I bought a sample of Colombian Black from Harney & Sons a while ago, and I had been saving the last session worth of tea so I could write about it. Let’s just say this tea is quite unlike any other I have had and I very much liked it!
As you can see it’s mostly whole leaf with very few stems or broken pieces. I brewed about 4 grams of it in a gaiwan with water that was about 205 F. I did first infusion of 15 seconds and added 5 to every subsequent infusion. This tea has some character!
The packaging 
First Infusion
The smell coming off of this tea is very malty. I happen to like malty black tea, so I was happy to be greeted with this smell. The taste is also very malty, which again I enjoy. I also picked up a note of tart sweetness like a cherry. It was very interesting and I can’t say I hated it.
The second infusion was still very malty and had a smell reminiscent of puer tea, which is quite earthy. I also picked up a fruity note from this infusion, still kind of a tart sweetness.
The third infusion had a much stronger taste of fruit, but like a zesty lime citrus fruit and still had some malt, but the malt was less pronounced and the fruit was more pronounced.
By the fourth infusion, I expected the taste to stabilize a little bit, but no the character just keeps coming forth from this lovely liquor. This one had a strong taste of fruit and sweetness and I picked up a note of milk chocolate. Very interesting!
The fifth infusion gave me a hit of sour fruitiness followed by more sweetness. It was really unique.
Overall this tea is very good and very interesting and I highly recommend it to anyone who is a fan of black tea, especially malty Assams or Keenums. The current price on this is $9 for a 2 oz. tin and $28 for a 1 pound bag. I would say that is an excellent deal for the quality of this tea. Give it a shot if you feel like trying something new.
