I don’t really like grapefruit, or grapefruit juice (why am I starting off my tasting notes by saying that I pretty much never expect to like things? hmmm). Anyway, I read the rave reviews for this tea, and also suspected that grapefruit and bergamot would pair really well together, as they are both quite crisp flavours. That said, it’s possible that they could have been too contradictory, but I somehow doubted it. Anyway, omgsrsly picked up some of this for me and brought it to the meet on Saturday. I decided that it would probably be a nice, kick in the pants tea, and when I woke up this morning and it was dark out and I felt as though it was the middle of the night and I would have offered up my soul to the devil to get some more sleep, I knew it might fit the bill.
Brewed up a tsp of leaf in 8 oz. of water, and added in my normal amount of milk and sugar. I have been halving the amount of sugar in my tea lately for some inexplicable reason, but I figured I’d go with the full amount as I’d read about how tart the grapefruit can be here, and combined with the bergamot, I knew I’d be in for a mouthful. Anyway, steeped it for four minutes, and it was delicious. The grapefruit and bergamot work amazingly well together, and I wouldn’t really say one drastically out shown the other. I couldn’t get too much of the base, but I’m not surprised, as it’s quite strongly flavoured. The tea (as with most teas I drink) tasted better as it cooled, and the milk made it taste oh so creamy. I can see myself reaching for this tea for a variety of reasons: in the winter when I need a brisk pick-me-up in the mornings; as a comfort tea to cozy up to with a good book; as a spring tea to awaken my senses. It is a fairly straight-forward tea with little in the way of nuance or surprises, and that’s just fine by me. I will have absolutely no trouble finishing off this bag, and depending on how often I reach for it, it may become a staple. Too early to say yet, though.
