Rabs Send Message

Maybe it was the tea fairy’s plan all along to have me spill my Rosy Earl Grey which then forced me to place another Teas Etc. order with a sample of this tea included. Perhaps the tea fairy is less capricious than I had thought. Because I loves me some of this tea!

The dry leaves smelled…like an old ashtray?…but not tabacco-ey at all. I was majorly concerned. Steeped it’s a very light smoke (says the Lapsang Souchong lover). I wasn’t impressed with the first few sips. I was getting a woody taste, almost like cardboard and no sweetness. It seemed rather flat. And then slowly this tea started to morph. It seemed like a yummy wood taste (now reading the description it’s like “oak!” ::facepalm::), the smoke is still more of a feeling than a scent/taste, and there’s the nicest sweet aftertaste left over from the sip. Warm Fuzzy detectors engage. My “I need MORE NOW!” feeling kicked in and I knew that this tea’s a keeper.

I’m drinking the second steep right now (added 1 minute to steep time) and I’m liking it more and more. The sweetness is shining through. It’s not as aggressive as most LSes, all the flavors I associate with smoky teas are present, but much more subdued. You know how tv shows and comics have a tendency to turn their characters into babies? http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SpinoffBabies
Well, this is the baby version of Upton’s Black Dragon. If I had to chose between the two it wouldn’t even be a contest: Upton would win with its maturity. But this tea is yummy in its own rights and has earned a permanent spot in my cupboard. TG