underwood

This is a serviceable and pleasant tea. The dominant flavor comes from the honeybush and the roiboos. Like others, I had been hoping for more of a caramel flavor, but once I got past that I enjoyed it.

I fell in love with this tea when I first smelled it. I like violet as a flavor, but it can sometimes be overpowering. This isn’t the case here, though; the violet enhances the black tea and brings out a mellow sweetness in it. It really is a perfectly blended tea.

This tea is like a boxing match of jasmine and rose, or rose and jasmine, depending on who’s winning at the moment, and the fight may be about a lurking linden blossom. I thought the tea might be a bit too heavily floral for me to enjoy very often, but it’s surprisingly clean tasting, fruity and sophisticated, and I think it will stay in my regular rotation of afternoon teas. It would work well with the tiniest bit of raw honey, if one were that way inclined.