I’m so glad I remember to put the steep parameters at the bottom of my tasting notes – since I go entire seasons without hot tea my memory tends to fade.
That said, I’ve learned that I really like my black teas at around 4 minutes – so even though I stayed with 3 minutes in previous notes I decided to take my 3 tsp. tea leaves to 16 oz. water and let them sit an extra minute.
This steeping is quite dark, and very heavy on the vanilla scent – but that scent is played down a bit in the taste. In fact, it seems a bit more balanced with the bergamot this way. And the black tea makes itself known, too, which I don’t remembering happening in past steepings.
It’s a great way to start a cool, September Friday morning.
ETA: OK, this is just a note to myself: I think that I may be sensitive to bergamot in this quantity. After drinking two cups I felt slightly headachy from the aroma and the taste. I like bergamot, so this is sad – but I either need to limit myself to one cup next time or just mix it 1:1 with a straight black.
