This tea had a very pleasant-smelling dry leaf, but I could not produce a satisfactory cup by brewing it: it struck me as weak. Dry leaf is relatively finely broken, but smells very pleasing, with hints of wintergreen.

I used a lot of leaf, but in spite of that, upon brewing, this tea came out quite weak. Aroma of the brewed cup not as pleasing or interesting. More woody, almost suggestive of some oolongs, not as much wintergreen aroma evident as in the dry leaf. Only a hint of maltiness. Aroma is honestly not that different from basic black tea bags, like Lipton; the flavor is much smoother and more pleasing but I still found this tea boring.

I tried using about 50% more leaf than the first time, and steeping for 5 minutes but the result still struck me as weak.

I didn't find it particularly brisk, as the description claims.

This tea is inexpensive, especially for being organic and fair-trade certified, but I would prefer any of other black teas from Arbor Teas. I especially recommend the Greenfield Estate Ceylon People who like milder black teas may like this one more than I did.

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