Simply exceptional! This is one of the teas that I think is much better than its commercial description suggests! This is the second tea I've tried from Rukeri estate; the first was a BOP grade from Upton Imports. This tea was similar and I loved both.

The dry leaf is finely broken, much more so than I expect for the OPA grade, but it has a potent aroma, rich, fruity, and spicy.

Upon brewing, even more aromatic notes come out, including earthy, malty, and floral notes and a hint of wintergreen, on top of the fruity and spicy qualities. The aroma is quite complex and evolves as I drink it, but the different qualities blend well and never seem too "busy". The cup is full-bodied and thick, with just enough astringency to impart body. Overall though I find it is quite smooth. The flavor is also very rich, with a balance of sweet, savory, sour, and bitter flavors pretty close to what I would consider ideal for a strong black tea. The overall character of the cup is similar to other African black teas, i.e. from Kenya, Tanzania, or Malawi, if you have tried any of those.

The resteep is quite good too, which was more than I expected given the broken nature of the leaf.

I cannot emphasize how good the price is on this. It's under $5 for 4 ounces, this is absolutely nuts. I've had teas that cost over four times as much as this one that I think weren't as good. If you are going to order black teas from S&V, you absolutely have to throw in this tea, it's so cheap, so unique, and so high-quality that there's no reason not to! And you might, like me, find that it's something you would really want to drink every day.

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