Perhaps I was flying a bit high from my antique store discovery of Queen Catherine, but when I saw this at the liquor store, I picked it up. That’s right, I got this (the loose leaf version even!) at the liquor store. I also got a tin of Lady Grey (loose), some hard-to-find pasta sauce (which my speciality grocery store stopped carrying) and some sparkling water. The husband got beer.
Unsurprisingly, this pales in comparison to the loveliness that is Queen Catherine. There is one noticeable similarity, though: Keemun. I don’t know how much of this tea is Keemun, but it’s there. Not the best Keemun in the world, but I don’t know if I’ve really met a bad Keemun. It adds some kind of flat but still present earthy notes. Nothing as rich as leather, though. This also has some Yunnan-ish straw notes, but nothing all that inspiring. The Yunnan seems to be a lower grade, just like the Keemun. The normal sweet hay taste is turned into dry straw leaving the tea without much sweetness but also no astringency.
So yeah, this one really isn’t a “sip an contemplate the wonders of life” tea, but it’s great to pair with food because I don’t have to worry about drowning out any nuances. I won’t reach for this when I want a to relax with a tasty cup of tea, but I will say it was a perfect match for my jam and toast this morning so I imagine I’d be drawn to it when I wanted a more high tea experience.
