Flecks of Gold Black Tea from sTEAp Shoppe

Tea Information:

Leaf Type:  Black

Where to Buy:  sTEAp Shoppe

Tea Description:

Flecks of Gold Black Tea has a full mouth feel and rich liquor. Forward notes of chocolate enrich your palate with decadence as the floral presence of a quality black tea surrounds your senses. Underneath the creamy cocoa notes is just a hint of spice, just peaking out of it’s hiding place, aloof in nature.

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

Oh … this Flecks of Gold Black Tea from sTEAp Shoppe is fabulous!  Recently, sTEAp Shoppe expanded their collection to include “Simply Tea” … that is, straight, unadultered, pure teas … including this Flecks of Gold Yunnan Golden Tips black tea … so named because of the beautiful golden tips found throughout the dry leaf.

The description on the sampler I received of this tea suggests multiple infusions, so I’m definitely going to be putting this tea through its paces.  This first cup is remarkably rich and flavorful, with notes of dark cocoa and a very appealing undertone of caramel-y sweetness.  The tea has an earthiness to it; it tastes rugged and masculine, but with a tender, sweet side to it.  The peppery taste of the Yunnan is there too, and in this first infusion, it sort of represents itself as a sort of invigorating … skip-in-your-step kind of flavor.  Very enjoyable.

The second infusion is even better than the first!  The flavor is smoother this time … there are fewer spiced notes but more of that rich cacao flavor!  It has less of that rugged flavor … and this is, instead very sweet, almost like a buttery caramel sweetness.

I usually do not take a black tea for more than two infusions, but, since the second infusion was so delicious, I decided why not!  Let’s see what infusion #3 has to offer.  And it’s very similar to the second infusion … except … this almost tastes buttery!  It’s really smooth and sweet and I taste hints of the spiced notes that were present in the first infusion and seemed to be missing in the second.

The second time I tried this tea, I accidentally over-steeped it during the first infusion.  I had set the timer, but stepped away and by the time I was able to get to the tea, I estimate that the tea had steeped for three and a half minutes rather than the recommended two and a half minutes.  The flavor is still very pleasant, although there is more astringency here than in a steep where the time was kept to 2.5 minutes.  There are hints of bitterness in the background as well, although it is certainly still quite drinkable.  But, for the best cup, I’d recommend sticking to the recommended parameters.  However, if you do make the mistake of oversteeping it … please know that the subsequent infusions are not affected by this… I still got very flavorful infusions from the second and third steeping of the leaves.

This is a FANTASTIC tea!  I highly recommend it.