Holt's Blend

Opening my cupboard wondering what to drink on this cold evening after spending my day off work volunteering at the museum, I saw this tin and realized that, wait a minute, I don’t think I’ve written about this tea yet. Do you know when I got this? On my birthday last year after having the greatest birthday meal ever with my mom. Seeing that my birthday is next week, that further made me realize that I need to stop hardcore failing and finally write about this. Gee, only took a year. Sigh.

I’m going to cut to the chase and say that this smells a hell of a lot better than it tastes. The flavour combination sounded full of win. Brazilian cocoa, currant, and rose combined with Assam (and Ceylon)? Are you kidding me? The dry leaf smells so dark: dark chocolate combined with a deep, dark currant note. Yet I barely smell the rose, and when it comes to the flavour, I can barely detect it either. Rather, it’s the high-pitched Ceylon that takes over the whole show, and I can barely notice any Assam qualities in this blend.

What’s very peculiar about this blend is that in spite of the generous smattering of cocoa nibs and rich cocoa aroma, the chocolate note tastes thin, like it’s been cut with other crappy ingredients. We’re talking mockolate. Why? And it’s not much better with 2% milk. The astringency piped down a bit but that’s about it.

I picked this up when it was on sale right after Christmas (that’s about the only way I can afford anything from Holt Renfrew). The base is a medium strength, good quality mix of Assam and Ceylon. The flavours seem like they should be good – cocoa and rose – but I find that the execution is lacking. The cocoa comes across as tasting more like cheap, waxy chocolate and the rose is muted and has a slight mustiness like old potpourri. I know that makes it sound awful but it isn’t that bad especially when I add milk. I’ve taken to drinking it for breakfast when my tastebuds are less discerning.