My last Nepal Tea sampler packet! The dry leaf looks more like a black tea to me, and the aroma of the dry leaves is very muscatel.
Steeped half the packet (4.7g) in 500ml 205F water for 3 minutes. The steeped tea also has a fruity muscatel aroma, but much stronger is a cocoa aroma (which I rarely smell in teas). Also a floral honey aroma note.
Mmm. I think I’d rank this in my favorites from all the Nepal Tea samplers. There is a deep cocoa and earthy mineral flavor, with a more subtle roasty/smoky element. There is a bit of a Darjeeling-esqe muscatel note, as well. The aftertaste on my tongue is sort of a muddle spices and plum flavor, and some lingering floral rose.
Very enjoyable!
Flavors: Cocoa, Earth, Floral, Fruity, Mineral, Muscatel, Plum, Roasted, Rose, Smoke, Spices
Those notes remind me of the Ruby Darjeeling Oolong I got from Young Mountain two years ago that I still haven’t finished. It personally tastes more like a black tea than an oolong, even having yellow trichomes. Sweet, but it’s got a drying back bone I’m not a fan of.
This one also reminds me more of a black tea than an oolong, but I quite enjoyed it!