Finally, I am trying this. My fear has been overcome by my desire to use up samples. I am still afraid, however. My pyramid satchet let out a lot of dust while steeping, even though I shook it out before hand. The contents looked oddly like crushed peanuts, and it has an unusual smell which I can’t quite place and honestly don’t really appreciate. It’s almost air freshener-esque. It smells very dry which might not make sense to many, but it does, I swear! The liquor is pale yellow and still leaves me uneasy…
First sips are surprising. Very different taste than smell. I get a weak chai flavour at first, but then a smoky flvour starts to build and dominates the sip, leaving a smoky mouthfeel. This smokiness intensified over the course of the cup and really dominates my impressions of the ‘tea’ as the smoke remains even after I’m done drinking – I really feel it in the back of my throat. I assume this is the coffeebean coming out. I don’t mind it, but I don’t particularly enjoy it. It almost makes me feel like I’ve been smoking, and my throat is a bit tickly. Probably my mind playing tricks on me… As a non-coffee drinker, I don’t really appreciate what I perceive as the ‘coffee bean’ flavour. To be fair, I am more than a non-coffee drinker, I’m a coffee hater, but this isn’t like standard coffee.
I am certainly capable of drinking this mug, but I don’t think I would do so again. I have one other satchet as well, and I think I will gift that along to a coffee and tea drinking friend. I appreciate the ingenuity of this and I have never tasted anything like it before, but unfortunately it is just not my thing. Also, this does not hold up well to a light steeping time at all. The packet says 5 to 10 minutes and it means it.
My biggest complain/concern? The dust. I hate powdery or dusty teas/tisanes/whatever we want to call it. I shook off a lot of dust and I still see a lot of sediment in my cup as well as the floaty stuff. I know that crushed spices, etc will cause a certain amount of powder, but I find it very unpleasant aesthetically and calls to mind cheap Tetley bags (even though this is nowhere near that level of ‘quality’).
