91

Wow! This is good. I don’t usually dig herbals / tisanes, but this has a perfect balance of sweet and tart flavors and just the right amount of cinnamon. One can discern each and every voice in the choir, and relax with the beautiful melody. This gift makes me smile every time I brew it. Time to order more!

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 45 sec 2 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML
TeaEarleGreyHot

Been sipping down my initial stash of this tisane, Western style, sometimes with a lump, sometimes straight. It has a pleasant and complex aroma both dry and brewed. The hibiscus is not so heavy as to make the brew overly tart, though it makes its presence known! I always like it, and it’s an afternoon drink because it lacks caffeine. Not getting much plum or licorice today; perhaps my stuff is a bit stale. Last year I bought a fresh supply of this cinnamon plum, at the Bentonville location, and boy was the cinnamon strong! When I start drinking it, I’ll make a new review thread. My first steeping today (1 heaped tsp/8z boiling/4min) was potent and deep brown. 2nd infusion looked weak and light purple, so I let it go for 20 min. Very different: sweeter, less tart, more woody, deeper soft fruity notes at the back and sides of my tongue and roof of the mouth. Very sweet lingering aftertaste (no added sugar in this cup). I’m getting a plummy finish with a hint of licorice. I might try a jug of this Western style, iced and sweetened someday. In an additional round with this tea, I cut the first steep to 2.5 min and the second steep to 5 min. This produced two excellent cups of full-bodied liquor, closer to each other in flavor and aroma. This blend might be a good candidate for grandpa-style brewing!

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TeaEarleGreyHot

Been sipping down my initial stash of this tisane, Western style, sometimes with a lump, sometimes straight. It has a pleasant and complex aroma both dry and brewed. The hibiscus is not so heavy as to make the brew overly tart, though it makes its presence known! I always like it, and it’s an afternoon drink because it lacks caffeine. Not getting much plum or licorice today; perhaps my stuff is a bit stale. Last year I bought a fresh supply of this cinnamon plum, at the Bentonville location, and boy was the cinnamon strong! When I start drinking it, I’ll make a new review thread. My first steeping today (1 heaped tsp/8z boiling/4min) was potent and deep brown. 2nd infusion looked weak and light purple, so I let it go for 20 min. Very different: sweeter, less tart, more woody, deeper soft fruity notes at the back and sides of my tongue and roof of the mouth. Very sweet lingering aftertaste (no added sugar in this cup). I’m getting a plummy finish with a hint of licorice. I might try a jug of this Western style, iced and sweetened someday. In an additional round with this tea, I cut the first steep to 2.5 min and the second steep to 5 min. This produced two excellent cups of full-bodied liquor, closer to each other in flavor and aroma. This blend might be a good candidate for grandpa-style brewing!

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Bio

Pan-American: Left-coast reared (on Bigelow’s Constant Comment and Twinings’ Earl Grey) and right-coast educated, I’ve used this moniker (and Email) since the glory days of AOL in the 90’s, reflecting two of my lifelong loves—tea and ‘Trek. Now a midwestern science guy (right down to the Hawaiian shirts), I’m finally broadening the scope of my sippage and getting into all sorts of Assamicas, from mainstream Assam CTCs to Taiwan blacks & TRES varietals, to varied Pu’erhs. With some other stuff tossed in for fun. Love reading other folks’ tasting notes (thank you), I’ve lurked here from time to time and am now adding a few notes of my own to better appreciate the experience. You can keep the rooibos LoL! Note that my sense of taste varies from the typical, for example I find stevia to be unsweet and bitter. My revulsion to rooibos may be similarly genetic.
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Photo with Aromatic Bamboo Species Raw Pu-erh Tea “Xiang Zhu” by Yunnan Sourcing, which is most definitely aromatic!

Location

Chicagoland-USA

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