cteresa

cteresa drank Travel to India by THE O DOR

This was an extra sample from a swap with Barbara78, thank you so much, oh it was a lovely surprise. One I had to try at once.

I was in a total chai phase a couple months ago (cappuccino frother included) which seems to be abating – I decided to brew this western style instead in order to judge better.

And it is a great chai while being very different from my till-now definitive chai (Chandernagor). Like it, it has cloves! I love cloves in chai, it can add an extra dimension to all the other spices. Here it is more subtle. I can detect cinnamon as well, and ginger definitely. As well as vanilla. It is a perfectly balanced tea. Barbara found chocolate-like notes on it, I did not but must brew it again.

I am finding a certain quality to Thé-o-dor´s flavoured black teas, something I am struggling to describe but which I find very enjoyable, a certain on-the-exact edge balance of flavours with tea, nothing ever too strong nor too weak, a certain “just right”. And this is another winner!

2013-02-07 14:55:12 -0500

185 °F / 85 °C

4 min 45 sec

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Bad weather tea drinker – I drink tons, too much to count, from October till March and then when it gets hotter I will drink very little tea and only cold water will do for me. I hang around steepster much more frequently in (northern hemisphere) cold season.

- Teas -

I tend to prefer black tea, though am I always willing to try anything once. I like flavoured black teas but right now I seem to prefer green teas unflavoured.

I am one of those people who actually loves Lapsang Souchong. I am not crazy about Earl Grey in general. I don´t quite get Darjeeling teas, but maybe I can learn… I got a weakness for floral scents – jasmine green, black rose, osmanthus white, violet tea…

I like rooibos, though not all, but I loathe hibiscus. I do not like fennel/liquorice/anise in blends or teas with chicory. I am picky about what I consider true cinnamon.

I am not too dogmatic, I am even borderline heretical, regarding the loose vs bagged thing. I would rather use a teabag, bought or home filled than have a pot of tea overbrew. And hermetically sealed foil wrapping for tea bags are a great great invention.

As you can probably tell from my cupboard, the brands I find more interesting right now are Mariage Fréres, Yumchaa and Thé-o-Dor. And Twinings tea often works just right for me.