This tea comes to me thanks to Azzrian, who sent me an awesome box of tea in our recent swap. This is one of the few that I asked for specifically because I really love Teavivre’s black pearls and am interested to try others as well.
I used 5 pearls for my 12oz cup. After two minutes they unraveled pretty completely and the liquor is a dark reddish amber. It smells rich, a touch chocolatey, with a hint of something else I can’t quite place. Oh right, a bit of smoke.
Yeah, this definitely has a smoky note to it that I was not expecting at all. It reminds me a bit of a keemun I tried once… with all the grainy, mollassesy, chocolatey sweetness, and a hit of smoke on top. Unfortunately, I am not really a fan of those smoky notes. They really do not do it for me at all. I can tell this is a very nice tea and without those smoke notes, I would love it. But I definitely won’t be seeking this one out again. Thanks so much for letting me try it, Azzrian!