Got this one discounted and have hesitated to get it for a while due to the ceylon, and people either think it’s too strong or too weak. Definitely more of a fall/halloween kind of blend. I don’t really get the creme brule, but the rose+currant + vanilla is really interesting and dense, followed by the thick herbaceous lavender. It bordered on sage, but it was not too overwhelming. I don’t know if the smokiness came from the Chinese or the Ceylon black, but the smokiness with the lavender, currant, and vanilla made the tea taste like I was drinking a candle.
It’s a pretty good tea. While I don’t think the currant or lavender are too strong, and actually remind me of an older Butiki blend I’ve had, the vanilla and smoky tea pushes it in the candle/tobacco/soap category of flavoring. It’s not at all artificial, but it’s just a few packets of cocoa butter away from being sold at a Bed Bath and Beyond. The ceylon also pushes it into a more bitter category, so this one is a sugar, or a cream and sugar brisk morning/afternoon British style tea, or a even Halloween Tea Party tea. It’s too strong for me to get again, but I can see the kind of demographic who’d be into it. Personally, I’m getting some witch dominatrix vibes from it. (I’m probably going to have to delete this comment…)
Flavors: Astringent, Bitter, Black Currant, Lavender, Leather, Rose, Smoke, Smooth, Soap, Sweet, Tobacco, Vanilla
