on the 11th day of christmas, I gave to my fellow tea friends a tea that i’d never tried before! At the time that i purchased this tea I’d never had ANY sort of smokey tea but I figured that the 12 days of christmas tea swap was a good time for sharing favourites AND trying new things. So i picked this one up. It was an unplanned purchase as I’d originally been thinking of getting a blend with the name of a mountain range in them..david’s tea was my first thought because so many people in the US seem to enjoy/want their teas.
However, after running through a bunch of david’s tea’s unflavoured black teas, i was not impressed. Especially when comparing them to teas like Butiki’s zhen Qu (i hadn’t tried her assam at that point) or even golden fleece/laoshan black from verdant.
I’d also decided i wanted to get tea from a local place, or at least a place that was mainly in canada – to try and give my US (or non toronto) friends a chance to try a different tea place.
While stopping for tea at Majesteas, the name of this blend caught my eye. The gentleman who was assisting me (and hearing all about the swap) was like “are you sure you want to expose everyone to that…people pretty much love it or hate it” What caught my eye was the comparision to a single malt scotch…which i have been known to drink on occasion :) So i bit the bullet and said to hell with this! let’s try it! Of course that’s also meant agonaizing over the choice for the past month or so now especially since the smell has managed to permeate through everyone’s packages lol
So on with the tea? Let me preface by now saying, i’ve tried a lapsang before…even cooked with it to make a really neat soup. This tea? It’s both smokey and not. The aroma reminds me of the way your clothes smell when you get home from a day of camping…
The initial sip, really does have a subtle citrus note to it and i can barely taste the smokiness..and then it climbs all over your tongue and the smokiness comes out. But it’s a milder smokey that is actually pretty yummy.
Hmmm.. i actually think i really like this tea. It’s not for every day drinking but I could sit back and relax and enjoy this tea like a good cingle malt whiskey.
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My thoughts exactly with the whisky…great tea minds think alike. Side note this is pretty good cold too…my cup cooled as I was busy in the kitchen and it was still yummy!
oooh… sets her cup aside to try it cold-er
I apologize in advance if it isn’t to your liking…but I might be in love here. AND might just add a little whisky to it later tonight when the hubbins and I sit down for a holiday flick and gift exchanging. :) I think you hit this one out of the park!
haha ooh adding whiskey.. man now you’re all crazy talk. i should go try that.. it’s after “noon” so it’s ok right? lol Glad i put more than a cup try in the bag heh
:) I do talk the crazy sometimes. But it sounds SO good!
I’m glad I’m not the only one that had the idea to get a tea from a local shop.
Rachel- that’s why your tea made me smile. :)
My thoughts exactly with the whisky…great tea minds think alike. Side note this is pretty good cold too…my cup cooled as I was busy in the kitchen and it was still yummy!
oooh… sets her cup aside to try it cold-er
I apologize in advance if it isn’t to your liking…but I might be in love here. AND might just add a little whisky to it later tonight when the hubbins and I sit down for a holiday flick and gift exchanging. :) I think you hit this one out of the park!
haha ooh adding whiskey.. man now you’re all crazy talk. i should go try that.. it’s after “noon” so it’s ok right? lol Glad i put more than a cup try in the bag heh
:) I do talk the crazy sometimes. But it sounds SO good!
I’m glad I’m not the only one that had the idea to get a tea from a local shop.
Rachel- that’s why your tea made me smile. :)