Methinks it is time to start on my sampler. Here goes nothing: No. 1 of 31
Took a page from Ewa’s book: closed my eyes, thrust my hand into the basket, diddled it around and grabbed. This is what came out. (That was really fun, by the way. I intend to go through the whole thing entirely at random.)
Pretty, pretty dry leaves. Long, twisted, pointy; a cross between olive green and chocolate brown. And the smell! First, chocolate. Then, tobacco. Then, coffee. Then, something green and toasty. All mixing together and swirling around. Bizarrely, the image that came to mind was of tiny, silver, schooling fish swimming this way and that.
I used the whole packet. According to my scale it is enough for 1.5 cups, but my favorite cup for tasting teas holds 12 oz of water, rather than 8. So six of one, half a dozen of the other as my mother would say.
A golden brown, “tea colored” liquor. Lighter in color than I expected. Sweet, chocolate/malt/brown sugar aroma.
How to describe the taste? It’s smooth and gentle, completely without sharp edges. It isn’t full-bodied like the Samovar Breakfast Blend; on the other hand, it is refreshing without being thin. This seems to be the influence of the darjeeling.
It has a taste I can only describe as leafy. It isn’t particularly sweet, though it does have a hint of malt. It makes me think of fall in the Northeast US, when the leaves are falling from the trees, fresh and fragrant. This is what I’m getting more than “floral” but perhaps it’s all part of a Kingdom Plantae continuum. There’s a nice, lingering, quintessentially tea taste. It’s what tea-flavored candy tastes like without the sugar overload.
It’s lovely. I’ll definitely order it. I like Samovar’s Breakfast Blend better, but who says you can only have one breakfast blend? It would be like only having one pair of black shoes.
Preparation
Comments
It’s strange, but I love this one with milk and sugar. I should really have it plain to see if it has the same effect on me. Breakfast blend was okay to me, but I’ve never tried it with milk and sugar. Hmm, I should give that a try.
Tea colored liquor:) Sometimes you just need to call a spade a spade.
Love this tasting note! I have 4 breakfast teas and at least double that of black shoes haha
Hahaha, glad you liked it. :-)
It’s strange, but I love this one with milk and sugar. I should really have it plain to see if it has the same effect on me. Breakfast blend was okay to me, but I’ve never tried it with milk and sugar. Hmm, I should give that a try.
Hmm. I haven’t tried either one that way. The only tea I’ve been converted to drinking with milk/sweetener every time is chai. Let me know how it turns out!