Sipdown! (141/395)
I am so happy to finally be drinking my last cup of this tea, as I’ve had this well over 4 years at this point (!!!) I’ve been saving it for when it could be properly appreciated, since I screwed up my cup so royally the last time. It got to the point where I was scared to brew it, for fear of making the same mistake again and ruining the entirety of the sample I was sent. This time I was prepared. I read my old tasting note about what I did wrong the last time, read VariaTEA’s suggestions on how she drinks this, and read several other notes from other people who had enjoyed this particular tea. I used less water as last time I remarked that the tea was underleafed. I stuck to a 2-minute steep time, below my usual 3-4 minutes and FAR below the 30 minutes I left it last time. I am resolved not to add milk.
The waiting and preparation have definitely paid off! This is delicious! I can only imagine how incredible it would be fresh. As it was steeping, I could smell the apricot strongly, and the peach came through too after a minute or so. My mam remarked that it smelled like jam, and I agree. Plain, the peach and apricot flavours came through in the initial sip, but were quickly replaced by a surprising bitter note. Not astringency from the black tea, though there is a hint of that too, but something actually bitter which took me by surprise. I added a spoon of sugar as I enjoyed it best this way the last time, and wow! The peach and apricot flavours really pop! Now it tastes incredibly jammy, too. I love peach flavour, and I’m not usually keen on apricots, but together here they are d e l i c i o u s ! The bitter note is much less prominent with sugar added, and even less so as the cup begins to cool. I’m going to chalk it up to age or cross-contamination, as nobody else seems to have mentioned this. The vanilla really adds an extra something, a sweet creaminess which goes beautifully with the other flavours. The apple is lost behind the peach, apricot and vanilla, but I’m totally fine with that. As predicted, my previous rating of 43 is being left for dust this time around, and I couldn’t be happier about it. I definitely see a Nina’s order in my future.
