I thought I’d entered all of my non-sample teas in my Steepster cupboard, but periodically I find one that slipped through the cracks.
This is one of those.
The aroma in the tin reminds me of every other Simpson & Vail tea in my order, only stronger. And now I’m thinking that this is the culprit that shared its smell with all of the other teas. Who knew that packaging was so important? I haven’t ordered from S&V in a while. I certainly hope they’ve improved their packaging and are no longer using paper bags — the kind that they have in the grocery store to place under the coffee grinder.
Anyway, I am not good when it comes to differentiating the smells of various types of purple flowers. When I smell something I know is lilac, I’m like — hey, yeah, lilac. Same when I smell something lavender or violet. But put them all in front of me and ask me which is which? I might be able to do it, I guess. But it seems unlikely because I don’t have a clear entry in my mental database that I can call up as any of these.
The fragrance of the steeped tea is a delicate floral, with a tad of the soap/lotion that plagues some floral blacks. The tea is a pretty standard black tea color, perhaps a little darker and a little redder than some.
The flavor is much like the smell, only intensified. I wouldn’t say this is a subtle flavor, or particularly delicate, but neither is it eyewateringly unpleasant. It’s juicy enough that it doesn’t have that dead flower thing going on that some chamomiles have. Thankfully the soap/lotion is less, and there’s an interesting sweet upturn at the end of the sip which makes it enjoyable.
As I sit here, I can’t recall what other lilacs I may have had and how they stack up. But I’m now wanting to taste purple flower teas back to back just for laughs.
Flavors: Floral
This sounds interesting. We had a lilac bush in the backyard of my childhood home and I occasionally miss the smell of fresh lilacs. I’d be interested to try that as a tea flavor—I’ll add this to my wish list!