China Black Special
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Commercial Description
This unusual China black tea yields a cup that is deep, rich, and smooth, with sweet almost caramel-like notes. One of our favorite black teas. We believe we are the only folks in North America to carry this tea. This black tea sometimes is called Golden Snail.
Ratings & Reviews
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93 Aroma: 7/10 Flavor: 5/5 Value: 5/5Alex Zorach (1453 reviews) on Jun. 21st, 2019
TeaSource describes this tea as unusual, and I agree, and not just how it looks, and its origin (only my second tea I've ever tried from Guangxi) but also its flavor and aroma! I really loved this one and I found it easy to drink and enjoy.
The leaf is only lightly aromatic but the smell is very pleasant.
Upon steeping, the leaves slowly unfurl, producing a moderately dark cup that is more aromatic than the dry leaf. I see the description of caramel notes in the aroma, but I don't really like caramel so I wouldn't choose theses words to describe it. I find this tea really hard to describe though. It's sort of fresh and light, more crisp than most Chinese teas.
The flavor and mouthfeel is also very interesting. There's a little bite up-front, and the sip is initially very smooth, but then there's a sort of edgy astringency and bitterness in the finish, which I find invigorating. I really think the mouthfeel is the most interesting part of this tea because it's so unusual, how it changes through the sip.
This tea resteeps very well. I recommend a longer steeping. I liked going 4-5 minutes on the first steep, and using a bit more leaf than I normally would. This tea tastes good when brewed mildly, but is more interesting and comes alive more when brewed strongly.
I also liked the way I felt after drinking it. It seems fairly caffeinated but it also very calming.
The price, at $12 for 4 ounces, is great. It's hard to find teas of this quality and novelty in this price range! Yet another impressive tea from TeaSource.
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