I’m going to cop to not giving this tea enough attention previously. It’s actually quite tasty.
I think I might have already mentioned that up until maybe two years ago tea was not something I cared about. When I did drink it, whatever I consumed wasn’t savored [it probably wasn’t very good, either]. I would drink it like you do water. And so I’ve been a little slow on the learning curve, but a few burnt tongues later I know now that to get the full flavor of a tea you need to let it sit around in your mouth for a spell.
After reading what some other people had said about this tea, I decided to let it steep for 4:30 as opposed to the recommended 4 minutes. Other people had let it go for 5 minutes, but I fear the oversteep greatly [since I’ve done it for this one and PBPPPBPTHHPWEH!!! – that’s the sound I made]. Maybe I’ll go to 5 minutes next time, though, because at 4:30 it was REALLY good.
Thomas Sampson is more reminiscent of Jackee Muntz than I gave it credit before. It has that same, caramel-like flavor to it, but it’s not as honeyed. [The difference is somewhat subtle.] I’d call it more malty. It also has some bitterness swirling in the background, and a lightly charred flavor at the finish.
It brews into this gorgeous, coppery color. On the first half of the cup, it almost felt…gritty in the mouth. Although that may not be the right word. Papery sounds more accurate. Kind of dry and with texture. Later on it smoothed out and became more satiny.
Black teas are probably the ones that I drink the least on the whole, but this series totally has me hooked. I see quite a bit more black tea in my future. Going in for cup numero deux.
