I've had this tea several times prepared in many different ways and I have come to the conclusion that I prefer it prepared under leafed and at lower temperatures. The description describes it as a great accompaniment to an English Fry up and I have to agree, this tea like some wines really is a tea that goes best with some food preferably rich slightly fatty ones. It is probably a tea that would take milk well.
When I first had this tea I brewed it at boiling for around 4 minutes. The resulting brew smelled of lemon, sweet potatoes, roasted, blackened potatoes, hint of artichoke, spice, and a hint of malt. The brewed tea had a full, thick, mouth feel with a mild to moderate astringency. It tasted of malt mixed with a vegetal note and sweet potatoes, anchoring a citrus mixed with bitter cocoa top note. This is not a particularly sweet tea but more a mix of bitter tones and citrus. A little rugged, this is a tea that would probably do well with additions. With its citrus top notes and it's coffee like bitter notes I could see how it could compliment a fry up. The tea re-steeped well with the second steep bringing out more cocoa and hints of honey notes.
When steeped at a lower temperature and with less leaf cherry and sweet potato notes are more prominent and the tea has less vegetal notes and lemon, but the other notes and rugged texture remain. The tea remained
moderately astringent. Although this is not my favourite black tea blend, it does have an interesting and varied flavour profile and I am glad that I had the chance to try it.
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