I have been wanting to try this tea for some time! I was quite disappointed to learn that the operation is being closed down, in what I see as an unintended consequence of the US "war on drugs".

Broken leaf...looks and smells a lot like a strong breakfast tea, and the brewed cup is similar as well.

Brews a rich, dark cup, strong like a tippy Assam but slightly less edgy, not at all malty, and with a quite different aroma. Hard to describe, but without being particularly unusual...this is a fairly typical strong black tea and reminded me a lot of many English Breakfast blends, although it was noticeably less malty. Perhaps more like a Ceylon tea than anything else. Also a little like a stronger, edgier version of a Turkish tea.

I liked this tea a lot more when using less leaf (less than 1 tsp.) and brewing for a short (1.5 minute) time. It is quite strong and infuses quickly, and I find the complexity comes out more when brewing it more weakly.

Although this tea is very good for a broken leaf tea, the price is quite high, and I do not think it is worth the price. I'm glad I tried it, as a novelty, but I would not want to buy this tea regularly, because, in the similar price range, there are some really top-notch teas from a variety of other regions.

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