42 Tasting Notes
I love love LOVE cinnamon, and this tea won me over with big cinnamon flavor. If you know what to look for, you can taste the other spices in the background. But the main flavor here is cinnamon, by a long shot. It’s a bright, spicy cinnamon flavor that reminds me of a cup full of Christmas. This is the only loose chai I’ve tasted (just started drinking “real” tea last week), but so far I can’t imagine finding one I like more than this!
I’m a loose tea newbie, and this is my very first experience with REAL black tea. I figured it would be best to start with black tea, since that’s the only thing I have to compare when transitioning from Lipton bags to loose tea. My first whiff of this tea confirmed that this was going to be veeerrryyy different from the tea I’ve been drinking for 27 years. The leaves smelled earthy, and I could actually tell that the tea came from A PLANT! (Whereas with Lipton, there’s really no other way to describe the smell other than “dusty tea bag.”) First, I tried it hot, and I wasn’t sure if I liked it. But, the more I sipped, the more I became intrigued by the complexity of flavors. I kept sipping just trying to taste all the flavor notes that are non-existent in cheap black tea bags. Today, I made a 1/2 gallon of lightly sweetened iced tea. I steeped 15g. in 4 cups hot water for 3 minutes. I poured it over 3-4 cups of ice and added 1/4 cup sugar. I’m addicted! I was unsure of how exactly to describe the flavors that are so new to me, but reading words like “malty,” “oaky,” and “earthy” in other reviews sound right.
I gave this an 85 because I know there’s something out there that I’ll like better.
this was the first loose leaf i tried!
hmmm, looking for suggestions on where to buy…. i only have online favourites, not real world (i don’t find them polished enough, lol). butiki for flavours, verdant for purist, and if you have money to burn mariage freres or damman freres. but be warned, trying either mariage or dammann will change everything for you!