The last of the sample, and still trying to figure out this tea. A couple very random notes:
- I have complained it tasted bitter to me. It still does, this the worst of the three sample cups I have done, but I have figured out why, I got a small envelope sample and this is why tins are the best way to store and sell tea, inconvenient as they might be. The tea is very small and looks broken up, not sure what original size was, but some undue crushing at some time probably happened. Crushed tea gets bitter in steeping. Not sure how this would taste fresh from a tin.
- This time I brewed this up not too hot and not too long, and it works nicely even with tap water. But the base is still not very deep, not that is necessarily a problem with me.
- I have figured out I have (or had, now I finished this sample of Paris) 4 very similar teas – the red fruits with caramel/vanilla/something and in a couple cases bergamot. Paul et Virginie (which I must log!) and Marco Polo have no bergamot, this Paris and St. Petersburg have a bit of bergamot in the mix. Marco Polo and Paris smell the most chocolatey or most caramelley. Paul&Virginie has the clearest most identifiable fruit notes. Marco Polo seems to have the strongest base. I checked tea sizes and Marco Polo also has the longest leaves, followed by Dammann´s tea and then Kusmi – though not fair to compare Harney´s tea since I really suspect some undue crushing of this sample. And all these teas seem to be one of the topsellers or most loved teas for their respective blenders.
PS – oh, five teas, if you count I still got a teabag or two of this Don Juan somewhere. Two cities, two adventurers and a famous novel/couple, all similar ideas
