Backstory to this tea: I had been waiting for a while for it to come back in stock online after first finding it on their website… then I made the mistake of reading all of your reviews (which made me want it even more). I was so excited to finally get my hands on some!
Dry: Holy strong scent! Whoa.. I mean maybe too strong. It lingered in the back of my throat/nose for a good minute after smelling it was so overpowering. I guess that teaches me to huff unknown teas. But really… I wonder what the liquor will be like if this is how strong the leaves smell?! Pretty chunks of pear and cranberry. How delightful. Oh yes.. and the smell.. (from afar this time).. cranberry and pear but more luscious and deep-bodied. Very nice.
Liquor: a nice medium amber color. Smell is much more subdued (which is nice). Hot: rather bland. What happened to the punch in the face scent I just got knocked out with earlier? Where the heck did all my flavour go to?.. Oh. There it is. Very mild and mellow. The aftertaste is creamy cranberry (raspberry) with a hind note of juicy pear. I can almost feel the crunch of stone cells as if I were eating a pear. Wow. I guess I was a little impatient there. Forgive me tea. As the tea cools it becomes thicker and more full mouthed. Caramel pear.. with a hint of bubblegum or something. Surprising and delicious.
This tea is fantastic. I was impatient for flavours off the get go (how could you not be with such a strongly scented tea?) I expected a very in-your-face-flavoured tea, but instead, I found an interesting and complex tea which takes time to get to know. The first few mouthfuls, for me anyway, were a warm up to something exquisite (I was just too impatient to realize it). Oh tea.. you amaze me!
