This tea looks like a black tea before you steep it. Steeps almost like a green tea (Light golden in color) and confuses me whenever I try to place it in any category.
Smells strangely of broccoli, subtle floral notes and with maybe a whisper of mint added to it. Not the normal mint that knocks your nose off kilter, just a slight tingling sensation that whispers of mint on a cold winters day… Kind of a crisp it is cold out slightly minty smell if that makes sense.
Taste wise this one is drastically different than the Yunnan Noir that I was previously drinking this morning. Complex and subtly layered there is a lot here for my tongue to try and get a handle on. Ends on a buttery and slightly bitter note, the bitter part kind of like the ending taste you get from a good IPA (a very hoppy beer for those of you who don’t know). The floral notes from its nose may be what is causing the IPA/hoppy associations to fire in my brain… who knows… it is my brain after all (laughs)!
As I said before this is in the black section of Adagio’s teas and black it may be from the oxidization, however this is unlike any black tea I’ve had before. It is definitely not your typical black lets get this day started type of tea. This is more of a I just had a good meal and want something to sip while having a good conversation with family/friends type of tea. One that other tea drinkers would have fun discussing with you in my opinion.
I’m having trouble trying to come up with a numeric rating on this one. Not what I was looking for this morning, thus it may be lower on my numeric scale now than it deserves. A good tea, although I think I brewed this one at the wrong time today.
