I am currently on a slightly earlier schedule for my wakeup and such than I was before I left for the field, partly due to the jetlag and partly due to just having an earlier sleep schedule while I was in the field. It’s kind of nice having a big chunk of time before lunch to do stuff, and it also means I have time for two mugs of tea instead of one. Score! Originally I was going to do what amounts to a little less than 1Tbsp for my 12oz cup, which is becoming kind of a standard for fluffy black teas for me, but then I reread my old tasting note for this that said I had used 1Tbsp per 8oz in my first cup and it seems to have worked out, so I added another perfect teaspoon to the mug (total 1.5Tbsp) and went ahead from there.
Oh my goodness this smells delicious. Like lovely bakey chocolate, like chocolate cookies or chocolate chips after they’ve been baked in chocolate chip cookies. Tastes delicious as well, and the liquor is so thick and rich on the tongue. Chocolatey, grainy, nutty. It’s less caramelly and honeyed than some of my other favorite blacks, but it also has some almost fruity note the others lack. I can’t even really place it, but it’s a great combo, and now that I started tasting it, it’s coming out more and more. Almost like black currant? Yum.
I am sad that the Bergamot Rose Laoshan Black is currently out of stock, but I am heartened that it will be back within 2 weeks, because I have got to try that blend. It will be one of the only teas I allow myself to order this fall, and I can’t wait!
