Nepal Black ~ DavidsTea

Based on the last several DavidsTea reviews, I have come to expect, well, disappointment from their teas. I’m not sure that’s fair, but it is the reality. Fortunately, i have a better reason to write today.

So it is that I come to review DavidsTea’s Nepal Black. Nepalese Blacks are by and large some of the best Blacks that exist. That being said, Nepal is still greatly suffering a year after their terrible earthquake. Unlike Japan, the government is not a position to simply shift funds and rebuild the area better than ever. Nepal, a tiny, poorer nation with far less infrastructure is forced to simply leave many destroyed areas desolate.  Frustratingly, international relief funds have not been spent to shore up the nation as we’d hoped. I haven’t found much in the way of literature on how the earthquake has impacted Nepal’s tea industry, but realistically we can’t possibly anticipate the kind of production and quality we’ve saw in the previous decade.

I’m but a single person with severely strapped financial resources (as evidenced by my long hiatus this year) and as much as i love Nepal tea, I’m powerless to help the situation. Well… almost powerless. I can attempt in my feeble microscopic way to draw attention to this calamity by gifting the first blog post in months to Nepalese tea. It’s extremely frustrating that i can’t do more for Nepal, but i will do what i can.

DavidsTea’s Nepal Black is malty. That much i was sure of as soon as i opened the large vacuum pack. It’s size (seen below) demonstrates the delicate, weightlessness of its contents, for which there must needs be more in order to measure to the same amount of tea for retail purposes. Thus it comes as no surprise that the loose leaf is thin and feathery with a definite, though indeterminate amount of powder (that greatly dislikes being shoved in a teabag). The liquor has a terrific bright amber hue, though less particulate content than i would have hoped… its contemporaries. As i have a bad cold my olfactory senses are quite dulled for the moment and i have to give them the benefit of the doubt, but i can still tell you that Nepal Black has a gooey, malty, almost chocolate aroma. In texture, Nepal Black is decidedly thinner than other Nepalese blacks, but it’s salvageable. In flavor, Nepal Black is 2/3rds malt and 1/3rd Tip with a brief cocoa aftertaste.

As i’ve said before (maybe?), it’s hard to ruin a Nepal black. The combination of elevation, moisture and austere methodology nearly always yield a terrific beverage. DavidsTea’s Nepal Black is no exception, and at this point i have to believe it is their best tea I’ve tried. Which, if you look at the scores is umm, telling…

1. Aroma – 92
2. Taste – 92
3. Texture – 91
4. Spunk – 93
5. Rarity – 90
6. Availability – 92
7. Appearance – 94

Mean score – 92%

In the world of tea, it’s definitely passable.