When I bought this tea, I wondered why the box was labeled “Leaf Tea” rather than “Loose Leaf Tea”. I soon found out when I opened the foil bag inside keeping the “leaves” fresh.
Leaf Quality:
I opened the bag, and what I found was unexpected. The tea was very finely cut/ground, more so than CTC. Some pieces were larger than others, but the tea could be compared to grains of salt. Some pieces were very dark while others were a lighter brown. They smelled better than it looked; almost like a crisp orange pekoe or English breakfast. However, this tea would have gone better in bags, as it is pretty difficult to filter tea so finely ground.
Brewed Tea:
The tea dust produced a dark brown cuppa, with a slight reddish hue. It smelled malty, and a bit chocolaty. There wasn’t much character in the tea. Perhaps there was some Assam in this. It was crisp, just as it smelled, and I had brewed it a bit strong (I have a feeling this tea can withhold longer steepings).
I decided to add a lemon slice, and a tiny squeeze of lemon juice. This lightened the color a bit, and made the tea more pleasant. As I mentioned before, this tea lacks the character that other teas possess. There wasn’t anything in particular that stood out to me. However, I’m sure this will make a nice iced tea.
This is not my favorite tea, but it was nice to drink something to soothe to my sore throat and my terrible cough.
