A sample from ashmanra’s cabinet — thank you <3 — that I drank during the bork. I didn’t look up what this was before I tasted it, and my notes are all over the place. I loved this tea.
Smells like minty/menthol, blue flowers (violet?), cedar/incense/wood essence. Steeped, I smell candy… as if the blue flower has turned sweet, like a peach Jolly Rancher. Tastes like fairies (what, there’s no fairies tag?)… mint but not minty, candy but not sweet… white grapes, plum… sugarplum fairies! There’s something ethereal here, and something that reminds me of a childhood thing I can’t place — some kind of translucent candy (maybe it is just Jolly Ranchers?). Lemon chiffon — fluffy without being creamy. Just really well-balanced.
Theodor almost certainly intends this to be steeped western, but I went gong fu. I don’t know why. The non-tea flavors went pretty fast, and the black tea base came up front. I don’t regret the gong fu, though, because that first steep was heavenly. Now it’s crisp, citrus, astringent.
I finally looked to see what this elixir was made of. I have pulled down so much bergamot in my lifetime that I think it’s a difficult flavor for me to pick out anymore, actually (oops). So I can taste it if I focus, but I wouldn’t have guessed this was an Earl Grey base — it makes sense that the plum and yuzu were creating most of the magic for my palate.
Y.U.M.
Flavors: Candy, Citrus, Crisp, Lemon, Mint, Peach, Plum, Violet, White Grapes
