45

I tried this tea a few days ago with my fiancee. I’ve been owning it for quite a long time but I hadn’t had it for some time.
The first sip I drank made me think of sitting in Monsieur de Sainte-Colombe’s hut with a candle and a gamba, or a Georges de la Tour painting. This is a tea you’d dive into after a long day of writing an aria.
The tea leaves are very badly-looking: the leaves are practically crumbs, and there’s quite a lot of stems mixed with them.
We pre-soaked one of the tea bags and not the other one, which made a huge difference (pardon me if this is common knowledge – I’m a beginner). The pre-soaked one was way less bitter than the other one.
The tea itself is still extremely bitter, and the aromas kind of help covering that up. Which can be a good or a bad thing. I kind of felt cheated, to be honest. I feel like the aromas are supposed to highlight the tea, not cover it up. The tea is okay when you drink it very hot, but as soon as it goes below 40°C it becomes so bitter that I had trouble drinking up.
Tl;dr: the first 3 sips are okay, but then it gets tough. I felt like the aromas are there to cover up the fact that the tea is barely drinkable. I don’t recommend this one.

Flavors: Caramel, Vanilla

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 5 min, 0 sec

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Bio

I got into tea-tasting in the summer of 2018 – before that I enjoyed tea without really thinking about it.
I like: Lapsang Souchong, that cheap Earl Grey in the morning, and teas that don’t pretend to be better than they are.
I don’t like: aromas used to hide poor quality, clearly overpriced tea, colonialist aesthetics.

I’m quite fond of a few Dammann Frères blends and I’m obsessed with Fortnum and Mason’s Lapsang.

Hit me up for tea shop recs in Alsace (France)!

My ratings:
100-90: I’m in love and drinking this forever
89-70: very good tea, will gladly drink again
69-50: pretty okay, might drink again
49-30: not convincing, probably won’t drink again
below 30: won’t drink again and do not recommend

Current obsessions: Autumn Tea, Fortnum & Mason

Location

France

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