Swann's Way

Complex, deep. Rich, round and brisk. Illusion of sweetness? Interesting.

Sultry pralines with a kiss of lipstick.

I didn’t have the pleasure of trying this fresh, but it seems like it’s held up well even with nuts in the blend!

Thank you for sharing, White Antlers :)

Backlog 5/28. Sipdown
2min, 205F, western X3
pean, cocoa, vanilla, sweetness

6/17
2 min, 212F, western X3, overleafed
pecan, cocoa, rich, vanilla, malt

This tea goes on and on. Well balanced, but a lot of different flavors. I’m glad I picked some up while I could. Caramel pecans were a great snack too!

Here we go. Delightfulness on a cold, but not all THAT cold, winter day.

The candied pecan and sandalwood play nicely against that SunMoon base. We could do with more of this blend in the world.

008/365

More Yunnan, which is always a good thing as far as I’m concerned. I said most of this in my last tasting note, but I love the chocolate/pecan/brown sugar combination showcased by this tea. I also love it for its depth, and layers, of flavour – it’s more complex than it first appears (and so very fittingly named.) I’m sad that LP doesn’t blend any more…he’s put some good stuff my way.

This tea had a vividly fruity scent while it was brewing with distinct apricot notes. There’s are hint of the fruitiness in the flavour as well as cocoa notes with a hint of nuttiness. It’s quite a smooth tea with only a little bit of astringency present. The tea acquires a sweetness as it cool, much like and oolong would. In fact if I didn’t know this was a black tea I would probably think it was a dark Formosa oolong.

Oh wow, this tea is incredibly delicious. The black tea base is just exquisite.

Sipdown

I’m currently grandpa styling this as I get ready for work today. I’m going to work my way through it as long as I can……It’s a very fine tea with so many layers to it. However, in the moment, I’ve been wanting to eat my weight in chocolate, but had decided to drink this instead. I’ll definitely miss this tea, but am happy that I’ve had the chance to enjoy it.

Notes: Chocolate, nutty (pecan), syrup, creamy, rich, & malty.

Sipdown (341)

I’ve tried this a couple times now and have been somewhat meh about it. I guess that’s why I haven’t written a note yet. Unfortunately I thought it would be nice to use the last of the leaf for a chocolate milk latte and it’s just not working. The tea is just too brisk combined with a lot of nuttiness that is making this taste like wood. The chocolate milk tries to undercut that but its efforts are fruitless. I think this tea is just not for me.

Drank this yesterday while at rhinke’s dad’s holiday gathering. Figured it would be a good idea to take something we could easily prepare western style and I was right. Brewed up a nice, deep red that was super smooth and thick in texture, with a sweet, rich taste with notes of cocoa, subtle caramel and a comforting creaminess. The flavors opened up more over a couple of subsequent steeps, which I always appreciate being able to get when gong the western route as I tend to for blends.

Definitely an enjoyable drink, and it was the perfect choice for navigating chilly kitchen conversations with new people during this time of year.

I brewed this western style this morning in my new teapot and cups from Epcot China. The cups are kind of that bubbled shape where the middle sticks out wide and then tapers closer together towards the lip. This makes for a better trap to capture the scent of the tea, I am finding. And this tea is perfect for that.

If you can recall being at a spring or fall baseball game, there are usually a vendor or two who are selling those freshly roasted candied nuts that smell like the clouds of heaven. This tea captures much of that scent. It is delightful. The taste is a little less sweet but it does still carry sweetness along with the slight malt of a black tea. There is a nuttiness and a slight tang on the back of the tongue as well. A really enjoyable pot of tea this morning.