Every other 5 star rating I've ever given feels like four stars after trying this tea. Buy this tea.
I couldn’t get much of a scent from the dried leaves beyond “black tea,” so I was worried when I first opened the container. Then I smelled the steeped tea and lost all concern, and maybe my mind a little bit, because - WOW, this tea smells heavenly. I spent the entire time waiting for it to cool down just breathing it in with such intensity I started to feel like a crazy person. I was mostly (mostly) trying to put it into words for this review, though. The only thing I can think of (that does it remote justice) is the sweetest, most delicious malted grain you’ve ever smelled and/or tasted in your life. Then I had a sip.
It. Is. INCREDIBLE. That delicious malty-ness remains in taste - not at all like a beer or alcohol malt, though, and I struggle to compare it to anything. It’s not sweet, necessarily. Just… comforting. Warm. Like stepping inside from a sun-bathed meadow walk and tasting your grandma’s freshly baked bread on the air. (I’ve never experienced that in my life, but after drinking this tea, I feel as though I have). It has virtually none of the astringency of typical black teas, it is smooth and hydrating over the tongue.
August’s other rare leaf tea, Black Pearl, I recommended oolong lovers try for the experience. But THIS. This tea – I beg anyone and everyone to buy it for the taste. It IS worth the price. By FAR the most amazing single-leaf black tea I have ever tasted. In fact, maybe the most amazing tea I've tasted of any single-leaf OR blend. Buy this tea.…