Sipdown!
I can’t believe there are no notes from anyone on this tea, but especially none from me,even though I am finishing it today. Perhaps my notes were eaten in one of the great Steepster shutdowns.
This is a great tea, leaning toward the darker side of oolong. Color in the pot is ruby red and in the cup a nice black tea shade of medium amber. Definitely has raspy cacao mouthfeel, awesome with food because it clears the palate and nice even after the bagel is but a memory because it is so strong as to make it unpalatable. There is a little nuttiness, toasted. It leaves a slightly smokey aftertaste as well. But even with all that, I don’t perceive it as a super strong oolong and it doesn’t need any smoothing.
As a tea-related aside – I was reading a novel set in London and it mentioned The Rare Tea Company. I emailed and asked if it was really specifying them and they wrote back and said, “Yes, and here is an article to enjoy!” So I will share it with you, too! I guess I need to go order some Lost Malawi tea now…
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2010/jan/31/tea-drink-alexander-mccall-smith
I’ve read a memoir by Henrietta Lovell, who owns The Rare Tea Company. It was entertaining, and I kept ticking off the teas I’ve tried and the ones I wanted to get to.
I need to look for her book. I wasn’t aware of it! I want to order the Lost Malawi soon.
Ah, how cool!
I think the book is called Infused. I read it a few years ago. Lost Malawi is a wonderful name for a tea!