I deliberately decided to branch out after finishing my last box of bags, so I am trying the leaf tea version of this for the first time this morning. I may have been a bit niggardly with the amount of tea I used, and I was so curious and impatient that I only steeped it about 3 minutes. I also added my usual generous splash of 2% milk. I tasted it too-hot, just-right, and almost-too-lukewarm and am still not getting the bitterness and astringency others have mentioned.
On the other hand, I was expecting a glorious reunion with my first tea love, all grown up, and, well, hmm. Still very attractive, but not as thrilling as anticipated.
Next time: more tea-to-water ratio, longer steep. We’ll see whether the spark is still there.
