Wow, this really isn’t getting good reviews, is it? I steeped mine to the suggested parameters, also added milk and sugar (I know I know). I let it cool down a bunch because I lost track of time.
It smells like a nice assamica black tea, though I can’t really see the colour of the tea liquor. I pick up a bit of the Darjeeling flavour that I hate so that’s not so good. And there’s definitely something spicy on the back end of the sip that makes the aftertaste a bit strange as it fades. A bit of astringency as well.
I can’t say I like this one nearly as much as other black teas in my collection. Perhaps those looking for the spice should let theirs cool down a bit? First steep is too much spice for me. Let’s see about the second steep with some dinner and sweet iced tea in between.
ETA: Way more spice on the second steep. Still no mint but I could mistake this for very weak chai if I wasn’t careful. But then, I’m very sensitive to spices, usually in a bad way as they overwhelm me. 3:30 minutes.
ETA2: 3rd steep, 4 minutes. I think this tea is running out of steam. It has lost most of the spiciness that made it unique and has started tasting like just a slightly bready black tea. I actually like this type of tea so I’m going to enjoy this mug but I think this is the end of it. This is a 3 steep tea for me.
If someone likes the spiciness and can pick it up, I imagine they’d like this tea a great deal but it’s not my cup of tea. And I never did pick up any mint from it.
