A friend just got back from a trip to England, and she brought me back some lovely tea. I got a sample pack of 3 tins with 25g each of Whittards English Breakfast, Assam, and this (Original Blend), A box of peppermint tea bags (a much sweeter peppermint than what I usually get, but lovely all the same), and a novel little set of tea bags with holders in the shape of characturized Royal Family (I believe containing basic black tea, I’m assuming so because I don’t see anything on the package, and I have yet to open it).
Having been “friend zoned” by a longtime love and then informed that another special person in my life is getting married (which came up very soon after she’d professed her love to me), all in the span of less than 12 hours, I’m feeling pretty broken hearted. So I figured I’d try one of my new teas in hopes of picking up the pieces.
As it’s a CTC style loose tea, I only used 1tsp of leaf in my 12ish oz cup, rather than the 1.5tsp I tend to use when it’s a whole leaf tea. I have a Breville multi-temp kettle, and tend to use the slightly cooler “french press” setting for my black teas, rather than rolling boiled water. I find the slightly lower temp brings out more of the sweetness of the leaf, and minimizes the astringency. That, and I can drink it sooner! haha
This really hits the spot. It’s bold, but still light enough to drink straight, the way I like it. The kenyan tea gives it a good robustness, but the Assam smooths it out and the Ceylon brings it all together with a light sweetness.
I did a short steep (about 1m30sec) the first time, worried I might make it too bitter, so I was able to get a second steep of equal length out of the leaf. I got a teeny bit of bitterness so added a pinch of palm sugar, and ohmygoodness, that hit the spot!
This is definitely what the doctor ordered on this drizzly, cold, blah day!
