Black Cloud

My recent, themed overly pretentious posts seem to have not resonated with the Steepster community. Therefore, back to the basics I go.

Black Cloud – what a smooth, only slightly sweet black tea! It is really pleasant. I brewed this particular Steepster Select tea with one of the included tea filters in a standard 8oz mug at 212F for 3 minutes. All standard as indicated by Steepster’s included instructions. The only pain I encounter is when I try to find a place to put my tea bag down in between steeps. Right now I’ve just placed in on top of a napkin-covered leather coaster, and its messy and damp all over.

The first steep offered only glancing insights into the core of the tea. Light chocolatey notes could be heard around the tea, but with a sip, nothing more than a generic sweetness arose. The second steep did little to help unravel the Black Cloud, but the sweetness began to fade. There is little exotic or exciting about Black Cloud from Silk Road Teas, but it is a basic black tea with a tinge of chocolate and a blanket of gentle sweetness.

News! I just got a nice faucet mount filter from Culligan, and it works like a charm. No more ewy, chewy tap water from this 100 year old factory that I live in. And it honestly has improved the quality of my tea-making.

I was REALLY hesitant about this tea when I read ‘smokiness’ as a tasting note (I don’t like Lapsang Souchongs, and that’s what came to mind).

But I worried for nothing. The smokiness and the chocolate notes are just that- notes. The tea isn’t overpowered by either, and they play nicely together, fading (but still present) with successive steeps. There’s also an incredibly satisfying earthiness that reminds me of pu-erh.

From the September 2014 select box.

Really surprised to find this tea in the Steepster select pack but curiously decided to try it on a busy Thursday afternoon. Firstly the tea has a real chocolate aroma but it smells like they had cacao nearby when they dried it not like artificial flavorings (i hope). Also since it was later in the day and I didn’t want a burst of caffeine I decided to rinse the tea twice and let it open up (hopefully washing some caffeine away). First off there is a mellow chocolate aroma and some notable earthiness. Later as it steeped the chocolate gave way to some astringency and finally to a stronger black tea flavoring. I liked the evolution as it brewed and will try another steep slowly sipping some chocolate along the way.

This was good for a Chinese black tea. Not too deep and dark.

I got this tea in my first Steepster box! The first steep is very much chocolate, with hints of mineral and wheat. I was actually impressed at the level of chocolate flavor without any added chocolate. Successive steeps are lighter on chocolate, but it’s still present. There are more pronounced notes of wheat/bread and mineral in later steeps.

I liked this tea. A nice change from my typical choice in black tea, darjeeling. Its pleasant smoky assertiveness is modified by a rich chocolate scent and taste. I also appreciate the nice alertness it provides in the mornings.

Better than I thought it would be. I expected muskier and more chocolate tones, but, once brewed, I enjoyed the subtlety of it. Very pleasant.

Brewed this Western style this morning, and was pleasantly awakened by the gorgeous aroma and flavor. Just as the other tasting notes mention, chocolate predominates the first steep with light tones of mineral and just a hint of smoke. Second and third steeps have less of the chocolate taste as the other flavors step forward, but the aroma still remains enticing.

Reminiscent of Laoshan Black from Verdant Tea, but with more of a mineral edge. Thanks Steepster Select for including this in the September Box.

I don’t tend to gravitate as much to black, but this had a nice aroma and subtle chocolate notes.

Good black tea with wonderful hints of chocolate. Chocolate comes through most in the first steep. Second and third steeps are just pleasant black tea.