right off the bat i’m going to say that i’m a bit off today: it was infusion day which segued into physio and all this linked by stop and go traveling through gong show traffic. REALLY… vancouver island is small enough… i have a very hard time believing that we have enough people to turn a freeway into parking lot! in any case, infusion day often leaves me a bit fuzzy with it all blurring together.
the dry tea is choppy, but not equivalent to pieces as big as in a verdant teas blend. i smell apples, but don’t see any. the only bits i see aside from black tea are gold coloured petals. it smells very sweet.
followed the instructions on steeping (what a strange day… i am being very well behaved!)… got a very dark tea from a short steep time, but the smell is still inviting.
overall, not bad. it’s not unforgettable but then outside of the really brilliant companies most aren’t—they’re different versions of something that any number of other vendors have by the same name just with a slightly different spin to it.
my only criticism would be that after a 3 minute steep i had a significant amount of bitterness from the tea! that’s the biggest drag down in terms of marks.
thank you cavocorax for this sample…. i will also thank sil as sil’s name is also listed on the sample bag! lol.
