Happy National Coconut Torte Day! My selection today is an herbal blend, so I won’t be reviewing it until this evening. So I’m using this morning to instead finish off the last two teas of my initial sixteen for March Mad(Hatter)ness!
Thirteenth tea for March Mad(Hatter)ness! This is for the mixed tea/misc. round, going against Bird & Blend’s Easter Egg Nests.
This is another tea I purchased back in 2018 and am only cutting open for the first time now. The dry leaf has a lovely citrus aroma; a very bright yet pithy orange and that sort of grapefruity-citrus note I’m used to from bergamot (bergamot isn’t listed in the ingredients though… I wonder if it’s one of the “flavorings”?) This is a blend of black tea and jasmine green tea with some flavorings and flower petals which is recommended as an iced tea, but since I’m doing all my initial pairings as hot cuppa with no adornments, that is how I brewed this: 3g to 450ml 205F water steeped for 3 minutes.
The brewed aroma smells much the same, like juicy orange and pithy orange peel, as well as bergamot. Maybe the citrus with the jasmine in the cup is reading to my brain as berg, because on my first sip, I certainly don’t taste that distinctive bergamot flavor. The citrus is a bright orange, which blends smoothly against the base. I’m not tasting wafting perfumy jasmine flowers, but there is a sort of soft floral undertone to the tea; paired with the strong orange notes, its making me think of orange blossoms. There is also a slightly minty taste that comes out late in the sip. The tea itself is a dark and somewhat malty cuppa but extremely smooth.
I’m really digging this; it’s reminding me a bit of a Lady Grey, considering the strong orange flavor and more subtle bergamot impressions, and I am quite a fan of those teas. I don’t have any doubt this would be a nice iced tea, and do plan to try that in the future.
Flavors: Bergamot, Citrus, Floral, Malt, Mint, Orange, Orange Zest, Smooth
