Another excellent A&D black tea.
A&D doesn’t state what’s in this blend. People here have said Keemun. Maybe Ceylon. Maybe Darjeeling. Maybe Assam.
I’m not sure, myself. I am guessing Keemun is correct because of the smoky aspect. The tea has some astringency so I’m going with some Assam. The leaves look a little like Ceylon, but don’t give off the same color after steeping as most Ceylons do for me, and I’m not seeing the Darjeeling bit. The leaves are darker and finer than what I think of when I think of darjeeling. But there is a bit of a sharp, winey note to the dry leaves so I can understand where that thought comes from.
Mostly, the dry leaf smells earthy. The tea’s aroma and flavor has a bit of maltiness, but not the depth of the Black Sunshine. I am not tasting much smoke, but again, air quality here is poor so I may just not be noticing it. The tea leaves the mouth a bit dry, but it isn’t bitter or harsh. It’s actually what I’d call smooth.
I drank this pretty quickly while I was on the phone with a friend, so I didn’t take notes as I went. I will need to visit this again next time I drink it. For now, I’ll say there’s a really interesting cocoa note in the cup after the tea is gone and I really enjoyed this tea — though not as much as the Black Sunshine (because Yunnan is my favorite).
Flavors: Astringent, Cocoa, Malt, Smoke
Morgana, It must be Keemun and Ceylon. I read this on the A&D website -
“We like to soak this custom blend of Ceylon and Chinese teas in our favorite tub for four minutes.”
Mystery solved! Thanks!