So, I had a Camellia Sinensis order show up today! I actually placed the order not really for any tea in particular but because they were carrying an absolutely STUNNING jellyfish teacup that I just 100% needed to own. You guys don’t even understand; jellyfish have been my spirit animals as of late. They’re these gentle, floating water blobs that zap you when you get up in their personal space – how perfect is that!? Plus, all my good friends refer to me as an “asexual jellyfish”. I don’t know where that even originated, but it’s just a term now. So now I have this equally bad ass jellyfish teacup!
Anyway; while I was ordering I DID pick up some tea too – because you just gotta. That’s how addiction works. I chose this one because I have tried a Columbian Bitaco tea before and I thought it would be interesting to compare the two mentally, especially since this one was a pretty reasonable price.
The dry leaf for this one is really sweet smelling with distinct notes of honey, cocoa, and graham crackers that definitely piqued my interest/curiosity. Steeped up, it’s kind of similar to the dry aroma? I mean, it’s got hints of malt and honey but it’s also pretty brisk and full bodied with a thicker mouthfeel and a somewhat astringent and tannic finish. Also, a bit of a burnt sugar sort of flavour, too.
I mean so far my initial impression is that I like the other black Bitaco tea better it was smoother, and it had this very fascinating anise flavour to it. However, I think some tweaking could produce a very interesting infusion. Either less leaf, or less steeping time would probably fix the astringency and I bet milk and sugar or honey would make for a really nice breakfast tea with some of those honey notes getting exaggerated nicely.
Definitely excited to see where this tea will go.
Current rating is a conservative 69, with the belief that appropriate tweaking will result in a brew deserving of a better score.
