50

Hmm, I think I was expecting a bit more from this tea. The tasting notes suggest a lot more fruit, but I’m only getting the slightest hint of orange, and mostly just lots and lots of cinnamon. I’m also not sure about this black tea base – for a 4 min steep there’s a lot more bitterness than I would like or expect, and I’m not getting much earth or malt or other black tea flavours.

I think with a lot of cinnamon notes, I’m also wanting some other flavours to round it out and give it a more full mouth taste. Something more like a masala chai. Which maybe is unfair to this blend, but it just seems like there’s some back of the mouth flavour that should be there but isn’t.

This isn’t bad, and the more I sip at it the more I like it, but I’m not impressed either. I wonder if playing with the steeping will resolve some of the bitterness. Maybe some milk and sugar would help it along too.

Flavors: Bitter, Cinnamon, Orange, Spicy

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 4 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML

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Bio

I grew up drinking jasmine green tea with meals, but really fell in love with tea on a trip to Britain in elementary school. My first great love was Earl Grey, and I still adore it and all its variants.

I discovered the beauty of loose leaf tea much later, when, on impulse, I picked up a few teas that were on clearance at a home store. My introduction to loose leaf teas were Masala Chai and Provence Rooibos by the Metropolitan Tea Co and an unknown brand of kukicha and gyokuro (little did I know what a precious treasure I’d stumbled onto with that.)

At the time I was lucky to live in a place with multiple tea shops and several places to have afternoon tea, which is a delight I still miss.

Tea is part of my daily ritual and a nice, affordable way to appease the collector in me.

I enjoy distinctive whites, greens and oolongs, flavoured blacks, and herbals that are heavy on the citrus, lavender or mint.

Rating rubric, to give myself some consistency:
0-15 Yuck, not even drinkable.
16-30 Disappointing, not really inclined to give it a second try.
31-45 Disappointing, but maybe there’s potential? Worth one more try, prepped differently.
46-60 Mediocre, not terrible but not memorable.
61-75 Not bad. I’ll definitely finish what I have and might buy again.
76-90 Very enjoyable. Tasty, complex, it’ll keep me coming back.
91-100 BEST! I love everything about it and I will drink it forever.

Beyond tea, I’m a sex educator, polyamory activist, and radical queer. I love backwoods camping, abstract painting, baking & cooking, nail polish, cats, ceramic sculpture, and home nesting.

Location

Winnipeg, MB, Canada

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