"Leaf Tea"

There was nothing on TV, so I decided to do a night of experimentation with tea.

The first was this – an Australian blend. I bought this today from an Aussie shop that’s right next to the place where I buy my clean water. (I did it on foot today, trying to build up my endurance.) Yeah… I’m kind of amazed how many different tea opportunities are open to me in my own backyard of San Jose. Looks like I got into a good passion.

So, yeah. Bought this, because I remembered someone I know in Australia offered to send me teas a while ago, though she never got around to it. Apparently, they do grow some black tea in Australia, so I decided to I might try some out. Unfortunately, it turns out this tea was grown in India, but I decided to give it a chance anyway – try out the tea tastes of the Outback, at the very least.

So, the leaves were extremely fine – really, a box full of fannings. Probably the smallest they could get it before being forced to put it in bags. Made it in a gaiwan, about half full. I would have used less leaf, but the box completely filled one of my biggest tins. Wasn’t expecting much of a good flavor, what with the obviously low-quality leaf, but it didn’t smell too bad.

Upon infusing… well, not bad. Bold – I’d say between English and Scottish Breakfasts, though I don’t have too much experience with those types of blends… Infused it three times, and it got progressively less enjoyable. Basically, all the good taste steeps out quickly, and the rest is the unpleasant flavors.

Though not a great tea, I am rather interested in exploring the Aussie tea culture. I’ll probably make more visits the shop in the future, though, what with import costs, everything is rather expensive. On that note, I should also look more into the UK’s tea cultures… I really haven’t paid much attention to these blends, as I’ve focused more on the teas from their source, and the countries that produce.

I’ve got a few things to research tonight, the first on the list is UK and AU tea styles.
Next up for review are an Herbal, a Pouchong, and a mystery oolong.