海南紅茶

I wasn't expecting much from a tea region I'd never heard of, but the first steep won me over. There's a honeyed sweetness that lingers well after the cup's gone, and it never turns bitter even when I forget about it for a few extra minutes.

The leaves open up into something malty and faintly sweet, closer to a black tea from Yunnan than anything I expected from an island most people don't associate with tea at all. Two steeps in and it was still giving.

Wasn't expecting much from a tea region I'd never heard of, but this one surprised me. The dry leaf smells faintly sweet, and it holds up through several steeps without going bitter.