3 tsp. leaf, 16 oz. water, steeped at below parameters in my Breville.
I’m sort of glad that caffeine (with the exception of mate blends) doesn’t affect me too much – it means I can pretty much indulge in black teas whenever. Which is good, because this is a black tea I would not really want to have except as an afternoon snack/after dinner tea.
Tonight the smell of this one brewed was amazing – almond and cinnamon and fresh baked cookies. I oversweetened the cup on accident (even when melted, rock sugar sinks to the bottom and you have stir it – won’t forget that lesson for a while) so it really tasted like a sugar cookie, too.
I do have to note that I’m detracting a few points from my overall rating though, and that has to do with the black tea base. It is just super astringent when hot, and I think the only reason I lost the bitterness at all the second go around was because of the overwhelming sweet flavor. I will go down another 30 seconds on the steep time when I do make this again, because I really don’t like that aftertaste on my tongue – it’s such a shame to have that ruin the nutty cinnamon taste that I get at the beginning of the sip. Hopefully reducing the steep time will take care of it for good!
