Steeping Out

The pearls are tiny and make the tea more uniqueTea hand-rolled into balls? Seems a bit tedious to me, but they add to the artistry of the tea. Black Dragon Pearl Black Tea is artisan tea. It is hand rolled and is nothing but black tea. I steeped this tea in 95.5°C (195°F) water for three minutes. As the tea was steeping, the hand-rolled balls unfurled into clumps that reminded me of fireballs. The clumps didn't fully extract, so I gently agitated the tea while it was steeping.

The liquor produced after steeping is darker than the Golden Monkey tea that I steeped from both Teavana and Gong Fu Tea. It is flavorful but not as bold as the the monkeys. It has a light nutty flavor which reminded me of walnut, but it introduces a light astringency. The tea does clear my palate, and as such, I would suggest paring this tea with some food.

You can pick up this tea from Teavana for $15 for two ounces.

Update on Monday, April 20, 2009 at 10:32AM by Kristofor

I might have been a bit harsh on the Black Dragon Pearl. I steeped it again recently and was surprised with the taste. It reminds me of a monkey picked black, but is more dry in taste. Perhaps the water was too hot when I steeped it last.