311 Tasting Notes
You do have to take care with the steep of this one as it’s pretty strong – and it still has that drying end touch in the throat, I don’t like high astringency type. This is all herbal and the fruit notes are great, but there is something about the mixture that can be overbearing. This time I brewed less than 1 scoop in a large mug for 4 minutes. Herbal generally encourages longer steep but not with this one, something in it is simply too drying.
Well, no idea why I rated so high the first time.
Since then, have had twice more. It is strongly in-your-face floral. Experimenting with different Earl Grey’s is fun and I’m a fan of S&V. The tea is simply pretty with the flower petals. It’s definitely strong, but I find that I don’t want a strong floral note in my Earl Grey and would prefer it to be a subtle friend to the main Grey blend instead, so don’t think I will be ordering more of this.
Preparation
It had been awhile since I dipped into this lovely tin. I forgot how good it was and ended up having two 2-cup pots. The second time I got distracted and steeped 7 minutes rather than five and think it made it ever better. It’s brisk, non-bitter, vibrant but not overpowering. A nice staple breakfast type tea to me that would be good for breakfast and early afternoon. The small bite of cranberries is fading a bit as the tea is getting older, but blends well with picturing a cool morning seeing a fog drift in over Boston. Still remains a keeper, even if I haven’t drank it recently.
It’s amusing, this has been in my tea cupboard for like 2 years because I bought a full time and never cared for it. Decided to try again today before reusing the caniser - I steeped at 4 minutes and actually like it now a decent amount. It reminds me a little of a lapsang souchong with a touch of cigar smoke instead of traditional campfire smoke. Still not a favorite, but decided to finish it out now instead of toss it.
