Back in February I reviewed this tea with great praise and a 100 rating, as it matched my memory of many years ago that led, in part, to my tea-sipping habit. I immediately re-ordered and received more of that terrific lot (best by 08/2026; sadly Tealyra does not specify lot numbers when ordering). Subsequently, I noted their supply dwindling and selling-out on their website. While preparing my Mother’s day order a couple weeks ago I found that the supply of Black Beauty #8 had been replenished. Out of curiosity, I included a small pack with my order. Received last week, it did not surprise me to see it was a new lot (best by 11/2026).
The surprise came this week when I broke open the seal and was hit by a fabulous aroma in the dry leaf, that was both deeply malty and with notable black walnut character. It actually gave me goosebumps to smell this tea leaf! I brewed it up and it is even better than the previous lot. It has my rating “meter” pegged at 100 and I would rate it at 105. As it cooled, the notes of brown sugar joined the malty raisin flavors in a trio of happiness. This makes a superb iced tea as well. (Fear-not, although black walnut was an aroma in the dry leaf, there was no such aroma or flavor in the infusions.) I have now ordered more, and was pleased to find a 30% discount code online which stacked with the free FedEx delivery offer. If you’ve been waiting to try this tea, now might be a good time to place an order.
Flavors: Black Walnut, Brown Sugar, Malt, Raisins
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One of my farm jobs as a kid was pounding on the black walnuts with a hammer, putting me off the taste for many years. However, your description makes me think a black walnut-esque tea would be something worth sipping.
Nice memory there, gmathis! I used to spend time during Christmas break in my grandfathers basement, cracking open black walnuts using a vice or a hammer on his anvil, quite like your story! The nuttiness of Long Jing green tea “Dragonwell” is often mentioned, but as a chestnut note. So it’s not too much of a stretch to imagine a black-walnut flavor & aroma in a tea. In this case, the nutty note was limited to the fragrance of the dry tea, but since I do have some black walnuts on hand, I will soon try blending some into a (different) tea, just for kicks! Thanks for the inspiration!
One of my farm jobs as a kid was pounding on the black walnuts with a hammer, putting me off the taste for many years. However, your description makes me think a black walnut-esque tea would be something worth sipping.
Nice memory there, gmathis! I used to spend time during Christmas break in my grandfathers basement, cracking open black walnuts using a vice or a hammer on his anvil, quite like your story! The nuttiness of Long Jing green tea “Dragonwell” is often mentioned, but as a chestnut note. So it’s not too much of a stretch to imagine a black-walnut flavor & aroma in a tea. In this case, the nutty note was limited to the fragrance of the dry tea, but since I do have some black walnuts on hand, I will soon try blending some into a (different) tea, just for kicks! Thanks for the inspiration!