Kinda thought I was going to like this tea more than I actually did…
The dry leaf aroma smells very bubblegum heavy which, while definitely not mulled wine oriented, is arguably pretty normal for most mulled wine flavoured teas. There’s just something about the combination of orange and spices that can come off so strongly as bubblegum if used in the right combination. It actually made me more excited for the tea though because I really enjoy that kind of mulling spice bubblegum flavour – strange as it may sound.
Plus, it’s very cool this is a black tea! So many mulled wine teas are tisanes.
Steeped it’s not bubblegum like at all though – so that’s good for the people who would be turned off by that note in the smell. I found the taste really hibiscus dominant and tart, which makes sense and definitely conveys mulled wine (especially with the spice note undertones that were present) much better than the dry leaf aroma. It was too much hibiscus for me personally, though – I wanted more of what I was getting in the nose. I think, however, in this case my ideal taste would be the HIGHLY atypical one based on what this tea is actually trying to be…