Organic Fairtrade Black Saffron

OK, I think I have nailed this one this time. It is important not to over-steep or to steep it too strong. Before, in a larger mug, I used 2 teabags instead of one (because with most teas, it ends up just right that way with this mug), but not with this tea… I used a regular sized mug (8 oz) and 1 teabag and pulled the kettle just before boiling. Steep it for just 2 1/2 minutes.

While this is probably one of the most temperamental teas I’ve encountered, it is worth the effort to get it right, because I am loving what is in my teacup right now. The saffron flavor is strong in its delivery from start to finish. The black tea is brisk and bold and delicious. A very nice cup, indeed!

First, my humble and apologetic thanks to the donor of this one…I think it was teaequalsbliss, but if it wasn’t, the rest of you know l love you anyway, yes?

Second, I am a Midwestern farm kid with a very plebian spice repertoire. I will publicly admit I don’t have a clue what saffron’s supposed to taste like.

And finally, the tea itself (you were just holding your collective breath waiting for my pronouncement, I’m sure): It was bitter. I hit exactly the middle range on time (2:30), with water boiling as advised, and it put wrinkles in my tongue. But—and you may have experienced this—I still got a sense that the base itself was pretty good black tea. Dropped in a sugar cube and re-evaluated. Improved marginally to “formerly bitter black tea that now has a little bit of a metallic thing going on.”

I hate not having wonderful things to say about a tea, but that’s what this whole forum experience is about.

From: http://www.itsallabouttheleaf.com/2478/tea-review-hampstead-tea-black-saffron-2/

I may have mentioned this before, but one of my ever increasing number of hobbies* is researching and recreating Medieval cooking. Much like today, medieval people were very into conspicious consumption. They liked using expensive pricy ingredients to show off to their guests – “See! Look how much money I can spend – just on dinner!” Spices were always one of the most popular ways to show off wealth. They were very expensive and very highly valued, and saffron was one of the more popular spices.

In the cooking I do saffron is mostly a coloring agent, as it turns the food a lovely golden color, and not used for flavor. I find the flavor very light and subtle. So I was very curious about what affect it would have on the tea.

The teabag smelled like generic tea. Pouring water over the bag, it did turn bright yellow for a moment – then turned into a normal tea color. The brewed aroma again smelled like a normal tea. In drinking, I’m getting a bitter high note – like I over-brewed the tea, but it didn’t have the tannic drying effect that normally goes along with the bitterness. I prefer my tea sweetened, so after a few sips of the tea unsweetened, I added my favorite sweetening agent. It toned down the bitterness, and turned it into a very bright flavor.

Either way, I don’t think I like the addition of the saffron. The tea behind the saffron tastes quite nice, and would have likely been a very nice cuppa on it’s own. But as it is, it’s not really for me.

*My craft room is crying from from too much stuff and too many projects. You can almost hear it crying from the street, “no more stuff, take the yarn away! I don’t need any more embroidery floss!”

There is little to no aroma on this one. The longer I ‘steeped’ the more saffron I could taste but it also got a little bitter. With the correct steeping times on this…it tastes like a medium strength black tea in a bag. The Saffron is more in the after taste. It’s not bad.

If over steepsted I think the aftertaste had a little coffee-like taste to it. Not bad if you like that coffee taste, I suppose.

My rating may change in the future but for now I will go with mid to upper 70s