Thanks to Roswell Strange for my first Columbian black tea! How exciting!
Felt like a straight black today, and since this was staring me in the face, I went for it. Initial smell of the leaf was robust and rich, malty and maybe a hint chocolatey – so a great first impression! Brewed up, it was the oddest thing – when it was warm, it tasted like straight up cooked sweet potato. Or butternut squash. I wasn’t quite sure, but it wasn’t sweet. It was very intriguing, but of course I then left the house and the tea cooled; cool it tastes like a nice, malty black – not my favourite profile, but on the yummy side. One weird thing, though – when it was hot, there was the slightest bit of fishiness. I can’t rule out some sort of contamination, as I’ve had pu’erh in infusers lately, and also had smoked salmon yesterday (though I can’t imagine having contaminated an infuser with it). It did dissipate as the tea cooled, though.
That sounds overwhelming! I’m glad you were able to take some time with your tea. :)
Oh goodness! I think we are all like this as we are going from quiet to ACTION in work in the aftermath of the pandemic. (I work at front desk of hotel and last few months we’ve picked up a little bit and it’s a shock to the system for sure).. thankful you got a cuppa before you went in for your shift. :)