When first opening the tin, the tea smells earthy and dusty, very much like an inexpensive Yunnan black tea. The leaves are quite large for loose leaf tea at this price, but there are more than a few twig fragments among the leaves. This also matches my experience with inexpensive Yunnan black tea.

While brewing, the aroma is consistent with my initial impression. Earthy, faint cocoa, oak leaves.

The tea has a nice flavor, but it's light and the tea is thin-bodied. There's an unexpected bitterness and raisin maltiness, cut with an oaky and tannic astringency. It flavor profile reminds me a bit of TATA Gold, which is a blend of Assam CTC and Darjeeling leaves, but without the strength.

I keep wanting there to be more to this tea. It's not bad, it just tastes like a blend of cheap teas that is, if anything, less than the sum of its parts. The flavor and body are light enough that I have to struggle a bit to properly taste them. The finish is a nice cocoa, but also fleeting. I paid $7 for a 100g/3.5oz tin that is $11.00 from The Tao of Tea's online shop. $2/ounce isn't outrageous, but there are less expensive teas that I enjoy more, including straight CTC Assam or Yunnan black teas. I'd feel ripped off if I'd paid $3/ounce. I won't be buying more.

EDIT: I intentionally oversteeped the tea (fifteen minutes) and it improved a lot. It balances a bit too bitter, but the cocoa shines through with some dried cherries, classic malt, and a hint of molasses. Maybe that's what they were going for. If I were blind-tasting the oversteeped tea, I'd guess it to be an average Sri Lankan tea. In any case, I bumped the rating a few points. It's still overpriced for the quality, but worth drinking.

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