This has been my morning brew for the past several days and it serves that purpose well in terms of what I look for — full flavor, decent body, dark, robust, high caffeine but not so much that I get the zoomies.
The aroma of the dry leaf is overpoweringly boozy, like a chocolate liqueur mixed with amaretto. It reminds me a lot of Silencio’s aroma. The leaf itself is very chopped. It’s uniform in size with the cocoa husks.
Steeped up, the boozy aroma is still strong and it transfers lightly into the mouth as a much more pleasant undercurrent of amaretto. The sip is thin but it really thickens up in the back of the mouth with an impression of creaminess from the Assam black tea base. I have a hard time figuring out if the cocoa husks and/or flavoring are the main culprits for the cocoa flavor or if it’s part of the base tea but it’s present mid-mouth along with dense maltiness and the citrusy and rye-reminiscent high note of the caraway seeds that weaves its way around.
I wouldn’t say the tea is sweet; if it is, I feel like the natural flavoring is responsible for the impression of liqueur-like sweetness that’s present in the aroma. The overall vibe is more malty-savory-brisk but creamy. There also seems to be a bit of spiciness but not in the heating way. Unlike other reviewers, I found this tea to possess no bitterness and only a little astringency.
Overall, I’m happy with Leatherbound as a morning brew but I still prefer teas without flavoring added and probably won’t purchase again. I think it would make a great gift, though!
[Western, 3.5g, 212F, 10oz, 4 and ? min both stacked in a 20oz thermos]
Flavors: Alcohol, Chocolate, Citrus, Cocoa, Cream, Malt, Rye, Spicy
ZOOMIES. Perfect word for that overly buzzed buzz.