Fengqing Dragon Pearl Black Tea from Teavivre

Tea Information:

Leaf Type:  Black

Where to Buy:  Teavivre

Tea Description:

The leaves of Black Dragon Pearl tea would only be picked around the time of Qingming / Pre-Ming, which is around Apr. 5, 2011 in spring. It’s the highest grade in spring teas, with marked white hairs. The pearl of this tea are 8 to 12 millimeters in diameter. When carefully smelling the flavor of dry tea, you can easily figure a slight smell of chocolate beside the aroma of black tea.

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

I do love a good black pearl tea, and this certainly qualifies!  This is right up there, just as good, if not better, than the ones I’ve tasted in the past.

I brewed this in my gaiwan so that I could watch the leaves unfurl (I can’t really do this in my breville!)  I dropped three pearls into my gaiwan, and poured over the nearly boiling water (I used 205°F water for brewing this tea) and watched them open.  After about a minute and a half, they were nearly opened, but still had a little left in them (which means more infusions!  Yay!)

The flavor is so incredible.  If you like those rich, malty black teas with the cocoa-ish flavors to them, you really MUST try this tea, because that is exactly what I’m tasting right now.

With the second infusion, the richness and maltiness continues, as does the chocolate-y notes.  I also notice a savoriness beginning to emerge … just a hint of bitterness from the cocoa, a lovely contrast between bitter and sweet dances on the tongue.

I decided to give this a third infusion to see what other flavors I might discover.   This third infusion is even smoother than the first two, with the rich and malty tones melding together with the chocolate.  The savory elements have softened somewhat, to create a remarkably smooth taste from beginning to end.

An absolutely LOVELY tea experience awaits those who indulge in these amazing black pearls from Teavivre!  Add this one to your must try list!