Well, I’m an idiot. As I pulled this tea out and smelled it, I kept thinking, “This is not like any Darjeeling I’ve encountered.” Well, of course I haven’t had many Darjeelings outside of Twinings, so there you go.
I was expecting black tea. Instead, the leaves are greenish white, and the tea has that hay smell. Luckily I used my good sense and decided NOT to brew this like a black tea. I still steeped it a little high…190º for 2.5 mins. Luckily, I didn’t kill it.
It’s smooth, with a bit of the flavor and bitterness of black tea. There’s something about the aftertaste of it that reminds me of mint and soap, though I can’t think why. It’s very faint, and only mildly annoying. It’s probably my fault. There’s a little hay in there and a mild, mild, mild astringency.
A shorter, cooler steep of the same leaves reveals the same flavors at a lower strength. Overall, I’d say, “Meh.”
Flavors: Astringent, Bitter, Hay, Mint, Soap
Preparation
Comments
I was pretty sure I had never used soap on my Rishi filter, but this had me heading to the kitchen to LICK my filter to see if soap had somehow accidentally gotten on it when it was near the sink.
I’m going to give it one more shot at some point with lower temps and steep. Then I’ll be done. But from what I hear of this tea, most people don’t like it. I think it was from Glenburn Estate? Reviews from other tea shops are pretty meh on it as well.
Yeah, anytime I get soap like taste… I’m done.
I was pretty sure I had never used soap on my Rishi filter, but this had me heading to the kitchen to LICK my filter to see if soap had somehow accidentally gotten on it when it was near the sink.
I’m going to give it one more shot at some point with lower temps and steep. Then I’ll be done. But from what I hear of this tea, most people don’t like it. I think it was from Glenburn Estate? Reviews from other tea shops are pretty meh on it as well.
Well… there’s a ton of tea from India and I’m sure some ins’t all that good :/