Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Shan Valley
Tea Description:
Our tea is has satisfying roasted flavor blend and strong taste. This tea is naturally processed from our green tea to further enhance flavor.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This Black Tea from Shan Valley has a nice, roasted taste to it that reminds me a bit like coffee! A bit of an unexpected flavor, but, it’s tasty.
The dry leaf is a small CTC cut, which immediately communicates to me that it should be brewed at a slightly lower temperature (205°F instead of 212°F) and steeped for slightly less time (2 minutes instead of 2 1/2 or 3 minutes). This produced a tea that was strong but not bitter … although I do notice some hints at bitterness here. I think that even just a couple more moments steeping would have resulted in a bitter brew.
But this is nice. I can’t recall tasting a pure black tea quite like this one before. It is rich and malty, reminding me a little bit of an Assam. It has a sweet, almost cocoa-ish background that reminds me of a Fujian black. It is pleasantly full-bodied, with notes that hint at caramel, smoke, toasty nut flavors, and an earthy quality. And then there is the coffee-ish overtone that is quite compelling. This tastes a bit like maybe someone poured a half coffee-half Assam tea concoction for me but without the bitterness of coffee.
I like this one a lot. It is an excellent choice for that first cup of the day, because it’s got some gusto to it!
