13 Tasting Notes
These look great, and a quite a novelty, not to mention that they don’t taste too bad either.
I steeped 2 of these (2.4g) in a relatively small mug (300ml?) for four minutes. The resulting tea came out very dark.
The dominant smell and taste was the jasmine, this was compounded by the fact that the black tea base had a light smooth flavor. Overall it was thick, smooth, floral, a bit chocolate-ish. There was no bitterness or astringency, it was really a light black in every way (except color).
Flavors: Chocolate, Floral, Jasmine
Preparation
I got a free cup of this today, and it was relatively good. It had a very light flavor, and a thick/smooth texture.
The jasmine was the predominant flavor, without overwhelming it. This is just because the green tea was so light (it actually looks and tastes a bit more like a white). After sitting for a while, it developed a natural sweetness that reminded me of marzipan.
Flavors: Jasmine, Marzipan
For the price ($10/50g) it is exceptional. It’s a medium flavored black tea that is very malty, and a little musty (as though it was a pu-erh, or had been aged). Despite me brewing it with nearly boiling water, and steeping it for about 2.5mins, there was no bitterness or astringency at all.
Flavors: Malt, Musty
Preparation
I got this as a part of Verdant’s sample pack. I brewed it for two minutes in near boiling water.
It turned out to be surprisingly light in color despite the fact that I brewed the entire 5g sample in a smallish (400ml) amount of water. Despite that it still had lots of flavor.
The leaves, when brewed smelled like raw potato that has just started frying.
The taste was distinctly malty, almost like a malty bread, and had elements of black pepper as well.
Overall, a delicious tea!
Flavors: Black Pepper, Bread, Malt
Preparation
The leaves vary in appearance, but overall look lightly oxidized and mottled.
Dry this tea smells floral, and when wet it smells like bread.
It is a thin tea that’s slightly mineraley, and a bit floral, but overall is quite bland. Even when using 5 grams of leaf to a small amount of water with a long steep the flavors are still subtle and difficult to distinguish.
Flavors: Bread, Floral, Mineral
Preparation
I received this as a part of Verdant’s sample pack, and am quite happy With it.
When dry the leaves smell musty and somewhat fruity. When wet they smell musty and like strongly heated plant matter (the closest thing I can liken it to is the smell of cannabis after it has been heated in a vaporizer).
It tasted Musty, malty and fiery without being smokey. A little like tobacco or dry leaves (which I guess it technically is). The flavor is not subtle like some oolongs, but it actually quite strong given how much tea I used (2.5 grams in a small gaiwan steeped for 20-50secs).
Flavors: Malt, Musty, Tobacco
Preparation
Picked up a sample of this tea from Tao Tea Leaf last week. As with all of my trips there, it was very pleasant, and the owner Tao, was quite helpful.
When dry, the smell of this leaf reminded me of rose and plum, and when brewed, this morphed into a honey plum smell.
As for the taste, this seems to be a very finicky tea in that it is easy to under or over brew it. My first steeping was bland (which is likely due to the water being too cold). The second steep was very bitter (I steeped it far longer than the first time to try and bring out the flavor). The third was quite enjoyable. It was smooth without being thick or oily, and had a natural sweetness as well as honey flavors, but still had a slight bitterness.
The leaves were oddly mottled, each one having some light spots, and some dark ones.
Overall, I think this tea will be enjoyable once I get the correct brewing style tuned in. For now, the experience was a bit hit or miss.
Flavors: Bitter, Honey, Plum, Rose
First off, the reason I got this tea (and went into Teavana for that matter) is that it was on sale for half of its normal price ($13/50g). Though I wouldn’t buy it at full price, I would consider buying it again at the discounted one.
The feature of this tea that really takes the forefront when drinking it is its texture, which is buttery/fatty and silky smooth. Its taste is similar to a light black with a combination of honey, butter and malt.
Another noteworthy aspect of Golden Dragon is that its smell changes in a novel way. When dry it smells like pears and orchids over a Darjeeling base, but when steeped this morphs into a smell is very savory and reminds me of a steak spiced with salt/pepper.
Overall it is quite a light flavor.
Flavors: Butter, Malt, Smooth