When I got this home, I was prepared to break out a clip (I’ve a box of them just for tea bags/sample bags), but I was pleasantly surprised to learn, when I turned the bag over, that there is in fact a pull-tab to rip it open (no scissors!), and then, beneath that, a ziplock to close it again.
Despite a paper outside, it is, in fact, foil-lined as well, and all-in-all I give the packaging an A.
When I actually got it open however, and then dished some out into my infuser, all I could remark was “hand-picked my ass”. It’s a step away from CTC. In fact, it might BE CTC, just not quite as “curled”; same size, but irregularly shaped instead of the usual loose “ball” shape of CTC.
At the very least, I can say if they WERE hand-picked, I don’t think they were hand-processed. It’s too broken. No whole spices either; most of the spices are broken up to the point they’re almost ground.
On the plus side, I was pleased that the first smell when I opened the bag was cardamom, not cinnamon.
I didn’t make this on the stovetop, because it’s quite late and I didn’t want to make a racket. Just didn’t want to wait ’til the morning.
Cardamom’s prominent; I think there’s ginger in there too. Brewed at four minutes, no milk, the base isn’t bitter. Solid. Bet this would be wiz on the stovetop.
