Stopped in at TeaGschwendner last weekend while in downtown Chicago and picked up a bag of this because it smelled awesome — it really has a strong sweet orange smell, not just “citrus” you get in a lot of other citrus teas. I thought it would translate into the brew just as prominently but was let down a bit the first time I used their brewing instructions and quantities.
I doubled the tea, brought the temp down a bit and let it steep 3 minutes, which resulted in something closer to what I expected based on the aroma, but still not out of this world. On these parameters it is a nice orange tea without the bitters of citrus zest, and the orange isn’t that tart store-OJ kind but more the nice fresh squeezed kind. It’s nowhere near as strong as you would think, however.
Nothing to write home about but it’s nice to have a mellow, non-bitter orange tea without tartness for those evenings I just crave something up that alley. This would probably go well with a lemon scone or piece of toast with marmalade on it.