Castle Black

A full leaf, very dark tea, very smooth. Bought based on the recommendations of their website, and it does not disappoint. Seems like the last 5 new teas I’ve tried have all been disappointing, this one restored my faith. I forgot while steeping, and instead of my normal <2 minutes, let this one go 20 minutes, and it’s still not bitter; strong but very flavorful and drinkable. Full leaf teas are always so much fun to try and get out of a container, or into a tea ball, but are often worth the effort in being a smoother tea, for some reason. Fewer broken leaves = less tannins?

3 grams from derk used in single tea.

The expectations were as her wrote in her tasting note comments. Some petrichor, dungeon fell, cellar and ehhm, nothing from those.

Not a bad tea though! I have noticed mostly red fruits, red apple skins, I felt rather being in orchard than a castle. Certainly, there are notes saying it’s black tea, but overall so nice and mild. Enjoyable drink, smooth, no astringency nor bitterness. Nice change of pace after flavoured teas in recent days.

Preparing western maybe didn’t made the most complex flavour profile though.

I think this is a Spring 2019 harvest.

Rich with chocolate-malt-wood body. Smoothed by sunflower seed nuttiness. Rounded out by deep and warm stonefruit flavors. High floral notes. Fermenting windfelled fruit resting upon soil warmed by the autumn sun. An orchard at the edge of a forest. Good balance of flavor, aroma, astringency, bitterness and aftertaste. Feels more grounded than other unsmoked Lapsang Souchong but with plenty of complexity. The little leaves harness a wealth of power and they are not fussy in preparation method.

I need a t-shirt that says, “Mail is my love language.” This traveled to my house from derk in an envelope peppered with cheerful, artsy stamps. Furthermore, I have the luxury of some use-it-or-lose-it vacation time to burn before end of the month, so I am enjoying it at home, not in the office.

I tasted before I investigated the description, and couldn’t quite place the flavor, although the scent was deliciously rich. Come to find out, says Whispering Pines, this is a lapsang souchong variety. If so, it is the mildest one I’ve ever sampled—like the outside rim of a very lightly toasted marshmallow rather than campfires and bacon.