652 Tasting Notes

76

Straight ahead cinnamon. Not much tea taste. I almost always add ginger tea to any chai I’m making, because the heat of the ginger fuses with the sugar/stevia to coax out more complexity from the tea, cinnamon and nutmeg.

Not sure how I feel about this one. Tame and calm and utterly inoffensive, as chai blends go. No real spice heat.

Preparation
Boiling 8 min or more

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36

Punches you awake but gets bitter fast. Steep carefully. Not a fancy tea, but way better than Tetley. I don’t drink this one often as I prefer my tea without milk or sugar, and this one can get ropey without such company.

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 45 sec

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94

The bagged version of this really disappointed me — like drinking ashtray leavings. Flat, stale and nearly tasteless. And I adore smoky tea. Loose in the black tin with the green lid: quite good. Doesn’t take multiple infusions well, I find, but I can forgive that when one cup is as good as this.

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 30 sec

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89

An excellent Assam. Bold but not bitter. Steeps well and forgives being left too long. Gorgeous colour in the cup. Brightness balances the malt. One of my favourites.

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 0 sec

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70

Very potent when drunk from a gourd and bombilla. Good for at least four infusions. I like it mich better this way then brewed as a tisane.

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75

Delicious, though I didn’t like it first go — didn’t know what to make of it. There is chocolate, of the dark cocoa-nib kind, which blends surprisinglly well with the little biut of greenb tea and the lods of green rooibos in here. Cinnamon sharpens everyone up and keeps the flavours playing nice. Very little, if any, caffeine, to this one, and it’s ridiculously healthy. I’ve drunk nearly 200 grams of it in less than a month. One TB in thre basket of my 500mL travel mug plus a packet of stevia, steeped a good while (it’s mostly rooibos, so steep away) — bliss. Happiness.

Preparation
Boiling 8 min or more
B

Do you find this tastes like apples? I’ve found that it does and I can’t quite put my finger on why. It certainly smells vaguely of apples to me, anyway…

Michelle Butler Hallett

Yes, now that you mention it, some of the sharpness of a Granny Smith, say. Probably the blend of cinnamon with green rooibos, which can already be apple-y.

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93

My go-to Darjeeling when I’m sick and need cup after mad-hot cup. More muscatel and body that the Stash Darjeeling Spring. Miles ahead of Twinings Darjeeling/

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 0 sec

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14

Love Darjeeling and know how to make it. Familiar with estate blends, single estates, spring and summer flushed. Okay, I’m mad for Darleeing. But I really disliked the Twinings loose. Weak and stale tasting. Old? Adulterated? Maybe I had a bad batch?

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 45 sec

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78

Sharp, and a bit thin in body. Pleasantly spicy, and the guarana does add some kick. The anise does not overwhelm but it definitely announces itself.

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 0 sec

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82

If I was being snobby, I’d call this a Darjeeling wannabe. But it deserves a little more respect than that. It’s got similar tasting notes to Darjeeling, being grown at a hgh elevation in Nepal, but seems a big fruiter to me. I didn’t find it any more energizing than any other black tea, incidentally. Milk might overwhelm this one.

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 0 sec

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Profile

Bio

Writer and tea fiend. Author of CONSTANT NOBODY, THIS MARLOWE, DELUDED YOUR SAILORS, SKY WAVES, DOUBLE-BLIND, and THE SHADOW SIDE OF GRACE.

I prefer straight teas but will try almost anything … so long as it’s not tainted with hibiscus. I loathe hibiscus.

Floral oolong and complex black teas are my favourites.

Location

St John’s, Newfoundland, Canada

Website

https://michellebutlerhallett...

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