Tried this for the first time today. I generally like black teas flavoured with red fruit, but finding one with a good flavour balance can be difficult. In the bag, this one smells just as I want it to. Blackberry and raspberry predominate, and I can actually see one or two whole fruits among the leaves. The base of this one is actually identified on my bag as a keemun, but it seems to have been cut fairly liberally with raspberry leaves. The effect is pretty, but I guess I’m kind of wondering why they’re so predominant. Surely they’re not going to add much in the way of flavour?
Anyway, on to the tasting. I brewed this for about 3.5 minutes in boiling water. Yumchaa don’t really give much in the way of brewing parameters, so I know it’s going to be trial and error until I find what works best. At first, this has no discernable smell, but after about three minutes it develops quite a strong smoky scent.
The smokiness doesn’t translate to the flavour too much, although I can taste it. On the other hand, I can’t taste much in the way of berries. Maybe very slightly in the aftertaste, but that’s all. Obviously I’m going to have to work on how I brew this a little, because what I’ve got at the moment can’t be this tea at its best. The smokiness confused me at first, although after a quick google, I established that keemun teas can taste smoky and bitter, depending how they are processed. I know the taste isn’t contamination, as I haven’t had any smoky tea in my cupboard since I bought this. Smoky tea really isn’t my thing. Where is the fruit, though? It’s so odd, because it smells just fine dry, and I want it to taste like that too!
Not sure about this one at the moment. I might try it black, and adjust my leaf and time/temp parameters to see if any of that helps. The name is pretty accurate, though. It tastes like a walk in the woods in early autumn, when there’s the scent of woodsmoke on the breeze…
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i sooo want to dive in to your teas today but i’m worried my taste buds are a little off. they’re calling to me!
Maybe wouldn’t start with this one, then! Raspberry Vanilla is pretty unmistakable, if you’re worried about your tastebuds. I can usually still taste it all right even when I have a heavy cold :)
How very strange, I swear I never got any smokiness from my packages. With walk in the woods, I got raspberry and I think elderberry and the chinese black, but with my package (not sure if just one package or two. i think two so far, though am out of it at the moment) no smokiness at all. I think something might have gone wrong with your package? in transit or in the store/stall?
i sooo want to dive in to your teas today but i’m worried my taste buds are a little off. they’re calling to me!
Maybe wouldn’t start with this one, then! Raspberry Vanilla is pretty unmistakable, if you’re worried about your tastebuds. I can usually still taste it all right even when I have a heavy cold :)
How very strange, I swear I never got any smokiness from my packages. With walk in the woods, I got raspberry and I think elderberry and the chinese black, but with my package (not sure if just one package or two. i think two so far, though am out of it at the moment) no smokiness at all. I think something might have gone wrong with your package? in transit or in the store/stall?