Laoshan Badger black tea comes from Qingdao and it is one of the most amazing and the most visually beautiful chocolate-plum teas out there.

Laoshan Badger is one of the most photogenic teas ever. The leaves are so beautiful it’s hard to even understand why Laoshan Hongcha is not more popular. Maybe because all real treasures are always rare to find. Honestly, I enjoy those difficult to find teas much more than the most famous ones. Of course, some of them are truly exceptional, but I know it’s easier to find good „rare“ tea than good „popular“ tea. There are way too much fake and low quality teas out there, and they rarely counterfeit those that are infamous. I even had a great success ordering Rizhao green tea on eBay, which is quite amazing.

Laoshan Badger

Let’s go back to my new favorite black tea ever. If you have been reading my last few reviews, you might have noticed that I am amazed by almost every single tea I have tried lately. Maybe it’s my lucky season, as I really am enjoying some of the best teas ever. They make me exceptionally happy. Recently I opened a new package and I started crying how happy I was. Same thing happened with Laoshan Badger.

Name: Laoshan Badger
Tea Vendor: Teabento (Germany)
Type: Chinese black tea

Shiny perfection

Laoshan Badger comes from Shandong province, Laoshan in Qingdao, and it’s made from Long Jing #43 cultivar. It has extremely beautiful leaves. Small, snail shaped, shiny black with grey gleam, full and beautiful. I want to hold them in my hands, and look at them for ages. Like every single one of them was carefully crafted. And then, there is a beautiful scent of rich dark chocolate. When placed in the warmed teapot, they are full of roasted notes, raisins and plums coated with cocoa. Laoshan Badger leaves an impression of a dessert tea. I could easily compare the scent type to rich port wine. It’s one of the best best chocolate/plum teas I’ve ever tried. 50 grams costs 7.90 EUR or around 9.50 USD.

Laoshan Badger

Come little Laoshan badger, let’s get into the water

Brewing: 4 grams, 150 ml, 90 degrees Celsius, 45, 30, 90 seconds

Of course, it gets even better. After the first steeping leaves reveal deep, more intense robust layer, with some citric hints in the background. Laoshan Badger might have complex, deep and intense scent, but the flavor is everyday friendly. It tastes very delicate, refreshing and silky. Only a light note of raisins and a touch of dark chocolate, just right to keep it lovable and unique. Color is brownish golden. You can re-steep it three times, which was quite surprising as the incredibly intense scent was still holding on to them. I did try one more steeping, but was out of luck. Made me want to cry. I saved them in a cup, only to look at them for a day longer.

Laoshan Badger

Laoshan Badger is a great black tea choice for both tea amateurs and those that have already tried thousands of teas. It has a lot to offer. It has no bitterness at all, the fact that many beginners might appreciate, and a lot of beauty and soul for those that are more advanced.

Laoshan Badger

If you want to try Teabento teas, you can use the special discount code for Tea Chronicles’ readers. Type in „cajne“ during your tea check-out for a 10% off. Don’t know which one to choose? Take a look at sample teabento box – it includes eight TEAriffic teas. Discount is valid until the end of October. Teabento’s tea animals can offer a lot of love.