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So, this is getting a major bump, but not because it’s a tremendously amazing black tea, or anything. It’s getting a bump because the last time I rated it I was recovering from having my wisdom teeth out, and definitely must have oversteeped it. I’m not getting the intense sour bitterness I’d been having during that attempt. Strangely, though, in brewing this cup with actual parameters, I’ve lost the raisin/prune sweetness typical to many blacks. Instead, that has been replaced by …

Hmm. I suppose it’s malt, but…it’s the most bake-y malt I’ve ever smelled or tasted. It reminds me of the smell and taste of the floured underside of a loaf of bread. And it’s a pretty good cup of black tea, at least when brewed for a fairly short steep time, but it’s getting a rating cut because it’s pretty darn (every time I type that word I snicker. I snicker way more when I goody-two-shoes cuss than when I let loose with an inventive blue-streak. Not-cursing is the new cursing) expensive — almost 20 bucks for 2oz. For that price there are teas that provide equal amounts of satisfaction for a great deal less per cup, and which have a hope in heck (snicker) of being resteeped without turning into a bitter mess. So…I will finish my bag of this, but I probably won’t rebuy.