Liquid Proust Teas

Cold Brew Sipdown (138)!

Wow, I guess I was in a watermelon mood yesterday? I didn’t even realize until literally just now writing this note that I had two different watermelon blends yesterday. I should have gone for the trifecta and drank some Watermelon Xylophone as well.

This is a sadder sipdown for me; I really enjoyed the balance of mellow but sweet watermelon notes and then the softer vegetal/grassy notes of the oolong in addition to light floral notes. This was always so beautiful and nuanced; and I thoroughly enjoyed it every time I drank it – be that hot or cold. Sadly, it’s all sold out now so this probably truly is goodbye.

After finishing off a few LP blends recently, I’m excited to welcome some new(er) ones back into my cupboard come Black Friday though. Personally, as a Canadian, the best Black Friday/Cyber Monday deal a company can offer is free shipping ‘cause typically speaking I like to use BF/CM to sample new things which means smaller orders: free shipping makes that so much more justifiable, especially when shipping to Canada is usually hella expensive. And LP’s BF deal is just that; free shipping for Canadians.

Definitely feeling the love, and I can tell you right now that while I’m not totally decided on what I want to order I will be ordering something.

Last tea of the night before I head to bed…

I think this is my first time trying this one hot? Normally I cold brew it but tonight I was craving something light and melon-y so I whipped this one out and gave it a shot. I was definitely light handed with both water temp and steep time because I know that LP has warned this is finnicky when brewed hot, but this worked for me. Just very fragile and delicate overall but with lovely fresh green notes of grass and cucumber skin softly counter balanced by natural, realistic watermelon notes.

I only brewed a small teacup both out of fear for brewing this poorly and because I was trying to be conscious of caffeine intake before bed, but I almost wish I’d brewed more because I finished my teacup in what felt like the blink of an eye and I was so disheartened when there wasn’t more to keep sipping at.

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pkX94f3Z20&index=7&list=LL1M1wDjmJD4SJr_CwzXAGuQ

The album that this cover is from is one of my favourites of all time; and in fact the only ‘single’ from that album might just be my favourite song of all time if one can even narrow their favourite music down to one song. Sadly this singer is so unheard of that 80% of his music can’t even be found on Youtube to listen to, though. Fortunately, this is one of the few songs that you CAN find so I’m able to share it with all of you. I hope you enjoy it…

For anyone curious this is the song I’m referring to as my ‘favourite of all time’…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiwYNCTKU2Y

It’s absolutely BEAUTIFUL in its meaning, tone and simplicity and something I honestly feel that EVERYONE can relate to. It also pairs perfectly with this tea; and most teas in general, in my opinion anyway.

This is a queued tasting note.

Cold brewed this one; it was really enjoyable but in this particular cold brew I didn’t find that the watermelon notes were actually all that strong. Maybe this is because I didn’t get any dehydrated watermelon pieces in the leaf I used for the brew; maybe not? It’s one of those things that’s a bit hard to pinpoint.

But the oolong base itself is really nice; I like that it’s kind of weirdly creamy and buttery but still has that cooling, vegetal crispness as well. In addition to being a bit floral and buttery, the vegetal notes specifically remind me of cucumber skins/peel.

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruxTT6hjbWQ

Can’t think of anything better to listen to this with than a little bit of Surf Music, and Jack Johnson is my favourite when it comes to that kind of music!

Cold Brew!

Still really loving this one! It’s a tea to drink slowly while having big thoughts.

The watermelon is really natural and refreshing, and with this most recent brew I found I was getting the pulpyness of it as well as that verging on sour flavour of the rind. That’s not a bad thing; when I eat watermelon I gnaw that rind down to the bitter end. All watermelon is good watermelon. As for the oolong base, it’s pretty floral in a complimentary way. Didn’t noticed this last time, but this time around it had a bit of a buttery flavour as well. I liked it, even if it was a little odd next to the fleshy watermelon notes. Butter and watermelon? Eh… Maybe watermelon and generously buttered corn on the cob, though. Summer flavours/picnic flavours. That kind of thing. Regardless, it worked.

So my teas from Liquid Proust and Camellia Sinensis arrived! I have so much tea to get to that I can’t really dig into all of the new goodies; so I just picked on or two things from each order to get excited about and try…

I fucking ADORE watermelon teas, especially in the summer time, so I was hella pumped to try this. The aroma of the dry leaf is really nice, too – you can definitely smell the watermelon (although it is light) and the buttery, floral freshness of the oolong. LP recommends steeping it cold, and that’s one thing I do really well and often so I of course complied. No arm twisting necessary.

This brews up really delicate, but that’s far from a bad thing. The first thing I notice when I’m drinking it is the very fragile taste of watermelon; pulpy, all natural “perfect for picnics in the summer” watermelon! The way this comes across is so authentic and genuine to fresh watermelon that I’d probably be sold on this tea already just from that aspect of it. Honestly, I don’t think I’ve tasted realistic watermelon this good since Butiki.

After that soft wave of summery watermelon, you get to experience the Baozhong. From talking to LP I understand that this one is particularly finnicky; but that’s part of why cold brewing is so nice – generally speaking you don’t need to worry about that kind of thing. The base is really nice though; it, too, is rather delicate and soft but the fragile floral notes and faint fruity sweetness are perfect companions to that little bit of a buttery finish I’m experiencing as I drink the tea.

It really, truly, does remind me of summer picnics in the park. Well done, Liquid Proust. You’ve sold me on another blend…

Sipdown (137)!

Tried doing a ‘flash’ infusion (of sorts) of this to finish off the sample. So, instead of steeping at a lower temperature for a more extended time period I instead used boiling water for a minute. I remember this is a tip I first learned from Stacy/Butiki and it really hasn’t steered me wrong since.

In this case, it really drew out the blueberry flavour without giving the green base as much time to develop/overwhelm the blueberry. So that blueberry note that I found really subtle last cuppa instead became this really brilliant, juicy blueberry top note that made the cup. I also got hints of cinnamon and the roasty toasted rice but the blueberry was DEFINITELY the star.

It made for a very positive way to finish off the sample. So, thanks again Scheherazade!

Thank you Scheherazade for the sample!

I wasn’t sure how well blueberry would work with the toastyness of genmaicha, if I’m being honest. However I was pleasantly surprised by this one. It was kind of like your typical genmaicha: strong roasty notes and a lighter dose of the marine green tea base. It’s a flavour combo I like a lot. The difference, of course, is the blueberry. For the most part it’s just this sort of consistently present sweetness that’s more than is usually present in a genmaicha. There are blueberry notes that are actually distinctly blueberry, but they’re pretty subtle. Mostly I taste them in the aftertaste or end of the sip when the roastiness is subsiding.

I like that the flavour is kind of soft and gentle though; Genmaicha is kind of one of those ideal night time teas for me. I don’t have to worry about the caffeine; I have a pretty high tolerance. S gentle flavours are perfect for that time of day and sort of calming down.

First Steep – 1 minute

Once steeped the tea liquid is dark brown/red with a damp and earthy scent with sweet and sharp rum taking centre stage.

The first few sips reveal a smooth and sweet combination with some damp earth and a touch of sourness, but the rum cuts through the earth and it’s taste lingers. While it’s hot it’s not as strong as the scent in terms of rum but it’s still very noticeable. It’s actually a nice combination, you have the smoothness of the golden tips with some earthiness but the rum brings sweetness but also a strength that matches the wood and damp elements from the Shu.

Half way down the cup and my mouth is completely coated with a soft and creamy rum flavour which just resembles rum ball sweets even more. Also the rum is more noticeable as the tea cools.

The raw leaves are still strong smelling, despite already having one steep.

Second Steep – 2 minutes

More rum in this steep but it remains as creamy as the first cup. The rum is not as medicinal as the first steep but it remains sweet. This cup is perhaps a little dry in comparison but it’s in a nice way.

This is a delicious steep, it has more body but the flavours remain the same.

The loose leaves still smell like rum but there is also a manure like sweetness to it now.

Third Steep – 3 minutes

This steep smells a lot less like rum, with sour earth notes now in control.

In flavour I also feel that the rum has toned down but it’s still there, just softer and less sweet among the thick cream of the golden tips.

Conclusion

This tea is rum-a-licious! A creamy base combined with sweet rum that resembles rum ball sweets brings back lots of nostalgia. The only time I would get rum balls or rum and raisin ice cream is when I went to the seaside, so for me it homes in on happy memories. Plus I like the balance between the two, being a Sheng fan over Shu I find myself enjoying this base quite a bit. The smoothness and cream reminds me of a nice Dian Hong golden tip but less malty and more earthy.

For pictures and more information please view my blog: http://www.kittylovestea.co.uk/2016/05/25/rummy-pu-rum-infused-pu-erh-adventure/

GCTTB
I love the name of this tea – it was the first thing that caught my eye. The combination of flavours is unusual but they manage to work quite well. The sage is subtle and doesn’t make me think I’m drinking a cup of poultry seasoning and the blackberry is distinct and not just some hibiscus pretending to be blackberry. The keemun base is pretty mild compared to others I’ve tried and maybe that’s all to the good; the dense chocolate or smoke notes I get from some keemuns might end up drowning out the flavours in this tea. A really interesting tea that I would find myself tempted to buy if I wasn’t flat broke right now. :D

As I’ve said in my other reviews, Liquid Proust’s Teas have the few Pu-Erhs that I fully enjoy. The Pu-Erh actually tasted like earthy, but lighter black tea with the Rum flavor being the most pronounced throughout. I brewed it up closer to western, but in a first steep starting at 45 seconds, then two minutes, 3, then 5. I’ll have to do it again Gong Fu…which will probably be the later note. This tea is for more experienced tea drinkers, but I think that a few newer drinkers might be converted to trying more Pu-Erh after having this. And it is a shame that this was limited edition because it was awesome.

There are plenty of people playing around with alcoholic tea, incorporating everything from wine to hops, but Rummy Pu is so far beyond what I’ve seen others working on. It’s safe to say that one sip and my mind was blown, I’ve never tasted anything quite like this. It was hands-down my favorite discovery at the Midwest Tea Festival. The depth of flavor the tea picked up during the aging process is astounding. Opening up a fresh package smelled as if I had popped open a bottle of spiced rum for a mid-day tipple. The flavor changes subtly each time it’s steeped, but even after using the same leaves for the third, fourth, and fifth time I was met with a distinct spiced rum flavor backed up with deeper notes of chocolate, earth, and eventually a slight sweetness. This is a truly remarkable tea!

You can read the full review on my blog:
http://www.notstarvingyet.com/index/2016/5/17/rummy-pu-liquid-proust-teas

I’m towards the bottom of my bag and got more of the many other black teas with the Pu-Erh, and the notes are coming through nicely. The 90 rating never got written down, so here it is. Funny enough, I was about to drink it as a desert tea tonight and Amanda writes a stellar review. Cheers to you Andrew!

I’ve had this tea for a while, and needed to review it. I’ve only had two cups of it so far and have not done a full fledged gong fu session which this tea deserves.

Here’s what I can say so far, however: after 20 seconds in about eight ounces from five grams, this was probably one of the better Pu-Erh blends I’ve had. Nuts and a smokey vanilla are what I taste in the first three steeps. I personally recommend NOT to rinse the tea to preserve the vanilla. After that, I’ve steeped the tea before with too much water making it into something close to an aged iced tea blend…my mistake.

Yet. In the same batch, I re-brewed a western cup in 3 minutes at 190 degrees F, I got a really sweet vanilla tea. There was a very subtle fruity date quality that CWarren called fig like. It is like a vanilla fig. I really don’t like to give tea ratings, but this one I’m rating high because a Pu-Erh has not given me a taste like that before. The earlier steeps were a lot like kitchen sink water with loaded vanilla, but that cup was actually CLEAN. A clean creamy Pu-Erh. Now I’m really impressed. I steeped that a little longer and then I got something that tasted close to a vanilla English breakfast. You could probably ignore that last note, but I added that just for information anyway.

Based on my reaction to this, I’m really excited for the Rummy Pu. I love the smell and thick taste of rum, and if a vanilla Pu-Erh can be this clean and sweet, then I’ll have high expectations for the following. Andrew’s Pu-Erh’s are some of the few that I’ve ever liked anyway.

Well, I made the hard decision to reset my Nether on Ramble, this was a very hard decision but one I am glad I made! See when I switched my world from the Xbox 360 to the Xbone, all my existing Nether portals got messed up and no longer lined up, so most my Nether builds were kind of moot, and as I am sure you can guess this frustrated me. My only real complaint about doing this (other than rebuilding things, but that is no big problem, most my Nether builds were kinda old and needed redoing, except the Nether hub) with one of the recent updates you can’t get water in the Nether anymore. It used to be you could use melted iceblocks to bring water to the Nether, meaning my Nether villa had a bathroom and fountains, now not so much. I understand doing it in survival, but I wish in creative I could still get water in the Nether…so many building potentials! Especially for map makers, some of the old maps came up with really clever ways of using water in the Nether, and I will miss that.

Today I am looking at Liquid Proust’s Rummy Pu, a fancy Golden Needle Shou aged in a rum barrel and debuted at the Midwest Tea Festival, where I procured it. Before I get into huge depth on tasting, I want to give a little me backstory, I LOVE rum. In fact I love the taste of most alcohol, thanks to a quirk in my metabolism it took a lot to get me drunk and I never stayed drunk for long, in fact I was only a tiny bit hungover once and never made myself sick off of the stuff, well that was when I was younger. When I was 21 my gallbladder failed and pretty much ever since then my guts have been made of fail in one way or another, and anytime I try to drink I would curl up in a tiny ball of agony, so no more booze for me! I never really liked being tipsy, but man did I love the taste, especially of rum, so having things that taste like rum make me happy. One of the reasons I eat a lot of rum balls come Christmas…and speaking of rum balls this tea smells uncannily like them. It has a bit of a loamy earthy Shou quality, but really the showing point is a rich rum, chocolate, graham crackers, and a tiny distant spice. In short, it smells really amazing!

Gaiwan time for the golden needles, and for the first time in I can’t even remember how long, I drank the rinse. Usually I never drink the rinse on a Shou, but this one smelled so tantalizing that I had to. The leaves smell sweet, like rum and molasses, with chocolate and earthy wet loam. The rum is super strong and very sweet, and it still reminds me of rum balls. The aroma of the tea is equally rummy and sweet, with strong notes of chocolate and graham crackers, wet wood and forest floor. It smells like what I imagine a wet rum barrel would smell like on a hot day.

The first several steeps are super rummy and sweet, and yes they taste like rum balls! Smooth and sweet with a gentle distant spice (allspice reminiscent) with rich chocolate notes and sweet graham crackers. There is an earthiness to the tea as well, like clean wet soil after rain in a deep forest, lush and loamy. I was expecting this tea to lull me into sleep, as many thick Shous tend to do, but nope this one had me lost in nostalgia and wide awake. Oops.

The middle steeps took on a surprising creaminess and fruity tone, now this tea no longer tastes like rum balls but tastes like rum raisin ice cream. The sweet rum and raisin mixed with rich vanilla and cream is pretty decadent, thickly sweet and with a solid mouthfeel, I don’t even care that I was up til five in the morning drinking this stuff. Though hilariously the taste at the beginning reminding me Christmas rum balls, now the taste reminds me of rich bowls of ice cream on a summer day…clearly this tea has range.

Not wanting the tea to ever end, I took to grandpa-ish style steeping the final steeps, going for at times 20 minute long steeps as I drank around the leaves. As one imagines the liquid gets a bit chilled at this point, and usually I LOATHE cold Shou, but it was delightfully sweet and creamy, the rum notes still strong. By this point there are none of the familiar earthy notes of Shou (which is what I dislike about cold Shou, those notes are wonderful warm but a big nope when cold) just creamy vanilla and chocolate, rum, and a gentle spice that lingers. I got nine steeps out of this tea before it quit, and enjoyed every one of them…even Ben who is not a fan of any alcohol (he won’t even eat my famous rum balls) and who only moderately likes Shou loved this stuff, he fussed at me for only getting one bag and he wants to turn some into a Masala Chai! I really do regret only getting one bag, this tea is wonderful and I will mourn it when it is gone.

For blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2016/05/liquid-proust-teas-rummy-pu-tea-review.html

Interesting aroma, more floral than I was expecting for a black. The first hot steep I had was on the short side, about 1 minute, and it was a light, sweet taste, similar in base profile to Darjeelings and Nepal grown oolong teas I’ve had before from Teabox, although with a heavier floral scent, more body with a bit of malt, a hint of beeswax, and honey-like sweetness to the smell. Second hot steep I left for much longer, maybe three to five minutes. Somewhat less sweet, more malt this round, but a little more of a beeswax taste, still a predominately floral body.

The cold brewed version I made (as recommended to try with this tea on the outer packaging, :P) of this (about 17 g per 2 liters for ~10 hours) was stronger with a hardier, more bitter body (which I thought was actually a good bitter) and low (almost no) sweetness, but had a much deeper flavor, bordering on fruity. Very refreshing. Astringency was somewhere between mild and moderate for the hot steeps, quite low for the cold brew.

Thank you Kirk for this sample. It’s long overdue for a review.

When it comes to Pu Erh buds I can take them or leave them, but I haven’t had them with any sort of fruit flavour before. I do like the sound of mixing them with strawberry. Plus this is my first Liquid Proust tea, though I have placed an order today for some. The blends sound wonderful!

In raw form this smells sweet and fruity, specifically strawberry (juicy) but also tart like cranberry. The blend is light and fluffy looking but I can confirm I spot the Pu Erh buds, marigold leaves and cornflower petals at a quick glance.

Once steeped a golden yellow liquid is produced that bares a tart berry scent with lemon.

Flavour wise the first few sips are lemony and slightly sour with a lingering sherbet effect after taste. The berry comes through behind the lemon but the blend itself is smooth and quite light. Also becomes sweeter for the after taste.

The flavours still remain true now I’m half way down the cup though it’s perhaps more of a medium strength at this point.

Overall I’m impressed. While it wasn’t berry enough for my personal liking I do like lemon and in balance it was rather pleasing. It got approval from my husband too. If anything this has increased my enthusiasm for receiving my order and trying more of what Liquid Proust has to offer.

Props to Andrew for this awesome idea. And it was a pleasure to meet you at the tea fest!

I had to buy a pack. Struggled not to buy more than one, trying to save spending money for other items at the festival. Now I’ve decided I’ll be ordering more. Haha.

Right out of the bag this smells heavily of spiced rum. I could be wrong. It may not have been spiced rum that was in that barrel, but it at least is the aroma of aged or spiced rum, the amber colored drink, not clear rum.

After the first infusion in my gaiwan, the big fuzzy golden needle puer leaves let out a really great aroma. There’s must and chocolate intermingled with caramel and rum. On the scent of the tea liquid I get more of the “raw dough” kind of smell that I usually associate with ripe Puer, and the scent of rum is distant.

Tasting the tea, I decided to forego my usual shou Puer rinse and drink the first infusion of this one. Didn’t want to risk washing away some of that wonderful rum taste. The flavor of rum is definitely the main presence, but it is supported by woody and musty undertones from the tea, and the taste of cinnamon roll dough.

By the third infusion this tea is really rich and sweet, very well blending the rum flavor, which has declined over the first few infusions, with the golden needle puer flavor, which has broadened with each infusion. There are some dark stonefruit notes and a lingering sweetness on the tongue. Some unique notes of cucumber pop in as well.

This tea infuses very well with gongfu style brewing, and you get a rich flavor for many infusions. At some point in late infusions (5 or 6 and beyond), the tea taste starts to gradually subside while the rum taste and the sweetness of the rum stay consistent.

This tea is a victorious experiment, and I applaud Andrew for the audacity and cleverness to do it! I honestly don’t like the idea of alcohol scented teas or tea paired with alcohol as my thought tends to be that it will muddle the tea, or overpower its nuances, but this tea showcases the tea well, despite the rum being the more evident presence. I think on some infusions the two are really balanced, so I’m actually more into this than I expected I’d be.

Up next, green tea stored in a gin barrel! Please? ;P

Cold Brew Sipdown (147)!

I shared a couple cups worth of leaf of this one with a coworker the one who referred me, actually at DAVIDsTEA who I know is REALLY into tea. Almost as much as all of us Steepster folk; and only ‘almost’ as much because she’s never really explored companies outside of the ones accessible here in Regina and Saskatoon. I like bringing her samples though ‘cause I know she’ll appreciate the teas, and it broadens her ‘tea horizons’, and most importantly it lets me have someone I can talk to in person about the teas I’m currently drinking that I really like!

After doling out her sample, that left me with just enough to try this one cold brewed. It was definitely worth trying it that way because it was very different from the other times I’ve had this one. It still had that sweet, tropical jackfruit/pineapple tang and acidity but the bulk of the flavour was definitely, definitely the base. It was really, really vegetal actually. More than anything else I got a heavy note of raw peas. Apart from that, it was also a touch bitter in the bottom of the sip. The top of the sip was lighter with the jackfruit notes and a bit of a floral vibe. Somewhere in the middle, I also felt like I got a borderline anise like note as well. Not a super sweet anise type candy; but a mix of the fresh, vegetal anise “bulbs” you can get in store as well as the sort of anise-like flavour of absinthe. It was so weird to taste that absinthe note in a tea – and a Pu’erh of all things. However that’s what I got…

Really happy I got to try this one; and I definitely look forward to hearing with Kandyce thinks when she tries her sample.

This is a queued tasting note.

Drank this one hot during the week as a commute to work tea, which means it was steeped Western style. The jack fruit gave off a very pleasant sweet, semi tangy and acidic pineapple top note and the body not was more of a brothy, vegetal Pu’erh flavour. Very interesting juxtaposition, to say the least.

Sipdown (136)!

Thank you Scheherazade for the sample! I’ve been practically drooling over this tea since LP posted it; it just seemed so damn appealing even though it’s been a while since I’ve had jackfruit. The combination of the fruit and base is brilliant, though! So when I saw the sample in your swap package this was single handily the tea I was most excited to try. The only reason it wasn’t the first one I tried was because I really wanted to make sure I gave it proper attention.

So, I steeped this Western style. Ultimately I felt like I was going to need to make a choice whether or not to put emphasis on the base or the fruit, and I think Western was the right choice to really get a good impression of the fruit. Had I wanted to showcase the base, I likely would have drank this one Gong Fu – and I’d still like to try that just to see the difference.

It’s been a while since I’ve had jackfruit, but as I was steeping this and after the infusion was done I definitely felt like I was getting a really good aroma of jackfruit. It was very tropical and sweet! Jackfruit has always fascinated me because it can be used as a meat substitute and as a vegetarian options are so valuable when it comes to eating. I’ve been holding on to a really interesting Jackfruit “Pulled Pork” recipe for a while and I’d love to have an excuse to try it!

So yeah; first initial flavour was the jackfruit! To me, jackfruit tastes a lot like pineapple. Same kind of sticky sweetness and that ‘tang’ and playful acidity that makes your tongue super sore if you eat too much of it. That was the top note to the whole cuppa; the rest being this very smooth, refreshing and light Pu with floralesque qualities and a subtle earthiness that complimented the tropical vibe of the jackfruit while still keeping it fairly grounded, if that makes sense. Hard for me to say whether this was “meaty” as I don’t eat meat and it’s always been a bit tougher for me to identify meat related flavour notes, but there was also a layer of flavour from the Pu that was kind of like what I’d call “meaty” but also not? Perhaps jackfruit, perhaps pu.

Anyway, I was still very happy with this tea! I think it’s perfectly fair to call it unique, and I think LP has touched on genius with the pairing. I’d very, very much like to get my hands on more of it to play with. Payday IS Friday…

Also; hoping the festival went really well for you LP!

I brought this tea into work expecting to taste a rather drastic change in its taste since it’s much like a jasmine white/green in the way that it is scented for its taste. Apparently the rum aspect of this tea stuck with it quite well. It was the only thing I brewed at work all day and I really enjoyed how it lighted up into a sweet liquid towards the end. This is clearly one of the best things I’ve made and I really can’t take much credit because the true hero of this tea is the barrel.

I was going to make the second batch even cheaper, but seeing that I still have leftover from the first barrel… I think it is time to open it up and test the humidity inside of it and see what kind of condition the pu’erh lives in while being in there. About to get into some serious trouble when this happens because each batch is over $500 of an investment! However, it has brought happiness and joy from the conversations, shared experiences, and drinks that it has provided so it kind of evens out.

Wonder if anyone else has tried to see if this has changed over time… I know someone is trying to ‘air’ it out, pft…. no names, no names.

Releasing this tea and sampling it at the Midwest Tea Fest really just… blew all my expectations away. Not only is it absolutely amazing, easy to steep, exactly how you imagine a rum tea tasting, but it grabbed the attention of so many people.

Between the comments of ‘I don’t drink tea, but I can drink that rum!’ to other vendors telling people to come to me… I haven’t felt that amazing in awhile. I didn’t even know that I had given samples to other tea shop owners because I don’t know faces or anything, which is the way to go aka treat everyone the same, but it made my day 10x better to hear people who have been in the tea business for a long time to say what I did was a success.

This tea carries the rum taste for quite a few steeps, more then what I projected. Very smooth and delicious :)

(Quite interested on how the online sales of this will go as I just put it online)

Several flavors blend nicely in this tea. I would describe it as subtle and light. No single flavor dominates or even really stands out. Instead it all comes together as one pleasant whole. It withstood several steepings with the flavor remaining full.

The dry leaves are aesthetically fun and autumn looking with a syrup and toasted nut smell. The liquor is a rich dark liquid that lightens to amber shades in later steeps with a delicious aroma that really screams maple syrup to me.

The taste is a full and rich body that isn’t as heavy as a standard black tea and a lip licking full sweetness that doesn’t taste like the maple syrup it smells like, haha. My first impression, in fact, was the sweet, warm comfort of a blanket next to a fireplace on a rainy autumn day. Which was pretty awesome. But, this was actually a complex enough tea that I’m still noticing new things every time I decide to have a session with it, mainly in the way the flavors play in and out and with each other.

Things that consistently stood out to me as strong pros were the meaty nut fullness, even up through the sixth steep, the depth and richness of the black tea base which manages longer staying power and a lack of bitterness I’ve been seeing in other blacks when resteeped a few times. Resteeps well and good balance of flavors, with the varying highlights per steep making for a pleasant change with each pour.