Indian Nimbu

Normally, I abhor lemon in tea. But the lemon in this is barely noticeable. It’s there but if you didn’t know it was lemon you probably wouldn’t know what it is. Same with the caramel. And the two flavors play wonderfully off each other. This is one of a very few flavored teas that I like. I always buy this in the satchets and take it with me when I travel or go to restaurants (Yes, I really do that!).

Accidental 5-minute steep gave a robust cup, dark, full-bodied and woody-brisk with a very muted muscatel undertone. I feel a little crazy that I’m the only one that seems to have picked up on any muscatel. Some very smooth and gentle malt softens the tingly astringency and tannic edge.

I really enjoy the level of flavoring here. It is not overwhelming. The grapefruit reminds me of Harney’s Paris and Tower of London. The caramel lends to the perception of a touch of dark sweetness. The combination of those two aromas leaves a nose that offers something a little different from the familiarity of Harney’s popular bergamot-flavored black teas. I enjoyed Indian Nimbu even with over-steeping. Kiki, on the other hand, had not a word to say about this tea, even with a properly brewed cup. Thank you for sharing a sample, Cameron B. :)

Tried this again and it’s somehow worse than the first time.

I found this in the back of my tea cabinet. Pretty sure I moved with this tea to my current house, so that makes it at least 6 years old, probably older than that. I tried it and surprisingly it doesn’t taste off after so long as it is a flavored tea.

Unintentionally aged flavored darjeeling tea is not that good. It’s drinkable, but pretty flat. There’s also kind of an mouth coating affect that appears after finishing it. I’m sure that’s due to the age of this tea and flavoring. Not a sip down yet, but I should finish this sometime in the next couple of weeks.

I should never drink a tea like this on an empty stomach, but luckily I only drank a few sips while I was cooking breakfast. Not much to say about it, I drank it straight with breakfast, & I suspect a little sweetening would have bought out the flavors more, but I don’t generally like to sweeten my breakfast tea. Still, nice to sample it, & thanks go to Tea Fairy for the opportunity, & I believe it is the final tea in my box from her. It was an awesome trade! That’s one more sip down, bringing me from a record breaking 492 all the way down to 398! Onward through the fog :)

I don’t know what I did wrong.
Steeped it at the proper temp for the proper amount of time.
And yet.
It tasted like bergamot.
I don’t know why. But it totally reminded me of Paris and The Tower of London. I seriously don’t even know what’s going on with my taste buds anymore. But this tea totally tastes like those two teas.
I didn’t even order any flavored teas with this one. Only the Golden Monkey. This is just a really really really really weird tea. :(
Meh
Another tea I was really really hoping to like. My taste buds must be so off. :(

This is an older sample, and it’s from TeaTiff. Sorry it took me so long to try it! Now, I was a bit of an idiot with this tea. I looked at the leaves and absent-mindedly thought hmm this looks like it has Darjeeling in it. And yet, I set the kettle to 200 degrees (my standard temperature for most blacks) anyway. So hopefully I haven’t royally fucked up on this tea! The leaves are mostly dark chocolate brown with some green and lighter brown pieces. I can smell sweet candy lemon and caramel both in the dry leaves.

I can definitely smell the Darjeeling in the steeped tea as well, in fact the scent of it combined with the lemon is reminding me of bergamot. There is also a caramel aroma. My cup did come out a teeny bit bitter, but that’s totally my fault for using a temperature that was too high. I do love the flavors here, though! It tastes like some kind of amazing lemon/caramel pastry dessert. The Darjeeling puts forth some interesting hay and floral notes that add lovely dimension. I can’t wait to taste this with proper brewing parameters! :D

I will admit, I have yet to find my Indian tea. I have been trying for the last couple weeks to find some Indian tea that I really like but have fallen short multiple times. However, with that being said, this tea is pretty good!

Most Indian tea is simply too bitter for me but this tea is mixed with caramel and lemon which makes it more enjoyable. I do understand that George Orwell would beg to differ and most likely find this tea offensive because it isn’t as pure a plain Darjeeling but I enjoy it.

This tea is smooth, full, malty and becomes more sweet with additional steeps. I would recommend not going over two steeps.

TTB PTS

This has a really heavy base type taste to it! It is heavy like coffee, but the spices lighten it up a bit. It has an earthiness to it for a split second before the cardamon takes over. I made the mistake of adding a little sweetened creamer and it totally changed the taste. Hrm. Not really sure what to make of this tea.

Tea of the morning. This is another sample I picked up from H&S, and it’s a nice one. The Darjeeling is fruity and smooth.It has a brightness to it, and with the lemon and caramel flavors seems like a very summery tea. I taste the lemon before the caramel which I like. The caramel sweetness lingers on the tongue after the sip. Even without adding sugar this tea could be used as a dessert tea.