Southern Yunnan tea rolled into medium-size “dragon pearls”, from Teasenz tea store.

Rolls are large enough, about 1 cm in diameter approx., dark brown with light inclusions, beautiful. Pearls should guarantee a clean liquor and better preservation. Smell is musky sweet cocoa, some Keemun note. Looks and smells good.

I’ll put half of sample sachet into gaiwan, 8 tea pearls. Last months I use tea pots only for varieties of oolong tea, like tea guan yin. I’d like to find an interesting and expansive gaiwan, but no success yet. So using a simple white one, and it’s OK.

After rinse 1st steep at 93°C for 2 min., cause I want to drink it heavy taste: malty plum Keemun aroma of dark red liquid, good thick oily taste with a lot of real honey sweetness, and some astringency, but very deep below the sweetness. Hard to believe it’s achieved without any sugar addition. real black tea, as it’s loved in Russia (but they are always add sugar there), just more lively and fruity, red plum and some cherry jam. Pearls are already opened up after such a long first steep. Sorry.

2nd steep at 94°C for 3 min.: excellent plum liquor taste not bitter, but malty with cocoa undertone. Aroma is good and fills the room.  Sweet and slightly sour aftertaste, like chocolate was eaten.

3rd steep at 95°C for 4 min.:sweet and more cocoa comes up. Not bitter at all for now. All bitterness remained in first steep. Just cocoa and malt remains.

4th steep at 90°C for 6 min.: lighter, and only sweetness remains from initial complex taste.

This tea is tasty and fun to drink, if you like a red (black) Yunnan teas. Periodically I can’t live without them and starting to drink them often. Especially when succeeding in finding a good one. This tea from Teasenz seems to be a good one and not overpriced.