This is one of those “ahhhh” teas for me, however, it is also one of the teas that I find I love to have in the new year, when winter is mid-way in, and spring looks closer. I find that I really love chocolatey teas in the winter, but with the strawberry notes in this one, it is one of the teas that I feel is a little lighter for a black, but still hearty enough for winter. I’m like that….there are teas that I only drink in the colder months and those that I only drink in the warmer months…this is one of those transition ones for me. I tend to drink it from mid-January through late summer.
Anyhow, I do really love this tea. It is everything one could want in a love tea. Who doesn’t love chocolate and strawberries? I find that the rose petals really do little for the overall flavour, but look nice in the mix. This is good for me as I don’t like very floral teas, but I find the blend well balanced.
This is the first tea I made in my new Timolino. I discovered a few things about the Timolino the hard way, such as either emptying (completely) the strainer basket or removing it entirely once the tea finishes brewing, or you will get tea leaves coming through the drinking holes. I don’t think that an oolong would have that problem since the leaves are so large, but I am not sure the basket is large enough for them either. I know you can put the leaves in the main compartment, but I am not sure that is a good idea on most tea leaves as they might over-steep, right? Anyone got feedback on that? Also, it does keep the tea hot! In some ways, it stays too hot to drink for a while, and so I had to leave the lid off for a bit. Also, the metal outside gets cold outside this time of year…my kids tumbler isn’t the most insulated, but it keeps my hands warm…the Timolino is so good at insulation that the mug is not warm to the tough at all. It is much easier to hold though. So a few differences between my kids mug and this one, a little learning curve.
