The dry leaf has an incredibly fruity aroma, like apricot.

This is a strong black tea with a very pleasing aroma and flavor. It is malty like an Assam, but with less edge. Unfortunately, there's only a hint of the pleasing fruity quality that I noticed in the dry leaf. Less bitter than you'd expect, and not very astringent or tannic, although there's a muted tannic aftertaste. Very balanced and agreeable given how strong it is.

Rishi recommends using the liberal quantity of 1 tablespoon of leaves per 8 oz. water, and brewing for 5 minutes...while this seems like a lot, I really liked the results when brewing this way: this tea is so smooth that it's not quite too much. The result is an extraordinarily intense cup that is almost jet black, but still less tannic than a number of weaker black teas.

Brewing the way I would a normal black tea, I found this tea was a bit too smooth: it comes across as earthy but doesn't have much kick.

I really like this tea. It's a bit pricey given how much leaf you need to use, but it has the quality to back up the price. My only wish with it is that the fruity quality of the dry loose leaf would come through more in the actual cup.

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