Margaret's Hope

I’m sampling this one thanks to Indigobloom. Thank you! :)

Dry, the tea is unremarkable. I don’t pick up any hints of anything out of the ordinary to remark upon. Instead, I find it calming and it reminds me of smelling the tea my mom would make. 200F(93C)/2 min. Interesting… a darjeeling. It’s not my favorite tea most of the time, but I’ve had a few knock my socks off and I’m hoping this is one of them. Now that it’s steeped, I’m able to pick up a syrup scent. With the first sip, this is confirmed. I can taste a syrup like sweetness, but it’s not overly sweet. The tea is good and solid. It reminds me of tea from my youth. Plain, yet strong and slightly malty. The strength of this tea surprises me as it’s a medium brown color, yet it packs quite a punch in the flavor department. As it cools, it becomes bitter quickly and I find that I’m unable to finish the cup. (Shouldn’t have filled the entire travel mug!) Hot, I really enjoyed it!

Thanks again, Indigobloom! :)

Not bad for a black tea. It’s slightly complex, but not quite as much as I had hoped. The flavour is good, but rather light, unless I oversteep it and then it gets bitter. Hmm, I can’t quite seem to win with this one! Still, it’s better than my standard bagged Red Rose which makes it worthwhile in my books…
As for the flavour, when it’s hot, I taste just regular, solid tea, with a malty note if I add some extra leaves. However, when the tea cools, there is a slight bitterness because of it. I can’t have one without the other. Hmph.
There is a definite raisin note when cool, which I also do not get when hot.
The astringency really comes out on the finish however, when it’s hot, but less when it is cool. This is a tea of contradictions!! complex, in the strangest places, and never all in one sip.
Oh, and I do get a spiciness now, after having half a teacup cool and bare, in the aftertaste.
I wonder… is the David’s version of this tea is as confusing???

Not a big fan of this one. I adore Darjeelings most of the time (one of my favourite black tea varieties) but this one is so lacklustre. I still have most of the package that I bought years ago. It just doesn’t have that characteristic flavour I was looking for.