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__Morgana__ drank Organic English Breakfast by LeafSpa Organic Tea

2037 tasting notes

When I opened the tin, the dry leaves smelled very familiar. I wondered where I’d smelled that sort of smell before. Thinking it might have been in the LeafSpa Yunan Gold, I opened up that tin as well to do a side by side sniff test. There is a similarity, but the Yunan Gold is a stronger, purer smell. This one has a more subdued smell. Still, I’m wondering if there isn’t some Yunan Gold in this English Breakfast. (Hey, you got your chocolate in my peanut butter! No, you got your peanut butter in my chocolate!)

The leaves are large, dark and tippy, though not as tippy as the Yunan Gold leaves. As with the Yunan Gold leaves, they are very attractive.

The tea brews up very dark, a clear, chestnut leaning toward mahogany color, with some nice red tones. The aroma is malty and sweet, and has a slight cocoa note.

It has a maltiness to the taste, as well, but isn’t as sweet as I’d expected from the aroma. I don’t get smoke, really. Maybe a tiny hint of it, but this isn’t what I’d call a smoky tea. It is smooth, and medium bodied, leaning toward full bodied, with a silky mouth feel.

It’s nice. It definitely makes the English Breakfast semi-finals.

Preparation

Boiling 3 min, 0 sec

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Rabs
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LOL to the chocolate/peanut butter shennanigans :D

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Rabs
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LOL to the chocolate/peanut butter shennanigans :D

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I got obsessed with tea in 2010 for a while, then other things intruded, then I cycled back to it. I seem to be continuing that in for a while, out for a while cycle. I have a short attention span, but no shortage of tea.

I’m a mom, writer, gamer, lawyer, reader, runner, traveler, and enjoyer of life, literature, art, music, thought and kindness, in no particular order. I write fantasy and science fiction under the name J. J. Roth.

Personal biases: I drink tea without additives. If a tea needs milk or sugar to improve its flavor, its unlikely I’ll rate it high. The exception is chai, which I drink with milk/sugar or substitute. Rooibos and honeybush were my gateway drugs, but as my tastes developed they became less appealing — I still enjoy nicely done blends. I do not mix well with tulsi or yerba mate, and savory teas are more often a miss than a hit with me. I used to hate hibiscus, but I’ve turned that corner. Licorice, not so much.

Since I find others’ rating legends helpful, I added my own. But I don’t really find myself hating most things I try.

I try to rate teas in relation to others of the same type, for example, Earl Greys against other Earl Greys. But if a tea rates very high with me, it’s a stand out against all other teas I’ve tried.

95-100 A once in a lifetime experience; the best there is

90-94 Excellent; first rate; top notch; really terrific; will definitely buy more

80-89 Very good; will likely buy more

70-79 Good; would enjoy again, might buy again

60-69 Okay; wouldn’t pass up if offered, but likely won’t buy again

Below 60 Meh, so-so, iffy, or ick. The lower the number, the closer to ick.

I don’t swap. It’s nothing personal, it’s just that I have way more tea than any one person needs and am not lacking for new things to try. Also, I have way too much going on already in daily life and the additional commitment to get packages to people adds to my already high stress level. (Maybe it shouldn’t, but it does.)

That said, I enjoy reading folks’ notes, talking about what I drink, and getting to “know” people virtually here on Steepster so I can get ideas of other things I might want to try if I can ever again justify buying more tea. I also like keeping track of what I drink and what I thought about it.

My current process for tea note generation is described in my note on this tea: https://steepster.com/teas/mariage-freres/6990-the-des-impressionnistes