Isn’t it weird how, while I couldn’t type very well, I couldn’t stay away, but now that I can type again, I find I don’t really have anything to say? Anyway, it’s mid-may and it’s EXTREMELY cold outside. The other night it got down to below freezing and the weather people say that our current weather looks much more like october weather than it does may weather. Obviously this calls for something warming and I happen to have this sample from Doulton handy.
Pu-erh chai??? That’s one of the most bizarre things I’ve heard in a long time. While I do tend to like pu-erh a lot, I’m not a fan of chai, and the combination of the two things doesn’t really appeal to me. But it was gift tea and I’m going to give it a fair chance instead of just passing it on. I’m not that much of a wuss.
Normally a good pu-erh, for me, has to smell of cows. It sounds odd but there are some other associations connected with this that for me makes it a good quality for a pu-erh to have. I can’t say that this one smells the slightest bit of cows. I’m leaning rather a lot towards fish on that one. And we’re not talking freshly caught fish here either, but fish caught the day before, or maybe the day before that. Fish that hasn’t gone bad yet but is definitely getting a bit on in age. The cinnamon has a strong presence and I can detect some citrus too (Citrus in a chai? wtf?). It’s not that difficult to pick the aroma apart into these component notes, but the over all impression remains fish.
Lovely. I’m feeling very assured.
Or not.
It’s not without caution that I take the first sip and get a mouth full of cinnamon. And cinnamon and cinnamon and cinnamon. Not really a fan of cinnamon tea either, which probably isn’t really helping with my chai issues.
I can find the citrus also and maybe a touch of cardemom, but not much. I can’t really find any pu-erh flavours in it. None of that earthy slightly mouldy darkness that I like about pu-erh. Not even the tiniest smidge. Nothing.
The cinnamon gives it a lot of sweetness but from what I can tell it might just as easily be any old Earl Grey-ish type tea with a cinnamon addition.
No, this one is definitely not for me. It’s drinkable and it’s not unpleasant. But it isn’t good either.
