I’m back with another review of a tea from Satemwa Tea, and then I think I’ll be going back to Japanese tea (and whatever is in the second month of my Tea Crane subscription because I have not touched that).

First Impressions

The Thyolo Moto Guava OP1 is a black tea smoked with guava leaves, so it’s perhaps unsurprising that there’s a strong smoky note. I’m not very familiar with lapsang souchong, but the smokiness reminds me of that kind tea and the Shui Xian I bought in Hong Kong.

Tasting Notes

The first steep produced a light brown tea liquor that had a slightly smoky scent – not as strong as the dry leaves, but still very distinct. In terms of taste, this tea was smoky, smooth, and slightly sweet (especially after you have a melt-in-the-mouth chocolate biscuit or two). The smoky notes are not overpowering and I’m finding that I really enjoy this tea!

For the second steep, I tried a lower temperature (interpretation: I couldn’t be bothered to boil water again), which resulted in a lighter tea colour. The smoky note shifted to the aftertaste, so it lingers in your mouth after you drink the tea. This made it surprisingly addictive and I finished my cup very quickly.

I went back to using freshly boiled water for the third steep and the tea liquor looked slightly darker. It’s very similar to the taste of the second steep, but I noted new slightly bitter and astringent notes around the tip of the tongue/front part of the mouth.

The smoky note had more or less disappeared by the fourth steep, so I ended the session and took a picture of the spent leaves, which are a really pretty dark brown.

Overall Thoughts

I don’t normally drink very smoky teas but this was delicious! It was delicious by itself and with a sweet snack – a very versatile tea in my opinion!