CHAroma select Send Message

I have so many new teas to experience from recent swaps! I’m going to try and bounce between swap partners so that everyone feels the love. But since I usually only make one kind of tea a day, it will take a little while to get through all these samples. I’m up for the tea adventure though!! Thanks everyone! :)

This morning I thought I’d go for a much loved tea here on Steepster: Paris! Thanks to Ninavampi for giving me my first Harney & Sons tea!!! I can’t wait to try this! I was surprised to brew it up and get only an aroma of clean, unflavored, black tea. Doesn’t this have bergamot in it? That ingredient usually makes itself known! If I get anything else from the aroma, I’d say berry. I’m detecting a slight essence of something fruity and berry-like.

First sip without additions…hmm wow. This is interesting. It has a lot of flavor but at the same time is kind of delicate and understated. Is this flavored? If so, it’s very lightly flavored. I’m definitely getting berry plus a caramel note and maybe a hint of bergamot. The bergamot could be my imagination though. Honestly, it’s that light. There’s also quite a bit of vanilla in here, which I’m really enjoying. I love vanilla! At the very end of the sip, there’s a quiet burst of citrus.

This reminds me of something I’ve had before…it was definitely a 52teas tea. Actually, I think it’s Cotton Candy! Now, I don’t mean that Paris tastes like cotton candy. I just mean, the flavor profiles are similar somehow even though they shouldn’t be. Maybe it’s the black tea base?? So interesting.

It’s good, and I can definitely drink it straight without any additions. But I’m going to add some now just for fun. With milk and sugar, it’s become more of a generic creamy tea. I think it’s probably better without. I’ll make my second steep plain. I just can’t get 52teas’ Cotton Candy out of my mind. I wonder why this keeps reminding me of it. I might have to pick up a tin of this stuff. It’s complex yet subtle, flavored yet unflavored, berry/vanilla/citrus yet cotton candy! What a fascinating tea! Thanks again Ninavampi!!