One of our tea suppliers often tosses in samples of new teas he is considering offering in the future.  With our most recent order came a small tea cake labeled Dark Rose, a dark tea.  I have not had this product or even this variety of tea before.  This is definitely a fermented tea, but not as earthy and complex as Pu-Er’s or Toucha that I have been trying recently.  It was much smoother.

I am a little concerned that I did not properly prepare it.  The directions that came included called for a very short steep of only one minute in boiling water in the cup. I followed the directions and got a very thin liquor which was sweet, but wonder if the tea cake should have been broken up more so the leaves could expand fully or given it a longer steeping time.  If anyone is familiar with dark tea preparation please post a comment.  As I have time to research dark teas further, I will elaborate on what I find.