French Vanilla Black Tea

Not a lot of vanilla here. Tastes mostly of the black base.
My quest for a perfect vanilla tea is ongoing.

Not getting much for vanilla from this.
In fact, I am getting more of a Rooibos odor.
Maybe it is just my nose today?
Taste is not bad. Not great. Just a fairly mild mannered black tea.
I am thinking of letting this cool off some and see if the shy vanilla feels brave enough to emerge.

My brother is a senior in high school and he has no idea what he’s doing, but he has big plans. So, I sat with him today, and gave him the bad news—that he’s going to have to spend a ton of time doing stuff he doesn’t want to to do to get into a decent college. We worked on paperwork all day. I cheered him up later on by baking him banana bread, and watching “Ratatouille” with him. Sometimes, he’s easy to please. That movie always makes me reach for a cup of tea, and I needed something french—something to go with the theme for the evening. Hence, this French Vanilla tea, which brewed something a bit more pleasurable than usual.
Oh, I wish I had planted that zucchini plant so I would have the one ingredient I’m missing to make ratatouille. Until then, I have a nice cup of french vanilla to cheer me up, and help me forget that I have finished nothing for myself all day.

I think I must have ordered this a while ago, but the flavor seems like it’s holding up anyway.  I’m always searching for that perfect vanilla tea.  The description says the base tea is from China and Sri Lanka.  To me, it tastes like Ceylon, for some reason especially on the first sips I can taste distinct notes of the black tea but then the flavoring tends to take over and hide the black tea.  (Or since it’s from China it might be S&V’s China black I don’t really like that also tastes like Ceylon to me?) I kept trying this with one teaspoon, and I didn’t prefer it that way — then I tried it with two teaspoons and that was plenty more flavor while also not being too astringent.  The resteep is also fairly flavorful. I’m also not sure how this is different from S&V’s “Vanilla black”.  What makes French vanilla different?  Not sure. But I haven’t tried their “Vanilla black” blend, so I can’t say.   This still isn’t my ideal vanilla flavor (what is, at this point?) and there is no actual vanilla pieces here, but I’m glad the flavoring is lasting this long.   And I can actually tell the flavor is actually aiming for vanilla with two teaspoons, when sometimes with other vanilla teas, I can’t even tell.
Steep #1  // 2 teaspoons for full mug // 22 minutes after boiling  // 2 minute steep
Steep #2  // just boiled //  3 1/2 minute steep

My final cup of this wonderful tea. I need to get some more! A relaxing treat.