I’m trying this tea again, minus the mistake of eating smoked salmon just prior to drinking it. Whoops!
I am loving the smell of this tea! It is hard to pick out the pumpkin over the cinnamon right now, but the overall blend of the spices smells amazing. Once steeped, the spices mellow out and I think I can pick out some pumpkin in the scent. When I taste it, pumpkin is the first thing I taste followed by spices. Adding a little sugar brightens it is a bit. I think I can taste burnt sugar, reminiscent of creme brulee. The tea base seems smooth and subtle, managing to not overpower the pumpkin. On most sips I first get spices and in the aftertaste get a wave of burnt sugar, then pumpkin. As it cools I get more pumpkin on the sip. Second steep is pretty good. A little weaker which is expected, but still a really good cup.
I am a sucker for all things pumpkin and have tried and been disappointed many times by pumpkin tea with spices that obliterate all other flavors. I think this is the first pumpkin tea I have had that had a pleasing balance of spices that didn’t hog the stage and let the pumpkin show it’s stuff!
