So my first cup of this was terrible. I must have oversteeped it too long or something because it was really bitter and tasted of maple and this odd flat wooden flavour like bad pipe tobacco that I really didn’t like. So I tried again.
The dry leaves smell strongly of maple and a little bit like rum to me. I made the second cup with a shorter steeping time and a bit more sugar (a rounded teaspoon rather than a level one) and a splash of milk because I like to with black teas.
On to the taste: I don’t pick up much of a ‘pancake’ taste, but it is definitely mapley and buttery and sweet and quite good. There’s still an odd ‘wooden’ taste in the background but it’s not so strong that I can’t overlook it. All in all, this is a very interesting tea, but it will probably go into my ever-increasing swap list.
