“What a curious plan!”
― Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
Dry: This is one of the prettiest teas I have in the cupboard right now. 10/10 on presentation. Huge pieces of chamomile with entire intact flowers along with cacao nibs, marigold petals, spearmint, and large lovely twisty tea leaves. I’ve never tried Wuyi Big Red Robe before this, but Laoshan Black is my favorite straight black tea. The dry leaf smells mainly of spearmint, so I was slightly concerned that the mint took over in the bag initially.
Steeped: I rinsed the leaves before steeping per the instructions and the tea itself is a light gold clear liquor. The steeped fragrance is different than I expected- a rich and interesting blend of my favorite tea with playful hints of mintiness, chocolate, and spices like cinnamon.
Taste: This tea is perfectly named! The first sip tastes like a smooth spearmint blend. Along the tongue, the tea changes into something else with hints of cacao and chamomile, rich and smooth. In the aftertaste, I still taste cinnamon and a hint of something else more savory- maybe another spice or notes from the base teas. It is a very interesting and enjoyable brew. Additionally, it holds up to multiple steeps and each one yields something a little bit different- more chocolate here, more chamomile there, more spices, etc. In the summer, I imagine it would be quite tasty iced. Overall, I am very glad I tried it and have sincerely enjoyed the experience. This is my first blend from Verdant and I look forward to trying others in the future.
I love Alice quotes :-) it’s like the bible, every time you read it, it reveals new meanings, lol!
The name reminded me of Alice in Wonderland when I first learned about this tea too!
That is so true! :)