I hadn’t intended to open this one quite yet, but I decided to send some away in a swap so I figured now would be as good a time as any to give this a try.
I’m not too fond of the smell – it’s creamy and orangey but it smells a bit spoiled to me as though the cream part has started to go off. Not that I think the tea is actually spoiled, but that’s how my nose is interpreting it.
The flavour is more likable – the astringency and mild sourness of the orange goes quite well with the natural muscatel flavour of the Darjeeling. It’s not too drying like I found my last (plain) Margaret’s Hope tea to be. I noticed that it also has a nice sweetness that doesn’t block the other flavours so everything is pretty well balanced.
The scent’s still a bit off-putting though. :(