I was actually pretty surprised at all the hate this tea is getting. I am really enjoying it.
First of all, the smell. I admit, it was a bit unusual. However, I thought describing it as garbage was a bit harsh. It was a bit of a fermented smell and made me think of wine – red wine I think, but I’m no connoisseur. I understand that dried figs are about 50% sugar, which means they ferment easily. Whether this was intentional or not, I don’t know.
I found that the brewed tea did not have any unpleasant odour. The smell was quite fruity and yet also earthy at the same time. An autumn fruit smell as opposed to spring or summer fruit smell if you will.
I found the brew well balanced as far as taste goes. The orange bits did not overpower the rest of the flavours as orange sometimes does. The cinnamon was complimentary, but just complimentary. I didn’t feel like I was drinking a cup of it. The fruity (fig) taste was clearly there, but I could still taste the tea underneath. I added a little brown sugar for a bit of extra sweetness and it seemed to bring the flavour out a bit more.
Overall I was quite impressed. I found this to be a very pleasant tea to enjoy on a winter day. Solid thumbs up.
