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Yeah, woke up to more snow this morning. Not cool. Well, technically, it is very cool. Cold even. But yeah. I’m not impressed.

Anyway, on to tea. I will admit, I’m intrigued by CTC leaf. Yeah, yeah, I know. It’s not the good stuff – orthodox is better. And I’d agree with that. But that doesn’t mean that some CTC isn’t good. Or at the very least interestingly novel. And so I think it has a place, though perhaps just a small one, in my tea pantry.

This is only the second loose CTC I’ve had and this one, so far, is better than the Tanzania Black from The London Tea Room. I added a little sugar (1/2 teaspoon) and some milk (maybe a full teaspoon) to my 12 oz. There is a little more depth to the taste compared to the Tanzania Black – less full on, flat cardboard. This is definitely stout but also I can see the ripe fruit sweet thing Lupicia mentions in their tasting note and I think that is what adds that extra dimension to this. I don’t know if I would have gone so far as to peg it as ripe fruits, but I can connect the lighter, sweeter top note layered over the malty as perhaps being associated with juicy plums or perhaps dark berries.

I don’t think I’ll be switching my entire tea selection over to CTC any time soon or anything, but I think this is a good, interesting (for what it is), solid cup that will be good for breakfast and my work commute. Mind you, with the weather today, my commute so far ain’t happening.