Barbara

Barbara drank Hot Cinnamon Spice by Harney & Sons

I really wanted to like this tea. It smells wonderful and exactly according to it’s name: a very hot and spicey cinnamon.

The taste however is something else. De artificial flavour is very apparant,and I mean very! It is probably what gives this tea it’s “red fireball taste”. Never having been a big fan of fireballs, I most assuredly do not want to drink it. The cinnamon is the second most prominent taste and – as far as I’m concerned – too prominent. On top of that, the cinnamon gives the tea a very ‘dry’ finish that is not pleasant on the tongue. The tea itself isn’t noticable at all.

I’ve tried the tea: plain, with milk, with honey and milk, throwing away the first steep and drinking only the second steep, brewed at rolling boil and just under boil. De milk softens the taste of the artifical flavour, but not to a point that it becomes something I would actually want to drink.

I’m currently deciding whether to throw the tin away or using the tea as a pot pouri of sorts…

PS: Really don’t understand the high praise for this tea. It has me quite baffled… :-(

2013-01-20 07:16:52 -0500

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cteresa 2013-01-31 13:27:57 -0500

I don´t get it at all either! You are not alone on this.

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What to say about myself and my tea drinking habits? I’ve been staring at the screen, reading other’s bio’s and still can’t come up with something worthwile. I’ll just stick to the basics.

I generally prefer white, green and oolong teas to black teas. As I read a scientific report that stated that black teas lower the level of stress hormones in the blood, I try to add a few cups of black tea every day.

Overall I prefer black teas to be flavoured. The white, green and oolongs may be flavoured or straight.

I brew my teas per cup, mostly in my – much loved – Kati mug with Cha Cult strainer. I’m rather a stickler for brewing time and temperature, so I use a tea timer and watercooker with temperature indication.

I also love a good cup of coffee and especially cappuchino. As far as I’m concerned, a good cappuchino requires a real milk/foam topping, not something made with skimmed milk, powder or the like. Unfortunately a lot of cafes still haven’t caught on to that one and serve low quality coffee and tea (type vending machine and bagged fannings). I hate it when, on a cold winter day, the choice is restricted to bad coffee, bagged fannings or a cold softdrink… :-(

As for rating teas, I more or less make the following distinction:

100:
Nothing is perfect. Probably won’t be using it ever.

98 – 99:
Nearly too good to be true.

90 – 97:
Exceptional.

80 – 89:
Excellent.

70 – 79:
Good. May rebuy depending on price and availability.

60 – 69:
Ok I’ll finish the cup and maybe even have a second, but probably won’t finish the entire package as I have other – (far) better teas in my cupboard.

< 60:
I feel cheated. I won’t ever be buying this again.

< 50:
This really is no good.

< 30:
I hate this. I want my money back.

1:
Beyond horrible!

PS: Recalibrated my ratings according to this index on 23 feb 2013.