95

Yup, still reviewing this tea about two years after my first two initial reviews. I have a habit of holding on to really great teas to try and stretch out their longevity. When I looked this morning, it seemed I had about 2 gongfu sessions left in it. And since I’m apparently in the mood to finish off old teas lately, here we are.

To set the mood, it is a cold winter day with a dusting of snow and ice. My 14 month old is eating toast and peanut butter in his high chair next to me and my older two kids are just getting up and around for breakfast, savoring sleeping in for the last few days of winter break.

The tea itself: Still smells nice upon a quick rinse. That nice, thick, malty scent that lets you know it is most likely a quality black tea. Upon sipping, I do think either a) I over leafed it, which I don’t think is the case. Or b) this tea being a few years old has finally started to loose some of its luster (flavor… I mean flavor). It’s not that it is a bad cup of tea just that it has lost some of that freshness that made it pop previously. Almost verging on stale. Kinda like it steeped with a few pieces of corrugated cardboard. But other than that flavor, it has some good citrusy brightness and a big dose of malt left to give.

But even old and faded, this tea still could beat out many other black teas which is a testament to the quality with which it started. I’m not going to knock its rating just because I can’t bring myself to finish this tea when it is fresh and at peak quality.

Flavors: Cardboard, Citrus, Malt

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 15 sec 5 g 3 OZ / 100 ML

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Bio

Michigander, Husband, father of three, lover of tea, books, nature, gardening, and passion. Stay at home dad currently. Previously a preschool teacher.

I have now completed some tea swaps and I am so totally up for swapping! What a cool way to connect with fellow tea lovers and try some new teas. My tea cupboard on here is woefully out of date though.

Black tea has been my go to tea for some time. Oolongs are good too but mainly roasty oolongs. I’m finding that there are some green and white teas (mostly Moonlight Whites) that impress me lately which they never used to do. I am getting into and developing a taste for Pu-erh. I have tried raw and my Ulcerative Colitis just can’t handle the roughness of it. So I stick to ripe Puerh. I am recently drinking more herbal tea or Rooibos especially STRONG ginger blends. I’m not too picky.

Some of my favorite places from which to purchase tea are Whispering Pines Tea Co, Verdant, A Quarter to Tea, Beautiful Taiwan Tea Co, Bitterleaf Tea, and Yunnan Sourcing.

Rating system:
90-100: Some of the best I’ve ever had. I’d be a fool not to keep it stocked as often as possible
80-89: A damn good tea. Not to be missed
70-79: A good tea but lacks the wow factor. More than likely a simple tea that could be an every day option
60-69: Eh. This is okay. Not swill by any means but fairly underwhelming.
50-59: Not really doing it for me. I’ll finish it but please don’t bring me any more.
Below 50: Life is too short to waste on things such as this

Location

Lansing, Michigan

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