247 Tasting Notes
The tea smells very leafy in the package. Kind of fresh and not nutty. 195/4 min. So, it’s not surprising that it brews up to be a fresh tasting TKY. It’s nice, but there is no nuttiness to it. It’s slightly floral in the aftertaste, but not for long. There are, unfortunately, no “rich, creamy undertones” as the description suggests.
Preparation
What a tea to wake to this morning! It’s lovely. I could smell the cinnamon and sweetness when I opened the packet and it was so nice that I actually pulled it back to my nose to sniff it again. Wonderful!
195/2 min. As usual, I steeped lightly having learned my lesson with several other strong black teas. It turns out that this was perfect for me. I haven’t been really into blacks lately as I don’t enjoy astringent or, even worse, bitter black teas. This isn’t one of them. It’s so nice. It smells sweetly of cinnamon and apples. Kind of like a pie. The taste, however, is just like a croissant aux amandes from my days in Paris. I feel transported. It’s amazing. Sweet and nutty, with a depth that fills your mouth and your senses. It’s really wonderful. I can’t pick out much of the black tea taste, which surprises me. If I didn’t know it was a black tea, I would say it’s an herbal. It’s just really, really nice.
Preparation
The scent of strawberry is unmistakable. It’s there, sweet and promising. 205/2 min. I’m glad I steeped this one lightly. It’s fairly strong. The strawberries are still there in the scent and in the flavor. There’s also a custard like taste to this. It’s similar to cream, but it has more depth like it has been mixed with dulce de leche. It’s a great combination for a morning tea. Lovely! The black tea holds its own. It’s strong, but not bitter. There is some astringency to this, but it’s not bad. The strawberries and custard flavors round it out.
Preparation
Here’s another BYOTea from Sanctuary T. I’m having a lot of fun making up these little tea bags. So, today was Soho Chai. It smells nice, but faint, not robust as I’d expect a chai to smell. I’m not a huge fan of chais, but this one came with the set, so I’ll try them all.
boiling/4 min. Now, I can smell the tea some more. It has cardamom, which I adore. It’s pleasant, but I’m finding that there’s a distinct squash-like (perhaps pumpkin) flavor to the tea. It creates a smoothness to the flavor, although I think I would prefer spiciness with a chai. It’s pleasant.
