With the cold weather months approaching and the days getting shorter and shorter, I wanted a black tea that would be a good pick-me-up in the morning, but also something comforting and warmth-inducing. Buttered Rum seemed like just the thing.
First of all, the smell is intoxicating. Lots of warm vanilla and some powerful rich coconut. Such a pretty tea too, with the pretty blue cornflowers.
Once steeped, the tea is a lovely golden brown, definitely reminiscent of a nice dark rum. The smell contains much more coconut than vanilla at this point, which disappoints me a little. The first sip, however, is great. Really nice vanilla flavour, the black tea comes out nicely, and just enough coconut on the finish. Piping hot, it warms you right to the tips of your toes. The perfect thing for an early morning commute. :)
Unfortunately, as the tea cools down, the vanilla and black tea flavours seem to diminish, and a slightly soapy coconut taste begins to predominate, evoking cheap coconut rum, rather than a richer dark variety. This is definitely a brew that is meant to be drunk hot.
Overall though, a really nice tea, great for the colder months :)
