Roughage

Roughage drank Christmas Blend by Canton Tea Co

This arrived on Friday, awaiting my return from a very long day at university. Funny that, really. Any day I have to drive up and down the M1 seems to be a long day, but this was longer than usual. Saturday I was rushed off my feet with my other job so I have only now been able to sample it. I must say that the Canton Tea Club is a splendid idea. Getting home every week to find a new tea on my doorstep is lovely and a thing to look forward to. I shall have to encourage my relatives to keep extending my membership. Perhaps each of them could pledge to do so as a Christmas present and I could set up a rota!

Anyway, I’m really enjoying this one today. The smell when I opened the packet was most excellent, a brilliantly Christmassy blend that reminded me of various mulled wine recipes I have tried over the years. The orange was dominant and I really liked that. It looks great too. When brewed the aroma was not as strong but the taste is smooth and festive. The mix of citrus, liquorice, cloves and cinnamon goes very well together with the Assam base. My tongue is still tingling with the citrus tang even ages later. Great stuff and definitely one to keep around for Christmas for those that do not want my rather potent mulled wine or have to drive home after dinner.

2012-12-16 09:47:08 -0500

195 °F / 90 °C

2 min 30 sec

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Comments

Bonnie 2012-12-29 13:22:51 -0500

I’d like some of both please!

Roughage 2012-12-29 13:28:11 -0500

Well, you had better pop over to visit then. :-)

Bonnie 2012-12-29 13:42:32 -0500

I’d like to hear you read the book you’re reviewing in French with a British accent. A few glasses of mulled wine and this improper American would be rolling my eyes and giggling!

Roughage 2012-12-29 13:46:33 -0500

Heh, given that my French accent is non-existent, I think that you would not be able to listen for laughing even without the mulled wine! :-D

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Bio

I am a professional Vikingologist and I like tea! To be honest, I have always liked decent tea, but in 2011 I started working at learning what good tea really is. I am busily expanding my tea horizons quite significantly, much to the chagrin of my wife, who despairs of my enthusiasm. My favourite teas are Darjeelings and sheng puerhs, but I struggle to find black teas (other than Darjeelings) that really float my boat. My absolute favourite teas at the moment are Anji Bai Cha and Dong Fang Mei Ren both from Canton Tea Co, neither of which are shengs or Darjeelings. Seems odd, but that’s the way it is. I do wonder if the scores I give out actually reflect my predilection for Darjeelings and shengs.

I am slowly adding to my experience by trying as many different products as possible. I like to think that I am developing my palate and becoming more learned about tea, but I suspect that may be wishful thinking!

I find rating the teas difficult. Often a particular tea will appeal to me because of my mood, even though it does not get a top rating on here from me. As a general guide, I use the following ratings:

0-25 Undrinkable
26-50 Really not to my taste
51-75 Ok to good
76-99 Always welcome in my pot
100 – There ain’t no such thing as a perfect score!

As I rate teas, I try to revisit my scores and check that my old scores are in line with the new ones.