Tea of the evening……
First, I must thank TeaVivre for their generosity in sending samples, very generous samples. I love the way they are double packaged so there is a heat sealed package inside a resealable pouch, and then sent in a box. Very impressive. There is also more information about the origins and production on this tea than I have seen from any other vendor.
(Yes, I know I usually don’t drink tea in the evening, but we are headed out for some pre-New Year’s festivities that involve bowling and loud rock music. It is not scheduled to end until 1am, so I needed a serious evening pick me up!)
Onto the tea…I guess the way I brewed this cup is more what is called western style. I did want to try it out brewing according to the usual way I brew a black tea just so that I would have a good frame of reference for the taste. One thing I did completely differently…..I drank this one straight up. I usually have to add a little sweet in order to bring out the flavors in a tea, but not so with this one. It is perfect on its own. It has flavors similar to a high quality dark chocolate or a really good porter (Yes, I do usually prefer my beer as a porter and my wine as a dry red.) Plus there is a hint of molasses in there. I do think the next time I try it, I will add just a hit of sweet just to see what other flavors it has to show me. However, this one is remarkable for me in that it is wonderful on its own.
Brewed by my usual mug method…..15 oz. mug, 2 tsp tea, freshly boiled filtered water, 4 minutes.
