Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Black Tea Blend

Ashmanra’s sipdown challenge – December 2024 Tea #4 – A smokey tea 

As a Sherlock fan, I really wanted to try this one!  I guess the PBS show led me to eventually read some of the books.  I really should read the others at some point (I have a big ol edition of all the Sherlock novels in one.)  To the tea! I was intrigued by a smoky cherry tea.  I would say the dry leaf smells more cherry than smoke.  But then the flavor is more smoke than cherry.  But what cherry here is pretty good.  I’d say it most reminds me of maraschino cherry, which certainly could be interesting with smoke.  It’s not a LOT of smoke.  Just enough to be hinting at it.  My main problem with this blend is that the black tea is too light for me.  Doyle really deserves a nice murky black tea with some depth to it.  Needs that caffeine to solve those mysteries (or write them anyway).  The second steep, really just seemed like a plain mild black tea… somehow even the smoke notes were gone, definitely the cherry.  Maybe a hint of smoke when it cooled. That’s a shame, as the first cup was enjoyable. I entirely forgot that hibiscus was included in EITHER steep, so that’s nice.  I guess with this one, I won’t have to resteep, which I usually don’t miss on most other teas.  Overall, the flavor of the first steep is enjoyable and unique. 
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 teaspoons for a full mug // 21 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 4 minute steep

After sticking to my tea-buying hiatus pretty faithfully this year, all bets are off! I ordered Simpson & Vail’s advent last week and felt obliged to add a few teas… for the free shipping, of course. ;)

This is S&V’s newewst “literary blend” and it sounded very appealing to me on paper: lapsang, whiskey, and wild cherry? Right up my alley! But I tried it this morning and did not love it. :( I have a pretty high tolerance for cherry flavor — even when others describe something cherry-flavored as “medicinal,” I rarely feel the same way. Yet I really struggled with the hibiscus-enhanced cherry in this blend. It’s cloying and almost chemical, and I don’t feel like it complements the smokiness.

The flavors just kind of sit next to one another, and not in an entirely pleasant way. I’m also not getting any whiskey, which is a shame.

I may have overleafed this cup, so maybe I’m not doing it justice. I want to love it! I’ll have to give it another shot.

Backlog from yesterday:

My daughter surprised me with this tea for Author’s Day! I was very surprised to find that it wasn’t in the database yet, but she says it is a newer blend that hasn’t been out long.

As I expected, this is mostly lapsang, and I enjoy lapsang. Although the description says there is whisky flavor, I am not getting much of that. I would say there is light cherry here, and I definitely pick up on the hibiscus.

Ashman does not like Lapsang tea at all, but he insisted that he wanted to try it so I made a big enough pot for the two of us to share. He did say that when there is smoke, he just doesn’t taste anything else, but he did finish a cup or two of it.

Next time I have it, I want to try it with a little maple syrup and see if that brings out the whisky flavor. I think it might!