A sample from the Philadelphia Coffee and Tea Expo, and wow does it deliver on its name! An extremely smooth, naturally sweet, and somewhat peculiar tea, unlike any other.

The leaf is big, thick, and twisted, and takes up a huge amount of space relative to its weight. The leaf is completely unbroken, except for a few pieces that I possibly broke trying to get it out of the bag. It's not particularly aromatic when dry.

Upon brewing though, there's an explosion of aroma. The aroma is intensely malty, suggestive more of rye than barley malt, but the maltiness is not accompanied by any of the other aromatic notes that, say, an Assam tea usually has. Instead, the tea is light and fresh smelling, hinting at floral notes. The flavor is very mild, with little bitterness and quite a lot of sweetness, making the name well-chosen.

Light-bodied, especially for a black tea. A lot like a lighter oolong in mouthfeel, with that buttery smooth texture. Really honey-like...truly lives up to its name.

Easy to brew to satisfaction. I found about heaping tablespoon of leaf (which I'd estimate to be about 2 gram of leaf--it takes up a lot of space) and a 3 minute first steep was ideal, although I was able to use less and steep longer. With a 3 minute first steep, I was able to brew the tea three times and possibly could have gone longer--exceptional for a black tea. The thick leaves are slow to release their flavor!

Alternatively I also had good results brewing 5 minutes followed by a second, very long infusion.

Price is good. This is a moderately pricey tea, but it's pretty exceptional, and I think worth every penny. And the leaf stretches really far...this tea would be wasted if you did not steep it at least twice!

Add your own review

Login or Sign Up to comment on this review.