Country of Origin: China
Leaf Appearance: dark, tightly rolled balls
Ingredients: black tea
Steep time: 30 seconds
Water Temperature: 212 degrees
Preparation Method: porcelain gaiwan
Liquor: amber
I was really excited to try this because it is unusual to see a pearl tea made with black tea, especially one that is not jasmine scented. Teavivre made it easy to prepare because they gave a count of how many pearls are needed rather than the standard teaspoon measurement. It took them a while to unfurl and they were fairly large in size. The taste was mellow for a black tea. Even if I had not know from the description, it was obvious that this tea was from Yunnan. There were malty notes along with hints of chocolate and a sweet finish. There was no bitterness and the mouth-feel was very smooth. I did three infusions but the leaves definitely had a lot more left to give. After a few infusions, I was amazed at how large the leaves are. I found several complete bud sets, stems and all. It takes a lot skill to get those leaves into such uniform pearls. This was another great tea from Teavivre. I’ve really enjoyed their selections as well as the wealth of information they provide about each one of their teas.
You can find out more about this tea here.