Laoshan Black

I really enjoy thia tea. It’s a bit of a one trick pony, hardly any complexity. The taste is coccoa, pure and simple. This tea tastes like hot chocolate and it’s awesome. Really fun to share with non tea drinkers. Steeps out at 3 or 4 steeps. It’s really only good for a steep or two imo but it is lots of fun. I do enjoy it.

one of my best laoshan drunk, so far!

Even when I missed on an infusion (the first) at 1 min, tea with a slight bitterness, the presence in the mouth, like grilled barley, touches of crimson red sugar. on strong flower notes in mouth. I repeat an excellent laoshan !!

Gongfu, 5g 90C
Received in a sampler (5 for 5). I don’t like black teas but I went for it anyways. What else am I going to do with it? I needed to inaugurate my new tea table.
This is really freaking good. The dry leaves smell strongly like chocolate with a little bit of earth, really really appetizing. The leaves after a leaf were less appealing, with the earthiness coming out. I expected early steeps to taste roasty, but they only are for a second. This second-long taste is almost like a Dan Cong oolong: that tartness and roastiness comes through. This very quickly gives way to a smooth, malty, nutty, and chocolatey finish. The aroma is roasted but this isn’t incredibly roasty tasting.
Middle steeps start to become like an oily dark chocolate and less up front sweet—but more lasting sweetness
The late steeps: this tea did not last quite as long as I wanted it to, and has transitioned to a sweet milk chocolate now: with a roasty nose continuing! A great way to end the session. Reminds me of a milky sweet hot chocolate.

I brewed this Gongfu style, delicious. It really brings out the chocolate notes, especially in the pre brewing aroma. A delicious tea that I am sorry is now gone.
This was from spring 2017.

this tea has a bitter taste for the first two steepings, but then has a sweeter taste for the third steeping

A pretty good morning tea but I wished it packed a bit more punch. I’ll have to experiment more with tea quantity and steeping times. Pleasant notes of leather, earth, mushrooms, and a bit of sweetness. Feels velvety in the mouth. I like this tea, but just not sure if I love it yet.

1 tsp tea w/ 8 oz water. Steep times of 30 sec, 60 sec, 90 sec, 120 sec.

While offering to share a pot of Black Dragon Pearl with a friend who’s enjoyed many fine pots of home-roasted coffee with me, I said, “I don’t have any coffee right now”. Her response was, “I feel like I don’t even know you anymore”.

I feel the same way. I’ve sought, found, roasted and brewed some of the finest coffees in the world, and still have more than 2 kilos of sought-after beans waiting to be roasted. But TEA…so many exotic options. With the sheer number of variations of every leaf, harvest, storage and prep method, I just got lost.

But no more! I am roasting a batch of Maui Select, from the Ka’anapali Estate Coffee located on the West Maui Mountains near the historic town of Lahaina. Now. Today. I mean, as soon as I finish this pot of Laoshan Black from Verdant Tea.

From the Autumn 2016 He Family Collection, this tea is enough to stop anyone in their tracks. Its subtle hints of brown sugar and dark chocolate only increase as the cup begins to cool. The delicate looking dry leaves unfurled while steeping to reveal large black leaves 20x their original size. It’s obvious a great deal of care was taken getting this from the tree to my cup.

I wish I’d ordered more. Every sip is a treat, and it’s just one of 50+ reasons in my cabinet it’s easy to forget to roast coffee.

Gongfu style brewing. First time trying this type of review

0:30 – Surprisingly tasty. Some smokey flavors with a hint of chocolate?

0:45 – More full-bodied with stronger smokey flavors. I taste some fermentation as well.

1:45: Less smokey flavor and more fermentation flavors. I still taste a bit of chocolate.

1:10 – more fermentation and good black tea taste. Less chocolate.

3 tsp leaf

First steep 450 mL hot water(under boiling), 3 minutes with soy milk added
The milk rounds out the cocoa and make it creamier. Dark bittersweet cocoa and fire/pan roasted notes. To a lesser degree, minerals and carob.

Seconds steep 600 mL hot water (under boiling), 5 minutes steep (no milk)
this is great plain. In fact, I don’t recommend using a high quality black in a latte, but I was really in the mood for a latte.More mineral and dark woody notes, unsweetened cocoa powder, dark chocolate, caramelised brown sugar, molasses, honey, roasty. It is exactly what you expect a Laoshan black to taste like.

Iced (room temp and into fridge) after 4th steeping.

1-2 hours yields a sweet and lightly savory tea after while 6-8 hours a woody, toasty taste overrides the sweetness. Maintains a graham aroma.