This tea smells like rich, fruity dark chocolate. Unfortunately, the fruit doesn’t make it into the first 15-second steep, but the chocolate definitely does, although like the classic version, it doesn’t seem as dark. There’s also toasted rice, a slight smokiness, and a hint of bitterness on the aftertaste. It’s kind of like drinking especially high-quality hot chocolate.
In subsequent steeps, the flavours are more defined and the chocolate is somewhat stronger. The toasted rice morphs into dark rye bread by the third infusion. This tea keeps getting sweeter and more chocolate-y until it peters out at about steep ten.
This is definitely a cut above the classic Laoshan black and is worth the extra money. Will buy again.
Flavors: Cacao, Caramel, Dark Chocolate, Rye, Smoke, Toasted Rice
