This tea bag came with a piece of carrot cake in my Graze box. According to the label, it’s a blend of assam and kenyan tea. Work is such at the moment that I’m seriously considering jumping off the nearest tall building. Hopefully tea and cake will be suitable deterrents.
I gave this one 4 minutes in boiling water, and was rewarded with a dark, malty smelling brew. I added a splash of milk. It’s conventional shredded tea bag leaves, so I wasn’t expecting too much, but it’s actually reasonably tasty. It’s relatively light bodied, but it has a strong flavour. The assam is the dominant leaf, and it contributes the expected sweet, malty overtones. The kenyan tea adds something in the background that’s a little hard to discern. I want to call it smoke, but it’s not really that. A slight bitterness? Maybe a tiny metallic hint? It pairs with the assam pretty well, giving the overall cup an edge of difference that can be a nice thing in a blend. It’s very smooth, and not at all astringent, which makes it easy to drink, and it’s nicely refreshing — a good palate cleanser to pair with the stodgy spiciness of the carrot cake!
I’m struggling to pick out any distinctive notes, but then my tastebuds are still a little wonky after my bout of flu, which I’ve still not fully recovered from. I’m sure the “guilt free high tea” snacks will reappear in my graze box before long, so I’ll have another chance to try this one at some point. For today, I’m going to settle for saying it’s an enjoyable cup, and rate it accordingly.
