2022 'Mini Black' Black Tea Coins

Kuura is an Australian vendor that one of my friends turned me on to a while back. A month or two ago, thanks to tariff uncertainty, I decided to make a spur of the moment order just in case ordering from them became more expensive, if not impossible. They were understanding of my situation as an American, and sent the tea on express post with no additional shipping charge. Turned out my anxiety was well-founded, as Australia Post halted shipments to the USA a few days after I received the tea, which has made things very complicated for receiving tea from these guys, especially the annual tea club which I have been a part of since 2022.

The main headliners of that order was a collab production between Kuura and white2tea called ‘Heresy’ which I will sample soon. I also got two white tea cakes, but a few coins of this black tea production were included as a freebie. I’ve always liked the design of Kuura’s cakes (they take a very postmodern approach to presentation), and this one is no exception. I snapped the cake in half to fit in my Nixing pot and got started on a late September morning brew.

Not a lot to speak of in terms of smell off the wet leaf, and the first infusion was an interesting fusion of muscatel astringency, with a lot of emphasis on the tip of the tongue. This is a very grapey black tea, fitting for my being in the heart of America’s wine country, and by the third infusion it really reveals itself. I can see this being the type of tea that’s accessible to anyone, although I would not necessarily say I would utilize it as a daily drinker since I prefer heavier and more malty black teas, and it also has a very pronounced drying effect that I’m not a huge fan of. Nevertheless, a solid choice for a little throw-in tea, and I definitely left this session happy. Can’t wait to try the rest of the offerings I got (I have been keeping them in storage for the last month and a half waiting for the right moment).