Hediard

Backlog of my first cup of the day.
Mélange Hédiard is a very good citrus tea : strong, really robust-It’s a quite malty tea but without any bitterness.
An ideal tea to begin the day, it wakes you up very well.
I have a drawback to point out but a very light one : the scent of the dry leaves is amazing, fantastic and powerful, there is a difference in the cup, the aromas aren’t so strong – don’t get me wrong : they are absolutely present and divine but a degree under the scent.
A very lovely tea

Never had a rose tea before. It’s weeeeird. Interesting. Kinda reminds me of pickle juice. o_O

I’m a fan of very fine China black teas to begin with (Bai Lin Gong Fu comes to mind here, although the tin label doesn’t specify what kind of China black they use), and I would never have thought to add citrus oil. The result is a delicate sweetness that’s perfectly amplified by demerara sugar or a light honey (like acacia or orangeblossom).

Very impressed with this tea. It was one of the many teas LiberTEAS sent me in my Christmas package. The rose and black tea are balanced very well. The black base is a delicious malty black that I’m totally digging. This is hitting the spot this evening.

Sipdown! This takes my cupboard down to 7 teas! Seven! I am both proud and itching to restock it at the same time. But I must be strong.

Another note — I won’t be buying this again. There’s just too much new and better stuff out there.

So, I’ve been playing around with this tea and I have discovered something worth mentioning. Unlike a lot of Earl Greys and things that are similar, like this, Melange does NOT hold up well as an iced tea. It loses a lot of its subtle flavors and something about it being cold just breaks up the harmony. So, fellow Steepsterites, this is your warning. Make this tea iced at your own risk.

So, the owner of Taste talked me into getting this. She said that her French customers requested she carry it, and that it was a big deal in Paris. Now, this stuff was expensive at $22.50 per box, but I had ScoutMob, so I only paid $12. And after I read the list of ingredients, I was intrigued.

When I opened the packet and sniffed, the Earl Grey lover in me went “Oh yeaahhhh…” It smelled like lemony bergamot heaven. And when I brewed it and had a taste, the first thing I noticed was how absolutely smooth this is. The black tea in it isn’t bitter in the slightest. It’s a very malty black, especially in the aftertaste. Almost creamy. There is no astringency, no sharpness. The bergamot is gentle but firmly there, and not too terribly loud. It harmonizes with the faint orange oil that reminds me of orange bitters if orange bitters weren’t, er, bitter.

I am going to savor this stuff. And give it the full 5 minutes next time.

This is very nice. I was a little afraid when I saw “rose essential oil” as I tend to prefer floral teas that have been scented with the flowers by layering the leaves and petals. I tend to find the floral teas that have been flavored with oils to be a little on the perfume-y side … a little TOO on the perfume-y side. But, this is not what I expected. This is delicate, not nearly so perfume-y as I would have expected.

It does have a slight perfume-ish taste toward mid-sip, but, it doesn’t linger, and it isn’t strong so it doesn’t become off-putting. There is a nice balance between rose and black tea, and I find the overall cup to taste sweet, floral and pleasant.

This really comes into its own as an ice tea – all the flavors come out and it is very refreshing. Much better than it was hot! I did a cold brew for 6 hrs in the fridge

Bergamot and lemon in a pleasant mix. Probably could use a bit of sugar