What’s this, am I reviewing a tea that hasn’t even been released yet.
Okay it’s coming out next monday, so it’s a tiny sneak peek I guess.
I come up with a lot of derisive blends, and most of them get shot down immediately. I enjoy unique flavour-combinations, and that rarely gets past the pitch-stage.
This was a blend I kept bringing back, and fine-tuning. My working name for it at the time was ‘The Madam’. It was nixed (I was told that was too Risqué), but ‘Parlour Room Blend’ ended up going over very well, so it finally got the green light.
This mixes lapsang souchong with a medley of fruit (raspberry, strawberry and black currant; no one fruit is supposed to stand out, and the result to me is a general, fruity sweetness), and a tiny bit of rose. It’s definitely not for everyone, but I guess it’s a good indication that I’m Proud of a tea when I reach for it every morning (or maybe it’s just that I left my one-pound test batch conveniently on my desk). It makes me think distantly of grilled fruit.
It opens with the fruit, which leads into a sweet rose note. There’s no point where the lapsang starts or ends, it’s pretty prevalent from the beginning to the end, and lingers afterwards, but I don’t find it overpowering (of course, I like smoky teas so there’s a bias).
Ooh, this sounds SUPER up my alley!