Another Nicole (and possibly boychik) tea! This looks quite similar to the Yi Mei Ren I had earlier today, but the leaves are thinner. Same jet black spindly texture though. Spider legs! Their dry scent is very mild, I think it’s probably because the tea has been in a clear resealable bag for a while, so most of the scent is gone. Smells lightly of honey, malt, and raisin. I brewed for 3 minutes.
The aroma is very chocolaty, which I was not expecting! There’s also quite a bit of malt along with honey, molasses, and raisin notes. As soon as I taste this, I notice that it has that fennel seed-like spice note, and quite a bit of it. It’s interesting because the other two teas I’ve had with a similar flavor are both Yunnan, while this is a Fujian tea. I wonder why that is… Anyway, the flavor is very malty and deep with molasses adding a background richness, but not sweetness. This tea is definitely quite savory. I don’t get as much cocoa as I would expect from the aroma, but it’s there a little bit. I would describe it as roasted cacao nibs.
Definitely an interesting and enjoyable tea. I find myself wanting to go eat some spices until I find out exactly what that herbaceous spice note is!
Also, no one else mentioned the spice in their notes… But I found it extremely obvious. Is that weird or what?
Flavors: Cocoa, Fennel Seed, Malt, Molasses, Roasted
I love this one, it is hoard worthy, LOL.
Fennel, eh? I’ll have to think about that on my next steeping…