Before steeping, the scent out of the box is very intense. The strongest notes upon smelling the unsteeped bags is strong with cinnamon and ginger, with an overtone similar to maple syrup. Imagine a sweetened, fruity chai.
The body is somewhat binary: The first hit is wrought with cinnamon, the second hit is a tart plum flavor. In between is a very slight floral taste — this tea is not at all on the flowery nor planty side, despite containing chamomile and rosehips, perhaps because the floral taste is flooded out by spice. Due to the combination of cinnamon and high tanginess, there is a slightly grainy and light mouthfeel, which leaves the tongue rough after the sip.
There is a lingering spicy aftertaste, which leaves the tongue feeling somewhat “prickly”.
Due to the intensity of this tea, DO NOT for more than a minute; else, the taste gets rather extreme, sure to overwhelm most taste buds. Even when steeped shortly, it ends up being a very rich, nearly wine-like cool red color with slight clouding from particulate spices.
