90

I pulled this sample from the T&C TTB before I sent it off, and now I’m glad that I did. Lately, I’ve been drinking a lot of the same teas, so I haven’t been motivated to write tasting notes. I thought I’d be a tad more adventurous today, so I steeped up this darjeeling. I’m still on a quest to figure out the different types of straight black teas, so I had to snatch this sample out of the box to try.

The packet says “muscatel and cut wood.” I’m definitely getting a woodsy taste out of this one, but I’m not entirely sure what muscatel is even supposed to taste like. So perhaps it is in there and I’m just not tasting it? To me, it has the malty flavor of a black tea with wood notes in there. Others have also mentioned something about lemon that I’m not picking up on either. I do have enough leaves for another round, so I will keep these facts in mind and see if I pick up on any of that next time around.

I did quite enjoy this tea, though. It wasn’t bitter and only had a slight hint of astringency. If this is representative of darjeelings in general, that is definitely a direction I want to be exploring!

Anlina

I’m trying to figure out muscatel, too. It’s a grape flavour, but because I’ve never actually had muscatel grapes, I’m not sure how to separate that flavour from just “grape”.

I’m hoping if I drink enough muscatel teas I’ll figure it out.

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Anlina

I’m trying to figure out muscatel, too. It’s a grape flavour, but because I’ve never actually had muscatel grapes, I’m not sure how to separate that flavour from just “grape”.

I’m hoping if I drink enough muscatel teas I’ll figure it out.

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I’m a California girl temporarily located in Boston for school (brrr). I only recently got into teas because I’ve never really liked coffee (too bitter), but I have been a daily barley tea drinker since I was little.

Through some timid tastings and exploring, I so far like:
-Japanese green teas (genmaicha, hojicha, sencha, etc)
-Oolongs! (Most kinds except formosa and dan cong so far)
-Straight black teas
-English Breakfast teas
-Fruity teas (peach, apple, strawberry, other berries)

NOT a huge fan of rooibos, matcha, heavily artificial tasting teas, or anything gingery or peppery, but I’m trying to keep an open mind and taste everything that I can!

I’m trying to sample more straight teas and have been having pretty awesome discoveries so far. Thank goodness for sample sizes!

My tentative rating system:
90-100: Woohoo! I’m loving it, and I’m definitely restocking when I get the chance and/or crying when I’m out.

80-90: Yum! I’ll try to restock if it fits in my budget when I run out.

70-80: Probably would not buy again, but it was nice enough to finish the cup.

50-70: Would not choose this tea for myself if given the situation, but would not reject it if someone offered it to me and would gulp down politely.

50 or less: Nope. Don’t care to taste that tea again, sorry!

I’m always down to swap, so send me a message if anything in my cupboard is calling your name!

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