Buckingham Palace

oh god. So i couldn’t find this one on steepster because it was hiding away from the rest of the secret garden teas. I’ve located it now and tried to condence the listing but at the time i brewed this, i was just thinking some sort of black blend.
firs sip.. ah gawd! it’s…it’s jasmine! and blergamot! IN THE SAME CUP! aaaaah! yeah that’s pretty much how that went. Still though, i’ll try nearly anything. and i suppose if you like that sort of thing and it wasn’t your mortal enemy…this would be a decent cup as the base blends nicely with those ingredients. bah. lol

thanks anlina!

I’m getting back to my morning routine of getting up with my partner instead of sleeping till 11am. This is good. As much as I’ve never been a morning person, I like sharing a schedule with my partners and being able to go to bed (and actually fall asleep!) when they do.

First tea of the morning is Buckingham Palace. I couldn’t remember what was in this one at all, but it was at the top of my untried pile, and I figured I couldn’t go wrong with a black, because morning.

All I really got from the dry leaf was a malty fragrance, so I’d kind of decided that this was probably just a blend of black teas. Not so! Steeped the liquor is quite dark brown and has a hint of floral fragrance, but then on the palate is loads of jasmine. What an awesome surprise! There’s also hints of bergamot, but quite subtle, a bit of vegetal from the green, and bold, malt and astringency, with a touch of bitterness. This has a thick, almost creamy mouth feel with a bit of a drying sensation.

Jasmine is definitely the dominant flavour here, which is different and interesting paired with the boldness of the black base. I’m very used to jasmine with greens or other more delicate teas with a lighter body.

As the cup cools, a really lovely sweetness develops along side the jasmine, reminding me of bamboo leaves.

I steeped this for 3 min at 96C, but I think with my next cup I might go for slightly cooler water and a bit shorter time. The Secret Garden black base seems to steep very quickly and be quite sensitive.

I don’t know if my preconceived notions are off on this one or if the sample was faulty. What I taste is a sturdy blend that I believe to be Ceylon, Assam, and Kenyan black tea leaf. There is also green leaf in this that I can’t separate out. Underneath the tea is a hint of bergamot. The bag aroma suggested strongly this would taste more like an Earl Grey but it doesn’t. I am OK with that if it is supposed to taste this light. There is also jasmine in the blend but it is only the lightest hint in the aftertaste. The more the cup cools, the more pronounced the hints become. I read reviews of similar blends that led me to expect this to be highly floral. Because that is what I expected, I was left craving more. As a black breakfast tea it is solid enough.