Yunnan Dragon Pearl Black Tea

This may be one of the more dramatic cases I’ve seen of the differences a tea can have when brewed gongfu vs western style.

This time I brewed it gongfu and did steeps of 1 min, 1 min, 1:30, and 1:30. A much fuller, richer flavor appeared in all steeps. The liquid was thick and coated the mouth with sweetness. I cannot say I would recommend brewing this Western style after experiencing it gongfu. My rating jumped up after this experience.

Good morning Steepster friends!
I’m starting my day with some teas that Sil recently left on my front porch. I brought the whole bag to Tony’s for the weekend. So here’s my first cup of the day, & it’s just so so. I am a lover of Pearl shaped teas, but this one is definitely not what I expected. There were 3 pearls in package, & I used all three in a large mug. (Normally I would use 6 or 8, depending on the brand, steep 3 min & 5). I gave it 3 & tested, & all I got was a soapy/salty kind of maltiness. I’m sure somebody is thinking that the cup had soap residue, but no, I never use soap on my cups, teapots, or strainers. I soak them in hot water & then rub the cups down with a clean cloth. Anyway, I gave it a little more time, & that made it more so. I tried adding more water….:p
Maybe it’s my tastebuds…sigh…NEXt!

Wow. What I get from this is a whole heaping mouthful of cocoa and some fruit. Mainly cocoa though. Like Sil noted, maybe something that might read as smoke hovering around. I like these a lot.

Used 2 pearls in a 6 oz pot. Let steep as I sipped. I think 3-4 minutes was the range where the pearls were fully opened and I started to get more than a lightly flavored hot water. :) Went up through about 7 minutes and while it cooled off, it didn’t turn bitter.

I can see why ost might not have liked these. Again, i’m finding the teas from What-cha to be just a little different than other teas that i’ve had from other companies. Not bad, just different…i’ll have to look in to whether it’s the regions or what…though i know on some of them that IS the difference.

These are deep, heavy pearls….they do have a malty taste to them but there’s also a note in here that isn’t honey…it’s a bit of a sweetness – maybe cherry? with something that could almost be smoke if you thought too hard about it lol

On the package it said to use 1-2 pearls. I used two because I never really know how those big pearls work while steeping. And I don’t know…it just turned out really strong, and I couldn’t explain it at all. I tried re-steeping it for a shorter time and it still was strong and I couldn’t pick out the flavors.
I didn’t really like it, but there was a hint of something that might get me to really like it in it too….
So I am going to withhold a rating till I try this again. Next time I am only gonna use one pearl. Maybe then it will turn out better. ><

Backlog:

Beautiful pearls of black tea with an aroma of earth, leather, honey and cacao.

The pearls brew a delicious cup of tea. Rich and flavorful with plenty of gusto. Robust, lots of cacao notes, an undertone of caramel, notes of earth and leather. It’s a pleasant combination of flavors. As my palate continued to explore this tea, I started to pick up on fruity tones – notes of plum with hints of peach – and a faint note of flower. I was surprised by the complexity here because it was a very rugged, robust cup. I expected that hefty quality to weigh the tea down but I found myself able to explore the depths of the tea.

Here’s my full-length review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2014/09/06/yunnan-dragon-pearl-black-tea-from-what-cha-tea/

Thank you Marzipan for sending me a couple of these beautiful pearls! I, unfortunately, may have wasted some of the splendor because both times I made this I did it in a timolino for work, so I did really get to watch the pearls unfurl.

The first time, I wasn’t paying any attention to the taste when I had it. Oops. I was on break at Dollarama, and had just launched into a mad Christmas shopping/prep spree while sipping on it. Post spree, it was gone.

Since I can’t even come close to wrapping a present nicely, I bought a bajillion Christmas bags in all sorta of shapes, sizes, and prints and then a metric fuck ton of bows, ribbons, gift tags, pattered tissue paper, and little candies to sprinkle inside the bag and add as little “decals” on the outside! My Christmas bags this year are going to be beautiful!

All in all (with a couple of presents thrown in too) I spent around $200 – but I have supplies to last years! I’m adulting! You should all be proud.

PS. VariaTEA I have a very special Christmas present ready for you! No arguing about it, it’s already purchased, compiled in a shipping box and ready to be sent out. The question is, when do you want it sent? Earlier in December or more around Christmas. Everything inside is basically wrapped already (kinda – you’ll see what I mean when you get it) so you could get it earlier, and still be able to wait to open it on Christmas, if you want to do it that way…

Oh, this tea is really unique. It’s incredibly sweet and tastes and smells exactly like honey. If you were to give some of this to a non-tea drinker, I’m positive they wouldn’t believe you hadn’t added any to it. The liquor is even thick and slightly opaque, like it would be if you had dropped in some honey. Along with the lovely sweet honey there is a bit of butterscotch and a nice malt ending.
Even though it brewed up light compared to my usual preference, I think I’m going to have to pick up more of these soon.
I used 2 pearls for 7oz brewed with 212º water for 3 minutes.