Whoa! We used to go to a smoked ham shop in the Ozark Mountains, USA that smelled like this tea!! The dry leaf smells just like a smokehouse with pine. It smells like holiday time with a bit of pine thrown into the fire. The leaves are dark char colored chopped pieces.
The liquor is orange colored and pretty. There is more pine scent now. The wet leaves have a burnt pine at holiday time scent and are chopped small and dark brown.
The flavor is not as piney as you might expect but it does have notes of pine and wood.
This is a manly tea. I think this is the tea Santa Claus would drink because he probably gets a bit tired of sweet cookies and milk and would like a bit of smoky mountain-man tea.
I am giving this a high score because I have never had it before, I was transported to many places and thoughts and was moved like art is supposed to do. I am certain that this is a difficult tea to create and get right. This had very interesting flavors that I have never ever tasted before and I love tasting new flavors. There was no bitter or astringency either. This was a very smooth tea so even if you don’t like pine essence in your tea, this one was very well done.
From the Steepster Select Box, April 2014
Flavors: Pine, Wood
