The tea survey was, on some levels, a brilliant idea. Most of the feedback I’ve received indicates that my skillset, when combined with the questions I asked, allows me to curate teas for other humans quite well.
One way in which it is incredibly helpful is also one of the ways in which it enables the sometimes-overwhelming number of teas in progress and tea ideas waiting in the wings.
3-150 was sparked by the first survey submitted by someone signing up for the tea of the month.
Part of the description of tastes that were enjoyed was “dark floral.”
This particular combination – Lapsang, Hibiscus, and Lavender – sprang to mind as an option that might fit within that description.
Interestingly, this tea took more fiddling than almost any other tea I’ve crafted. I blame a decent chunk of this on the fact that I don’t use hibiscus frequently enough, and initially, I forgot that it is one of the Godzilla-rampaging-through-a-city sorts of flavours.
The test blend was made specifically to send for one of the months of tea, but I’ve kept it on hand, as I find the taste profile fascinating, and it is an enjoyable tea that helps me to keep the data on how hibiscus works resident in my mind.
The taste ended up being relatively balanced, with the hibiscus as a sharp note underpinning the lavender and smoke, with the lavender gentling its bite.
The way in which the flowers stand out against the black tea is a visual indication of how starkly the flavours of those flowers stood up against the taste of the Lapsang. The hibiscus, especially, was impressive.
Any thoughts on a name for it would be very much appreciated. One of the issues with tea survey teas is that they weren’t inspired by an event or a story, so there’s less for me to work with, as far as name thoughts.
