So far this is my go to hot tea in my modest, fledgling collection.
The smell of the dry leaf alone — vanilla and coconut — is enough to make one’s mouth water. There are large chunks of vanilla bean (I wondered what the bark-looking pieces were so I stuck one in my mouth only to discover it’s a piece of a rather large vanilla bean) and shreds of toasted coconut. Pretty blue petals that the box informs me are cornflower peek through the black tea leaves.
1st steep at 4 minutes with near boiling water gives a dark brown liquor. Stick your nose in and you might find it smells more like tea, less like coconut and vanilla. Ditto for the taste. Coconut is there but I think this one is a 3 minute steep for me.
2nd steep is more coconut, less tea, but somewhat watery. Would never steep this 3 times. Brown tasteless water is not my thing. :)
Throw in a sweetener of your choice and some booze and Bob’s your uncle.
You reminded me how much I like this one!