I knew I needed a good, sturdy black tea this morning after I leaned over to hug the dog while making breakfast and thanked him for the “near ibbles.” I love near ibbles from man or beast, but when I am fully awake I call them “ear nibbles.”
I decided to gong fu brew this one, which I don’t do that often with black tea. The result rather surprised me. I think gong fu brewing really amped up the fruitiness on this one. The fruitiness is really a byproduct of a very pleasant, light astringency. This isn’t a hearty, add milk and sugar kind of breakfast tea loaded with Assam, but is strong enough for my needs since I never took to coffee.
And this is a SIPDOWN of a sample sent by Missy and Dylan, whom we miss on here! I am pretty sure this tea was discontinued at Teavana, and I am pretty sure it is a close relative of the Golden Mudan tied in wreaths that was discontinued years ago at Harney and Sons. Both were very nice teas.
ETA: Fourth and fifth steeps are even better, smooth and mellow and sweet.
