Black Dragon Pearls

Adagio Teas

$24.00USD for 3oz

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One of my favorite black teas from my Teavana days is Black Dragon Pearls. When Teavana shut down I had a mini panic attack over where I was going to get them from. I did a lot of research and talked to a lot of tea people before I finally decided to give Adagio’s Black Dragon Pearls a try. After comparing the prices, and knowing how often I typically drink this tea, I went ahead and got myself a full pound. I am not sorry that I did that!

Packaging

My Black Dragon Pearls arrived in a large heat sealed bag. It is resealable and lightproof, which makes keeping the majority of the tea safe in there while I use a bit at a time.

The name of the tea is printed on the bag, as well as a description of where the tea is from and some tasting notes. Steeping instructions are also readily available along with the weight in both ounces and grams.

When I opened the bag I was greeted by a wonderfully sweet earthy aroma with hints of cocoa and coffee. It was an incredibly pleasant smell, even better than what I had grown accustomed to at Teavana. The pearls were BEAUTIFUL. They were larger than I was used to. I could not wait to see the leaves as they opened.

How to Brew

Adagio has the brewing instructions conveniently on the front of the bag. The instructions say to use one heaping teaspoon per cup (8oz) of water. That equaled to 3 or 4 of these giant Black Dragon Pearls. Brew time is 3-5 minutes at 212ºF, which is a bit hotter than I normally brew my black teas.

As the tea brewed, the sweet cocoa aroma heightened. It was incredibly pleasant and the leaves were so pretty to watch unfurl. You can see in the picture above, the color of the leaves varied from a light tan to a deep brown. You can see how tightly they are rolled, these hand crafted beauties are incredible from start to finish.

The Experience

Adagio’s Black Dragon Pearls come from the Yunnan Providence in China. The website has fantastic information about the location:

Yunnan is the name of the Southern Chinese province bordering Vietnam. It’s believed to be the birthplace of tea, and the oldest wild growing tea tree (never pruned to be bush height) is about 1,700 years old.

The pearls steeped to a gorgeous amber color. Black teas are well known for their earthy flavor. Adagio’s Black Dragon Pearls did not disappoint in that regard. There was also a sweet cocoa flavor that became prominent during the second and third steeping. It was very smooth on the tongue. I was able to get 5 solid steepings out of this tea and probably could have gotten a 6th but my toddler got impatient (#momlife).

The leaves were absolutely beautiful as they unraveled. I had a few too many pearls in my Gaiwan so they had trouble unfurling at first. But when I took a few out and allowed them the room to open properly, they were absolutely gorgeous! They opened into deep browns and auburn reds.

In Conclusion

Black Dragon Pearls is the perfect morning wake up tea. I am very happy with my decision to purchased a full pound straight off the bat. This tea will make a fantastic latte to change it up a bit every once in awhile. A coffee lover would be very happy with this tea!

If you are looking for a tea to wake up up in the morning or keep you going through the day, give Adagio’s Black Dragon Pearls a try.

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