Tasting Notes: cinnamon, honey, licorice, chocolate

Description: Taiwan is known for their infamous oolong teas, but here we have a Taiwanese black tea. An exquisite tea that exemplifies the modern art of tea.

Ruby 18, aka Sun Moon Lake black tea, was created in 1999 in Nantou, Taiwan. A cross between indigenous Taiwanese tea bushes and Assam varietal bushes. This new modern cultivar, numbered Ruby-18, was created by crossing the Assamica tea cultivar with the native Taiwan tea plant to produce an aromatic tea that is medium to full-bodied.

A fragrant tea that has a rich taste with many flavor notes lingering together. An intoxicating black tea with notes of amber, malt, licorice, cinnamon, sweet honey, and chocolate. A subtle hint of smoke ties all the flavors together. This unique black tea pairs well with food and can be sipped hot or iced.

Recommended for those that love Golden Monkey, Black Gunpowder, Pu'er, and Assam.

Ingredients: black tea from Taiwan

Steep Directions: steep 1 heaping teaspoon of tea per 8 oz boiling water, 205-212°F, for 3-5 minutes