This is the final tea on my “Basic Tea Trilogy” tasting. I almost hyperventilated while smelling each tin of leaves. I kept going back and forth between Keemun and Assam. After recovering from my dizzy spell I decided that Keemun almost had a cocoa smell. Assam was more planting soil-esque.
When I was pouring this the smell was like “Oh hai! Remeberz me?” I know that I’ve had this tea as a base for at least one other tea – it was so recognizable. The one I know for sure is Golden Moon’s English Breakfast where it’s a mix of all three of my trio plus Darjeeling.
So in my trio we’ve got a fairy, a gnome, and I’ll call this a troll. Not a typical troll, but more like the one in Neil Gaiman’s Troll Bridge. It seems really earthy and with a bite. Only a smidgen of sweetness. This is the most distinct “mouth feel” that I’ve had – I can’t get the feeling of having a fine layer of earth coating the inside of my mouth. It’s nicer than what it sounds like. I know that I’ll be able to recognize this one from now on.
I’m on my second steep – it’s like a different tea. The bite is almost completely gone. I thought that this tea had given up too soon. But there’s still the pleasant taste of soil, but more smooth and sweet. NE
Overall I’m really glad that I bought these three teas to try and that I did them all in a row. However, doing all of them together one time was enough. I shall enjoy them each from now on occassionally, but I don’t think that I’ll reorder any of them once the tins are empty. Oy – I feel utterly black-tead-out for the day.
