I was delighted to find this three-year-old sample in the vaults of my tea museum. I enjoy Laoshan black tea, but haven’t had any in quite a while. I steeped 6 g of leaf in a 120 ml porcelain pot at 195F for 7, 10, 12, 15, 18, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 60, 90, 120, and 240 seconds.
The dry aroma is of cocoa, rye bread, honey, and malt. The first steep has notes of fudgy cocoa, dark chocolate, rye bread, honey, cream, and malt. The second steep adds faint cherry, minerals, and wood, but this tea is all about the cocoa. The next couple steeps are more roasty with hints of caramel. Steeps five and six are mineral, woody, and roasty with some sourness, but still, the cocoa makes it quite drinkable. The cocoa continues into the tenth steep, after which the tea has notes of wood, earth, minerals, and roast.
For such an old tea, this Laoshan Black stood up rather well. I appreciated its cozy, somewhat simple profile on this dull day. It didn’t change much over the gongfu session, but for a comforting chocolate tea, that’s okay.
Flavors: Bread, Caramel, Cherry, Chocolate, Cocoa, Cream, Earth, Honey, Malt, Mineral, Pleasantly Sour, Roasted, Rye, Wood
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This sounds yummy, I might have to go find my favorite Yunnan for a chocolatey cup.
It’s the perfect time of year for this tea! I’ve had LB from Yunnan Sourcing, but can’t really compare it to this tea because I drank it so long ago. I’ve never had LB from Verdant or Whispering Pines.
This sounds yummy, I might have to go find my favorite Yunnan for a chocolatey cup.
It’s the perfect time of year for this tea! I’ve had LB from Yunnan Sourcing, but can’t really compare it to this tea because I drank it so long ago. I’ve never had LB from Verdant or Whispering Pines.