First of all, this does smell amazingly, strangely, like chocolate. Good, dark chocolate. There is also something very fruity and floral in the aroma, a very assertive floral that reads to me like marigold.
I’ve always been a fan of Yunnan black teas, because they’re sweet, and this one definitely has that quality. You can also taste the chocolate, which amuses me greatly. The first time I brewed it, though, because I got way too much of that marigold flavor, that coats the back of your mouth in that bitter/sour flavor you get when someone gets the bright idea to make a floral flavored cocktail. However, I think that was a problem with me, not the tea. I used much less leaf, and water that was less hot this time, and that element was greatly diminished, just enough to be intriguing.
(I’m sorry I don’t leave better notes on how I prepare tea. But my kettle only produces one temperature of water (ridiculously hot) and I usually time my steeping by leaving the leaves in until the tea is ‘cool enough to drink’ which is usually four or five minutes? I think? I’m sure some of the purists out there are appalled, mea culpa.)
