Black Dragon Pearl

Tea type
Black Tea
Ingredients
Not available
Flavors
Chocolate, Malt, Cocoa, Molasses, Honey, Smooth, Cacao, Earth, Scotch, Cedar
Sold in
Loose Leaf
Caffeine
High
Certification
Not available
Edit tea info Last updated by nerditea
Average preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 4 min, 0 sec 4 g 13 oz / 393 ml

From Our Community

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127 Own it Own it

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116 Tasting Notes View all

  • “Oh look, black dragon pearl is finally back at Teavana!! Of course, I have to add it back into my collection, as theirs was the first black pearl I ever had, and loved. After yesterday’s gig, I...” Read full tasting note
  • “So I tested the guy helping me out at Teavana yesterday as I asked for this tea. I asked about the flavor of this tea waiting to see if he’d mention the chocolate and malty notes…no he told me...” Read full tasting note
    95
  • “SIPDOWN! and backlog – another from yesterday. This one was not only packed in a travel mug for the drive home but i also shared a few of the steeps and re-steeps with my parents before i left. ...” Read full tasting note
    83
  • “Asked for tea for Christmas; my mother and her posse happened to walk into a Teavana store in Chicago (Lady’s “Lets Go Shopping” roadtrip). After a hour’s guided tour through the intracies of tea...” Read full tasting note
    85

From Teavana

This fragrant and rare hand-rolled tippy black tea from the Yunnan province unfurls to release a smooth-bodied taste with sweet, chocolaty, and malty undertones. Good for multiple infusions. This is a perfect morning and afternoon tea.

How to Prepare

Use 1 teaspoon of tea per 8 ounces of water. Heat water to just before boiling (195 degrees) and steep for 3-4 minutes. 2oz of tea equals 25-30 teaspoons.

Ingredients:

Hand-rolled, pure black tea.

About Teavana View company

Company description not available.

116 Tasting Notes

3294 tasting notes

Oh look, black dragon pearl is finally back at Teavana!!
Of course, I have to add it back into my collection, as theirs was the first black pearl I ever had, and loved. After yesterday’s gig, I gave myself permission to go to Teavana & get some.
I really liked Teavana when they first opened. Now they are just too intense on the salesmanship. Someone immediately attached herself to me, leading me around the store, pouring samples, pointing things out, spouting her knowledge, & depositing me at the counter with the overly smiley lady, where I asked for 4 oz of dragon pearls.
She intentionally over scooped, & then nonchalantly asked, “is 6 oz ok?”
“No”
She fixed it. I also got a couple oz of the peach one I like, & she did the exact same thing.
On the way out of the store some chick was giving a demo about their current special: but a cast iron teapot & you get a bunch of free tea. She tried to pull me in, “I already have 2”, I said, making for the door…I escaped!

Sil

haha that’s about the only tea i want from teavana and it’s just. not. worth. it.

TeaBrat

I’m afraid to go in there ;-)

Fjellrev

Yikes, talk about over pouring and just plain old overbearing.

Terri HarpLady

Yeah, if I want more I’ll just order it from their website.

Sil

must.not.order.

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95
421 tasting notes

So I tested the guy helping me out at Teavana yesterday as I asked for this tea. I asked about the flavor of this tea waiting to see if he’d mention the chocolate and malty notes…no he told me there was nothing to this tea as it was a straight black tea…um WHAT? Of course he then offered me the Golden Monkey starting at $18.50 per two ounces…because that’s the one that had the coco flavors I was thinking of.

Yes it does (I’ve had it to go – because I like being married and the price is WAY to high) have chocolate/coco notes. But the Black Dragon Pearl does too. I’d say it even has MORE. Anyway this was my all day tea today. In fact I got close to 5 steeps out of 5 pearls! I was impressed to say the least. This is a favorite of mine, but I think I need to look into getting it a little cheaper in the future. Sure I’ll get a lot of steeps out of it but there has to be another place to get something similar. Help me Steepsterites you are my only hope! :)

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 4 min, 0 sec
JacquelineM

Teavivre offers black dragon pearls for less $$$. I haven’t had them yet but other Steepsterites said they were excellent.

I adore the Teavana ones, like you :)

Insence&Tea

I have the Teavivre ones and they are great. They are very strong and have a deep rich cocoa flavor which sounds like what you wanted.

IllBeMother221B

Hmm, if I place an order now I should get Teavivre ones just in time. Actually I discovered I have samples here of them to try perhaps I’ll do that tomorrow! Thanks ladies!!

Daisy Chubb

The Teavivre ones are sooo delectable!

ashmanra

The Teavivre ones are supposed to arrive any day now and I am sooo excited!

TeaBrat

The ones from Mandala Tea are also terrific…

IllBeMother221B

Thanks ladies! :)

Bonnie

Even my local Happy Lucky’s has really good Pearls so there must be good sources at good prices.

IllBeMother221B

This was more I was in the mall, Teavana was in the mall and they had the tea I wanted. More proximity at that point.

Terri HarpLady

I love Black dragon Pearls!

Azzrian

Teavivre or Mandala all the way :)

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83
14974 tasting notes

SIPDOWN! and backlog – another from yesterday. This one was not only packed in a travel mug for the drive home but i also shared a few of the steeps and re-steeps with my parents before i left. This is something i should have as a permanent fixture in my cupboard, or some variation of. I really like the chocolatey/malty taste of this one AND a little really does go a long way. Really appreciate the share tattooed_tea

TeaLady441

Mmmm. I need to decide which one I want to stock up on. It’s just a great tea! I could even brave teavana for it (while staying firm!)

Sil

Need to price compare. I really like the black dragon pearls i had from teavivre and i think they’re better priced? (that’s all in my head of course) and overall i DO feel better about giving teavivre my money :)

Nicole

Gotta try the black pearls from Mountain Tea… :)

Sil

oh that’s right! i have that on my list to get from you nicole lol

Dinosara

I currently have some of these that I got on sale but I prefer Teavivre’s

Sil

Good to know. I’m a bigger fan of NOT teavana than teavana. It’s just been a long time since I’ve had teavivre’s though I know I also really enjoyed those ones

Kittenna

Didn’t you have the pearls from Tealux as well?

Sil

yes! you’re right i did…but i don’t think i liked them as much as either teavivre or these

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85
257 tasting notes

Asked for tea for Christmas; my mother and her posse happened to walk into a Teavana store in Chicago (Lady’s “Lets Go Shopping” roadtrip). After a hour’s guided tour through the intracies of tea (which mom reports was a pleasure), their guide picked out three “must try” teas, this was one of them; Thanks Mom! (and Teavana guy).
I used too much in my first cup….I have a 16 oz mug and used 3 pearls, 2 would have been fine. Water was off the boil for 5 minutes or so. I brewed this loose, directly in my mug for about 4 minutes, but it took a minute before the pearls actually started to unravel and steep. From there it steeped fast! I decanted it into another cup, ditched the leaves and returned the brew to the warm mug.
It has a strong, bold flavor with no astringency. Slightly woody and an edge of “burnt” in the flavor…perhaps from oversteeping. Still, very tasty and I look forward to another cup, and another shot at getting the steep correct.

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 4 min, 0 sec
Cofftea

burnt tea…? ?? Ewww…

Cofftea

ok that wasn’t supposed to be a link lol.

Atacdad

you know how some people complain that Starbucks coffee tastes “burnt”? Same sort of thing…over-roasted or something. I’m pretty sure it was over-steeped…but it was still tasty.

Micah

That sounds really interesting. I’ll have to try some Black Dragon Pearls some time. Maybe the ones from Adagio the next time I order from them…

Cofftea

@Micah, Adagio’s are the only ones I’ve tried. They’re pretty amazing.

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84
516 tasting notes

Thank you LiberTEAS for the 6 delicious pearls of wonder that I am enjoying this morning!

Wow, I can see why this tea is a favourite to many – it’s so smooth and the quality is definitely there. The smell is sweet with hints of cocoa and the taste is indeed smooth-bodied, a perfect amount of malt and a bit drying. I’m getting no aftertaste after the sip, but this is just the first steep so I’ll have to see what happens on the next.

This tea was really the perfect way to start my day – and after my sample is finished I think i will be seeking out a Black Dragon Pearl to add to my collection. This tea warms me to the bone with it’s gentle chocolate-malty tones, without kicking me in the face with astringency.

Ah I’ve got it! Similar to the way the pearl itself unfurls, this tea is gently waking up my senses. Sometimes that is preferable to a kick in the butt morning assam – especially this Lazy Sunday.

And now for steep #2, with a pinch of sugar!

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3212 tasting notes

Thank you, thank you, Purrfect Cup! My package arrived today with so many goodies!

I found myself getting another biopsy today unexpectedly and now comes the long wait for the results. (it is probably nothing this time, but why around the holidays??)

I wanted a tea treat and I just knew this would be one. It is! The rich, chocolate-y aroma is reminiscent of Emperor’s Red by Premium Steap. My youngest daughter was astounded when she smelled it. This is smooth and sweet, has nice body, and is a bit like a chocolate Golden Monkey. I will be near a Teavana tomorrow, and this may be coming home with me to be put in my stocking!

IllBeMother221B

Glad you got the package! I hope you like the other goodies I added in. Hope the biopsy is nothing.

Dinosara

Sorry to hear about the biopsy, I hope everything comes out fine! Glad to hear you had a good tea treat for comfort!

KeenTeaThyme

Sending you happy thoughts re: the biopsy. And I agree with Dinosara – glad to hear you had tea for comfort. :)

gmathis

Peace to you while you wait, friend!

ashmanra

Thank you all for the ll wishes. Last year I spent Thanksgiving and up to the week before Christmas waiting and got a breast cancer diagnosis. This year they are checking because there is a chance that the cancer medication has given me a secondary cancer. Grrrr. But I am thinking it is not!

IllBeMother221B

Sending you positive vibes!

Rabs

My thoughts and prayers will be with you!!!

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90
1812 tasting notes

I cannot get over how delicious this tea is. This being my third pot in the last twelve hours, I think it is finally time to give it a rating. I am honestly surprised, as I never seem to rate any black tea, other than pu’erh, this high.

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 4 min, 0 sec

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73
431 tasting notes

Just bought this stuff from the Woodfield Mall Teavana. They have a whole new staff and boy are they pushy. Girl at the front had samples and asked if I wanted any. I said “No thanks” and she gave me a nasty confused look as if she couldn’t understand why I would walk into a store and not want a sample. She then assumed I must have known what I wanted to purchase so that must be the reason why I said “No” to her. I told her I didn’t know what I wanted and that I was going to check out what they had. The confusion continued. She then left me alone to have another guy come uncomfortably close to me and asked if I knew what I was looking for and what I was more into. When I got him away from me and behind the counter things started to get better. However, he kept trying to sell me more than I wanted. Sort of like assuming the sale buy saying “I will get these bagged for you”. I told him I wasn’t sure what I wanted yet but I would let him know. I kept telling him I am familiar with tea but I think the sale tactic is to treat everyone as a newbie to tea. I suppose that works a lot but I think they should back off when they are dealing with someone not so new to tea. So anyway, I bought this one and it is pretty good. Here you go…
It is smooth and a bit sweet but not in the conventional sweet way. It is on the back end and a little earthy. Overall not bad but not great. I think I want to make it stronger next time.

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 0 sec
Caitlin

That sounds horribly annoying!

RachanaC (Rachel)-iHeartTeas

Annoying is right. I would have really checked their stuff out more and spent more quality time there but I couldn’t stand the pushiness.

Caitlin

I’ve heard Teavana has issues with being pushy, I’ve never been to one myself though.

RachanaC (Rachel)-iHeartTeas

I never did have an issue with the old staff but the new one makes me really uncomfortable walking into the store.

LiberTEAS

There have been examples of this type of tactic from Teavana posted on other forums. When I go to teavana (it’s not often because I don’t go to the mall very often, I’m more of a art supply store girl, myself), I usually make it very clear to them that I know a thing or two about tea, and that I probably own more tea than they have on their shelves. That usually does the trick and they back off and let me shop. It’s really good that you stood up to them.

Paul M Tracy

You experienced the Teavana Used Car Salesman! LiberTEAS is right, ask them a question that isn’t on their script and they implode.

RachanaC (Rachel)-iHeartTeas

@Paul M Tracy OMG! I am going to have to ask them something they would never know the answer too and then see the implosion. Also, my husband agrees he calls it the “Helpless Desk” mentality.

LauraR

While the pushiness is not common at most tea houses, I have found that most places treat you like you are a newbie to tea until they learn for themselves that you are not (usually lots of repeat business). I think it is rare that they come across customers that are quite experienced with loose leaf.

RachanaC (Rachel)-iHeartTeas

That may be true although I really haven’t experienced that too much at other tea houses, admittedly I haven’t been to many but still this was my first pushy experience. I believe in the whole if I need you’re help I’ll ask for it kind of person. But that’s just me.

Mel

That’s the Teavana I ventured to when I am in the area. I went there last week actually. Most the reviews of how pushy they are is spot on. I enjoy trying samples, and usually base purchases on them, and they make it so unfun at Teavana. I love TeaGschwender (sp) in Algonquin, they leave me alone.

RachanaC (Rachel)-iHeartTeas

Mel that’s so funny I am the FourSquare Mayor of that Tea Gschwendner and have been for a long time and you are right they are super nice.

Heyes

YES! I had exactly that experience at Teavana here in my neck of the woods! I am not an expert, but I am not a newbie either. It was clear that they had a good script from which to work, but they just assumed I had zero knowledge.

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95
42 tasting notes

This has been the only good part of my morning so far..

TeaEqualsBliss

YAY for the good TEA – bummer for it being the only good part! Hope your day improves!

Erin

I love dragon pearls! Hopefully it will make the rest of your day better!

Will P

got some

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94
417 tasting notes

I am trying to sip down some of my teas before ordering new ones, but that hasn’t exactly been working out, as I have definitely not slowed down on ordering in the meantime. I only have enough of this to make another pot or two, but maybe I will just wind up sending it off to someone…

This is probably my favorite Teavana tea ever. It’s malty and chocolatey, earthy and sweet, and quite robust without being astringent, if that makes sense…Also, I did brew this probably too strongly last night, but that was what I was in the mood for!

Flavors: Chocolate, Earth, Malt, Scotch

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 5 min, 0 sec 8 tsp 24 OZ / 709 ML
Terri HarpLady

Your post could be my post! I’m not allowed to buy any tea until my sipdown extravaganza is over (or maybe until I get to 300…still trying to decide). So far I’ve been pretty good, but it’s also been really hard!

Black dragon pearl is also probably my favorite teavana tea ever, although I feel that the current version is paled by their original offering from years ago. Probably my imagination…

CharlotteZero

Your sipdown extravaganza seems to be going well. I can’t believe you have so many teas! Someday soon I need to count mine and try to update my Steepster cupboard. I’m probably not as far behind you in number as I’d like to think!

I only just discovered Teavana’s Black Dragon Pearls. I don’t know why I never purchased them before this December…

Terri HarpLady

I’ve been looking at your cupboard, & will be sending you some teas that you’re lacking soon, hahaha

CharlotteZero

That’s sweet of you, but don’t feel like you need to send me anything…!

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