A good "sipping" tea that I found I enjoyed most when I drank slowly. This tea had some characteristics of a Ceylon and some of a Darjeeling. I found it slightly tricky to brew. I liked its aroma, but could be a bit thin-bodied and bitter. Thank you to Organic Herbie for the free sample!

Dry leaf, which has a fine, wiry appearance, has a classic aroma typical of Kenyan black teas: a deep, dark fruity quality with malty and vegetal notes. The smell reminds me a lot of the Kenya Milima estate sold by Harney and Sons.

This tea tastes quite different depending on how you brew it. When I used only a teaspoon of leaf and brewed for three minutes, the cup was subtle, with both body and aroma both seeming thin, but the flavor was pleasing. The overall character was much more Darjeeeling-like than I expected from the smell of the leaf, and much more so than typical for Kenyan teas. There were muscatel notes (fruity, grape-like), and the aroma was fresh and light, with hints of wintergreen.

Because I was disappointed by its thin body and weak flavor, I used a bit more leaf and a 5 minute steep and I was surprised how radically the cup changed: this way it tasted more like a ceylon. There were strong fruity notes, and a sort of sharpness. The cup was still a little more bitter than full-bodied.

I found this tea tastes best when consumed with sweets, like baked goods. This makes the bitterness refreshing, and for some reason it also makes the wintergreen notes come out more, and also makes the tea seem a little more full-bodied.

Resteeps quite well. I needed to use a much longer steep to get a cup of adequate strength, and this made it slightly more bitter and astringent than the first cup, but it was still quite good.

The price is good. I like the way Organic Herbie sells small sample sizes. Comparing this to Kenyan teas from Upton and Harney and Sons though, I expected slightly higher quality in this price range, although the higher-grade Kenyan teas sometimes come and go in availability.

I am eager to try more from this company!

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