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Mastress Alita’s sipdown challenge, April 2022: A tea that includes a color in its name

Of course I fall in love with the tea whilst sipping on my last cup. Ugh.

So, this tea – it totally deserves its name. It tastes red like rust, like wine, like cherries. It’s so earthy – with notes of leather, wood, tobacco, cooking herbs, and smoke. Its bold, brisk profile is a nice contrast from the floral/fruit-inclined teas I normally favour. As it cools, it becomes subtly creamy and spicy. It reminds me a little of a sheng puerh.

Flavors: Allspice, Bittersweet, Cherry, Cherry Wood, Cinnamon, Cloves, Cocoa, Creamy, Drying, Earth, Floral, Herbs, Honey, Leather, Malt, Nutmeg, Pepper, Raisins, Red Wine, Rosemary, Sawdust, Smoke, Spices, Tannic, Thyme, Tobacco, Wood

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 4 min, 0 sec
tea-sipper

Oh it’s so amusing when I love the last cup of a tea the best and then want to stock up on it again. (sarcasm).

Crowkettle

I usually have better luck; the dregs at the bottom of the pouch often make me question if I actually liked that tea after all :|

derk

CrowKettle, have you had Ancient Spirit from WP? Since Brendan likens this as ‘Ancient Spirit’s little brother’, I wonder how you (or anybody else!) think it compares.

Crowkettle

If I had I don’t have any memory or recording of it! I read that write-up too as I polished it off and it made me curious; I wish I’d more so I could send it out to all of you for “testing”, but it was only a sample to begin with. Did “Ancient Spirit” feel like it lived for woodwork class too? I don’t think I’ve had a tea this woody in a long time!

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Comments

tea-sipper

Oh it’s so amusing when I love the last cup of a tea the best and then want to stock up on it again. (sarcasm).

Crowkettle

I usually have better luck; the dregs at the bottom of the pouch often make me question if I actually liked that tea after all :|

derk

CrowKettle, have you had Ancient Spirit from WP? Since Brendan likens this as ‘Ancient Spirit’s little brother’, I wonder how you (or anybody else!) think it compares.

Crowkettle

If I had I don’t have any memory or recording of it! I read that write-up too as I polished it off and it made me curious; I wish I’d more so I could send it out to all of you for “testing”, but it was only a sample to begin with. Did “Ancient Spirit” feel like it lived for woodwork class too? I don’t think I’ve had a tea this woody in a long time!

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Profile

Bio

I started my Steepster loose leaf adventure back in 2012. I can’t say I’m completely new anymore, but I still view oolong as a magical, extraterrestrial creature that unfurls in water.

My favourites are teas like Milk Oolong, Silver Needle,and Japanese Sencha/Gyokuro, or fruity and floral flavoured ones. However, I generally enjoy ALL the teas, including a good old cup of Earl Grey or Breakfast blend.

FAVOURITE INGREDIENTS/NOTES:

DESSERT FLAVOURS
Vanilla, Maple, Caramel, Butterscotch, Cream, Toffee, Nougat, Marzipan, Butter

FRUIT & BERRIES
Citrus Fruits, Passionfruit, Banana, Pineapple, Melons, Blackberry, Raspberry, Currants, Elderberry, Persimmon, Rhubarb..

SPICES
Ginger, Turmeric, Clove-forward chai, Cardamom

AROMATIC & HERBACEOUS NOTES
Sandalwood, Frankincense, Juniper, Eucalyptus, Mints

FLORALS
Lavender, Jasmine, Rose, Lilac, Violet, etc.

VEGGIE/GRAIN NOTES
Spinach, Grass, Hay, Cucumber, Rice, Sweet Potato

Less Preferred Flavours/Ingredients:
Stevia, Apple, Cocoa Nib, Almond, Licorice, Cinnamon-forward blends, Chinese Sencha

Subjective Rating System:
I don’t give a lot of low ratings out, since a) I tend to grab tea I know will appeal to me, and b) I don’t have a lot of strong dislikes.

90-100: Favourites. The Desert Island Teas.
80-89: Loved teas. Possibly staple-worthy.
70-79: Good teas, but I’m less likely to repurchase. Minor quibbles.
60-69: Ok teas. Likely a few preference and/or quality issues.
50-59: Cup of meh. Will do in a pinch.
11-49: Varying levels of undrinkable tea.
1-10: Nightmare tea from the chaos realms. This tea is the embodiment of the primordial swamp, an unholy abomination. It’s very gross and I’m almost positive it doesn’t exist.

Location

BC, Canada

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