I finnd a chocolately-woodsy aroma but also a really, smooth Darjeeling lilt of muscatel, apricot and vanilla. Too disjointed for my liking.

Cacao Smoke
Dark and dirty and oily. Bold and smooth. Ashy-smoky, bitter, earthy. I love it. Old mechanic shop being swallowed by overgrowth in a humid forest, an ashtray tucked somewhere in the undergrowth. The taste of staring into pitch black, no stars. Cream brings that cacao to front but also makes the tea almost too oily.

King
Fruity whiskey, smooth smoked meat. Has a nice astringency. This one’s a winner, too. No doubt why this is called King. Well done!

Yuzu Cloud
Slightly sweet smoked sausage with fruit — pineapple? Dark, smooth, light astringency, salty, fruity. This one is noticeably cooling in the mouth which adds a welcome dimension.

Whiskey Cloud 9
Whiskey like in King but milder, smoke is more like smoked salmon and more prominent but still smooth.

I’m pretty certain these are all teas that are sold by a Japan-based vendor well known around these parts.

I got the Yuzu Cloud a few weeks ago, and now time to review. It’s got the same profile as the others, but with the expected citrus kick. It’s a little bit sweeter and more floral/citrusy making some parallels to Earl Grey, but the smoke and cocoa profile is more prominent than the actual citrus. It does work gong fu, but western with a little bit of cream really emphasizes the citrus. I liked it more than a few others, but it’s not as strong as Cocoa Smoke for me. I still think it’s a great tea. Derk, they’re all on their way!!!!

Derk, this is going to be yours and a certain someone’s. I finally tried all of them, and they’re not to my preference. However, they’re impressive. I’ll review the remaining teas of the sample, then my overall thoughts.

Dark Peach-this is great if you like bourbon. Very smokey and smooth like all of them, woodsy, and a little bit peachy, but it’s more bourbon and scotch like in profile than peach. Easy to gong fu, and oat milk cream brings up the fruity notes, but it’s predominantly a little bit smoky and woodsy.

Whiskey Cloud 9-similar to the one above, and whiskey forward with the same kind of notes. Cream emphasized it well, too, but not as complex as Dark Peach. Certainly more refined than other Whiskey blends I’ve had, but you pretty much know what you are getting, with a little bit of bitterness that’s actually pleasant.

King-surprisingly the least astringent, smokey, and woodsy, and the best tea to gong fu. Still woodsy, but more cedary with less smoke, and a little bit more natural cocoa like other hong cha. There’s a whiff of smoke still, but it’s an accent for a more complex and highly caffeinated tea. Definitely smoother than Dark Peach too, and I liked it more than the May Black. The oatmilk cream turned it into an amazing breakfast black. I would not mind having this around a little bit more, but the caffeine level is a bit much for me. I want to guzzle my tea with little consequence please.

Anyway, so the teas were all smoky, bold, and woodsy. I liked King and Cocoa Smoke the most, and I’m still curious about the Yuzu Cloud tea. They are solid gong fu, but I found myself enjoying these more western with a bit of cream. If you are into hearty black teas with complexity, these are amazing and have more complex versions of notes you’d get in a Keemum, Lapsang, or Scottish Breakfast tea. I personally will not be able to drink these down and will likely have to swap them, yet I don’t regret trying them out. I was very pleased with the quality of tea and service.

May Black Tea-

I think I used too many leaves. I can see it being gong fu able, and it tastes like tea. It’s a bit more floral, and has a little bit of a grainy/buttery profile in the malt. There are some similarities to some Darjeeling blacks and Korean ones in terms of its complexity. There were some layers to it, but I feel pretentious in describing May Black’s flavor. It’s a woodsy, smooth black breakfast tea. So it’s tea, but it’s TEA that should be in italics.

I splashed cream in the second one, and it was good. Kinda tasted like the ifcc coffee or milk tea. I feel like there’s something I’m missing. So in terms of notes, it’s tea, malt, wood, floral, smoke hints, and earth. I’m not as into this one, but I recognise it’s quality.

I got these today, and they actually ran out of a few them and sent me a lovely note. I’m going to reach back to them for clarification because there were specific teas I wanted to try out that weren’t sent, specifically the Yuzu Cloud and Sakura Cloud, but the letter says there will be no additional charge for the send out for them. That is generous. Even the selection is generous.

So I got Cacao Smoke, Whiskey Cloud 9, May Black, Dark Peach, and their King blend. All of them smell bold and since they’re smoked, they have Lapsang Vibes. All of them were leathery and smokey and smooth, making me wonder if the company almost went for Kinky Black Teas as a name instead. I know, insensitive, but there is some nuance to the leaves so far.

I’m actually leaning more towards the May Black, but I was in the mood for some cocoa, and tried out the Cacao smoke to help me power through grading as I have Covid….again. This time, I actually have taste buds, so I’ll take the win.

I rinsed it, and it sat for about a minute. Bold, but not astringent, some definite cacao nib taste and powder character, a little bit woodsy, and light smoke. I was surprised it was not lapsang levels, and it was actually really, really smooth. It had a little bit of bitterness, so I decided to add some sweet cream oat milk. The profile kinda reminded me of a Hojicha latte with some of its dark charcoal woodiness and earth mixed with the sweet cream. I brewed up another cup western for 2-3 minutes, tried it black without any additions before adding cream. More cacao, and some roasty peanut vibes. Surprisingly more complex with the cream, and more chocolaty, and it doesn’t lose the charcoal or woodsiness.

That one is a little bit strong for my taste despite being a lot more approachable for a big o’ softy like me, but it kicks most breakfast teas butts out of the coast. The oatmilk creamer is making it sing. I don’t think it would be bad gong fu either, and this has a caffeine kick. I’m feeling a little bit jittery after having some. I’ll play around with it, and the others. I’ll probably share some of this with a certain someone I know.

Here I thought some Gaoshan would contend me. It did for a day before the strumpet called Facebook marketing slinked into my page. Because of the logarithm from my Magic Hour following, this company was recommended. Angry Black Tea is the kind of company I’d buy from with clever marketing, and I haven’t received the tea yet, but wanted to confess and rant. I’m actually curious about this sampler because most of these black teas are Japanese or Korean based blends, some of which having a scenting or smoked element. One of them is smoked with cacao beans, and another with Yuzu wood. Definitely unlike most teas I’ve come across online. Only problem is that each sample is 20grams. Japanese blacks are a strong hit or miss for me. I like them roasty and savory, but they can be too woodsy, floral, or grassy. I hope these have the smooth quality they advertise, and I look forward to trying them out. $34 for a hundred grams and free shipping isn’t terrible. I just hope I don’t regret the impulse buy, and hope I can share some of this stuff.

I’ll review each tea as a sample on this page, bullet paragraph style when I get it. I hope these are fun and are teas I drink often rather than wait on. Magic Hour’s Virgo resold me into the idea of Japanese black tea bases anyway.