256/365
From the Varieteas box. This is another of those catering/trade brands I was talking about, so I’m not expecting a great deal for it. They tend to be high volume, low price affairs, and I know I’ve seen these in hotels before. Hotel tea is just never the same, is it?
So. It’s okay; it’s actually really sweet and malty – more so than my usual bagged black. It’s perhaps a bit too sweet for my tastes, which is a fairly rare thing for me to say – not stevia/liquorice sweet, but just…intensely malty sweet, I guess. It’s pretty strong – a builder’s blend if ever there was one – with a decent amount of body. It’s a little one-note in terms of flavour, in that malt is all it really has to offer, but I think there’s a place for that. It scores points with me for being as substantial as it is, and not thin/weak/watery. That’s my big fear with bagged black tea generally.
I’d not actively seek this one out, and I don’t even think I could given that it’s not even a supermarket brand. I’d not flinch away from another cup, though, if I came across it on my travels. It’s not as bad as it could have been.