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Method:
2.5tsp/10oz
boiling
4min

I was surprised at the smoothness of this tea, given the amount of time steeped and the water temp. (I avoid using boiling water with anything but pu-erh.) It’s thick, juicy, malty, and has some fruity citrus-like tones. There’s a drying, wine-like quality to it as well. It’s surprisingly mellow. None of the flavors are overwhelming or in your face…They’re all pretty well balanced with each other. There’s a little honey sweetness, a touch of caramel, and if I try very hard I can pick out some floral notes underneath it all. What I’m not picking up on is earth, cocoa, mushroom, or raisin. Not even close. If anything it reads to me as more “mineral” than “damp earth”, but that’s only because it leaves a vaguely metallic taste in my mouth long after I’ve swallowed the tea. Like how you can taste iron, when you lick a spot of blood from a paper cut? Like that, except toned WAY down. It’s on the same spectrum. But it’s definitely not mushroom. It’s bright and chipper, malty and fruity and sweet. It’s a good no-fuss breakfast tea, which is what I’ll certainly be drinking it as! (Seriously, still impressed by how smooth it was.) I prefer my dark, heavy, sweet potato-caramel-malt breakfast teas…but I’ll make do. This one just didn’t strike the right chord with me.