Charles K. 30/11/-0001

Received this as part of one of the dark teas curated club box. Completely new style to me. Brewed at 87C, over many steepings. Amazing initial aroma - sweet fruit and dark cocoa, giving away to a powerhouse of nutty malty aroma. Liquor is a beautiful jewel amber color with touch of orange. Thick mouthfeel, leaving a coating in the mouth after swallowed - long slow finish, which eventually ended up off-dry, getting drier with later steepings. Taste notes starts off strong malty & nutty, giving away to more subtle notes of toffee, dark fruit, and cocoa. Taste profile evolves a long time in the mouth, changing over the course of its long slow finish. Later steepings revealed a drier woody note, with a bit of astringency at the end of the finish - but not an unpleasant one - just enough to offset some of the sweeter notes as a palate cleanser. Malt characteristic also was tempered somewhat ( although never completely lost ) in mid-to-late steepings, allowing the floral/vegetal flavors to be more noticable. Later steeping also brought a clearing minerality to the finish. A complex flavored tea which just kept evolving and changing in unexpected and enjoyable ways, steeping to steeping All in all, an extremely pleasant introduction to this style!