63

Sipdown.

Slightly bitter from oversteeping. Hints of smoke and dried fruit, cooling menthol on the back of the tongue and roof of the mouth. Slightly astringent finish.

I like this better than the last time I drank it, and I think it would be quite nice if not oversteeped.

I’m going to let this one go for now, try some other Darjeelings, and then maybe pick up another sample of this once I’ve figured out Darjeelings more.

Edit: Second steep, 3min, 80C is less bitter. More of a fruity character, what I’m guessing is the muscatel, but I’m not sure. A touch of flatness mid sip that makes me think of old or cheap tea, but overall still pretty good. Could be all the dust in this sample too.

Flavors: Astringent, Bitter, Dried Fruit, Fruity, Menthol, Smoke

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 3 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML
Fjellrev

Sounds like such a weird combination of notes.

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Fjellrev

Sounds like such a weird combination of notes.

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Bio

I grew up drinking jasmine green tea with meals, but really fell in love with tea on a trip to Britain in elementary school. My first great love was Earl Grey, and I still adore it and all its variants.

I discovered the beauty of loose leaf tea much later, when, on impulse, I picked up a few teas that were on clearance at a home store. My introduction to loose leaf teas were Masala Chai and Provence Rooibos by the Metropolitan Tea Co and an unknown brand of kukicha and gyokuro (little did I know what a precious treasure I’d stumbled onto with that.)

At the time I was lucky to live in a place with multiple tea shops and several places to have afternoon tea, which is a delight I still miss.

Tea is part of my daily ritual and a nice, affordable way to appease the collector in me.

I enjoy distinctive whites, greens and oolongs, flavoured blacks, and herbals that are heavy on the citrus, lavender or mint.

Rating rubric, to give myself some consistency:
0-15 Yuck, not even drinkable.
16-30 Disappointing, not really inclined to give it a second try.
31-45 Disappointing, but maybe there’s potential? Worth one more try, prepped differently.
46-60 Mediocre, not terrible but not memorable.
61-75 Not bad. I’ll definitely finish what I have and might buy again.
76-90 Very enjoyable. Tasty, complex, it’ll keep me coming back.
91-100 BEST! I love everything about it and I will drink it forever.

Beyond tea, I’m a sex educator, polyamory activist, and radical queer. I love backwoods camping, abstract painting, baking & cooking, nail polish, cats, ceramic sculpture, and home nesting.

Location

Winnipeg, MB, Canada

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