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Teavana’s Black Dragon Pearl

Black Dragon Pearl by Teavana
Black Tea / Straight
$15.00 for 2oz

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First Impressions

I’m a bit bummed that Teavana is closing its locations across Canada (and from the rumblings on the internet, I believe the US locations may be closing soon as well), but that didn’t stop me from stopping into a local Teavana location to see what they still had in store. As far as I can tell, they don’t even have a Canadian website anymore and the US website does not deliver to Canadian addresses (whomp, whomp). Anyways, I digress. I saw this one up on the shelf still and was intrigued.

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Black Dragon Pearl is a straight black tea. As per the Teavana website, it says that the pearls each consist of 30 leaves tightly rolled together. I didn’t count them, so I’ll pretend that the number 30 is factually accurate. The product page also suggests that there are cocoa undertones to this tea, which I do not smell at all. The overall aroma from the pearls is an earthiness.

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Preparation

Teavana recommends steeping Black Dragon Pearl in 196°F (91°C)water for 3 minutes. I steeped 3 pearls in my teapot for 3 minutes.

First Taste

Black Dragon Pearl steeps to a beautiful golden orange for the first steep. The aroma that comes up from this tea has primarily earthiness, with a touch of malty aroma and a tiny bit of honeyed sweetness. Thankfully, the tea also had the same flavours that the aroma hinted at. There was earthiness in the flavours that went well with the maltiness that is familiar with black teas. The sips I had of this finished off with a touch of honey and a hint of floral sweetness.

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A Second Cup?

The sales associate at Teavana suggested that the Black Dragon Pearl could be steeped upwards of 3 times, which of course meant that I had to attempt at least an steep (which meant that I did a full 3 resteeps, for a total of 4 steeps of the same leaves). I increased the steeping time by 30 seconds per steep and found that the colouring of the tea was significantly lighter for the first resteep. The floral and honey notes in this tea were more forward in the resteeps than in the initial steep. I still didn’t find any chocolate/cocoa notes in this tea in any of the steeps.

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My Overall Impression

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I loved Teavana’s Black Dragon Pearl. I really wish I didn’t love this one because the store is closing, which means I’ll need to get my hands on just a little bit more to keep myself happy until I find another source for a good black pearl tea. The flavours of this tea are delightful, and I love how well it resteeps with the increasing honey and floral flavours. Plus, the big bonus is being able to watch these tea leaves open up – I just love pearl teas.

Curious about the cup rating system? Click here to learn more.

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Yunomi’s Shimane Aged Black Tea 2016 Vintage

Shimane Aged Black Tea 2016 Vintage by Yunomi
Black Tea / Straight
$7.00USD for 20g

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Yunomi has provided me with Shimane Aged Black Tea 2016 Vintage for the purposes of providing an honest review.

First Impressions

Remember when I shared my thoughts on Yunomi’s Shimane Aged Black Tea 2015 Vintage? Today’s review is the 2016 Vintage. A year younger and hopefully also tasty? The dry leaf of this one is small pieces, there were a few broken pieces of twigs here and there. No giant leaves to unfurl like in a good oolong, but this black tea has a beautiful smell to it. When I inhaled the aroma from the dry leaf, I got the fragrances of plums and blackberries.

Shimane Aged Black Tea 2016 Vintage is a straight organic black tea from the Takarabako Tea Farm.

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Preparation

Yunomi recommends steeping Shimane Aged Black Tea 2016 Vintage in 90°C (194°F) for 3 to 5 minutes. I did my initial steep for 4 minutes.

First Taste

Shimane Aged Black Tea 2016 Vintage steeps to a beautiful golden orange. The aroma that comes from this tea is quite fruity, I can smell plums and a mixture of berries. The taste of aged black tea also has plums and berries, and a light astringency to the tea. Shimane Aged Black Tea 2016 Vintage is smooth with a light floral taste that mingles well with the plums and berries.

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A Second Cup?

I resteeped Shimane Aged Black Tea 2016 Vintage a total of five times. The first resteep was sweeter than the rest, and the flavours became more plum over berry as the steeps continued. As per usual, I added 30 seconds to each subsequent length of steeping time.

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My Overall Impression

I loved Yunomi’s Shimane Aged Black Tea 2016 Vintage. The development of the flavour profile of this black tea was a delight for the senses. The mix of plums and berries is delicious, and the light astringency isn’t bad. I think it comes off ‘lighter’ as other black teas, and I wouldn’t say this one would replace any standard breakfast tea, but the flavour is really nice and it does an excellent job resteeping over and over again.

Curious about the cup rating system? Click here to learn more.

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Kailo Tea’s Zen Out

Zen Out by Kailo Tea
Roobios & Herbal Infusion / Flavoured
$15.99 for 45g (15 sachets)

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Kailo Tea has provided me with Zen Out for the purposes of providing an honest review.

First Impressions

The second of the teas sent to me by Kailo Tea (the first was Wake Up, which I reviewed earlier this month). This time it’s an herbal infusion with added vitamins so yes, there was another capsule in my tea. This herbal infusion has a great mix of ingredients that smell delightful – I mostly make out the smell of citrus (from the orange and lemon) and the ginger. It smells like a great night time herbal infusion to have since it lacks caffeine.

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Zen Out consists of: rooibos, currants, orange peel, cornflowers, acai, lemon peel, hibiscus, apple, rosehips, strawberry leaf, linden leaf, calendula, rose, natural and artificial flavours, ginger root, vitamin D3, vitamin 3, and magnesium citrate. The packaging mentions lavender and it’s missing from the ingredients list.

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Preparation

Kailo Tea recommends steeping Zen Out in 200-210°F (93-99°C) for 5 to 6 minutes. I steeped Zen Out initially for 5 minutes.

First Taste

Zen Out steeps to a dark orange, and it slightly cloudy (like it’s Wake Up counterpart, I attribute that to the vitamin capsule). It smells mostly of ginger and citrus. I’m a bit surprised that it’s not more pink because of the hibiscus, which I find always turns everything a deep shade of pink. The rooibos base in this tea does give it that usual medicinal smell. On first taste, I primarily tasted the ginger. Pleasantly, the rooibos base wasn’t overpowering the rest of the ingredients. I typically don’t like rooibos, but the ginger and citrus flavours are strong and pretty much rule over everything else. It doesn’t taste too sweet, although I wish I could make out the rest of the ingredients.

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A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Zen Out and found that the flavour to be lacking as it was quite watery. I think Zen Out is best for just one steep.

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My Overall Impression

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I liked Kailo Tea’s Zen Out. I’m not typically one for rooibos, but I found that the other ingredients in this blend overpowered the medicinal flavour that I don’t like from the rooibos which was a major plus for me. The ginger and citrus flavours are delicious, bright, and yet relaxing. I don’t think it makes me sleepy though, but doesn’t make me feel overly energetic so perhaps it managed to do what its meant to do.

Curious about the cup rating system? Click here to learn more.