Grade: O.P. (Orange Pekoe)
Finally I’m going to taste and smell Tsar Nicholas II’s tea, it has always sounded exciting and special to me. The dry leaf smells very citrusy, to be more exact they smell of bergamot and lime, perhaps also something a little sweeter. Maybe it’s mandarine.
The tea itself also shines through, which I like, overpowering teas are so vulgar and non-exciting, so I’m glad that some tea-fragrance is noticeable in this tea. I don’t know exactly which flowers there are in it, but there are lots of it. Maybe the flowers are lavender and ylang ylang, it’s not rosy in any way. After the tea’s done steeping I’m going to find out, if Tsar Nicholas II had taste for tea, hopefully he had.
Well, strangely though, all the remarkable aromas of the dry leaves, simply doesn’t translate into the brewed tea, you can’t smell any of the essential aromas, it just smells of black tea. Almost. For me, it isn’t negative that a tea has subtle flavourings, I like it even better when they have. Teas just needs to have a hint of flavouring, if you ask me.
The taste of the liquid tea is not that subtle, here the citrusness and the floweryness, is quite noticeable, especially all the flowers, but the citrus is also there, adding exiting flavors to the tea. It has a tiny bit of bitterness, but it is a light tea, lighter than their Russian Morning #24, and lighter than their Anastasia. The color is quite dark, even though it’s a light tea, with a body between light and medium. Goes well with milk too!
Bouquet of Flowers #108 is one of the best teas I have tasted, and it’s just great, great, great. Must buy a 125g later on.
Tsar Nicholas II had taste for tea, obviously.
Overview:
Appearance: Extremely long black tea leaves.
Dry tea-smell: Bergamot, lime and flowers. Ylang ylang, lavender and a tiny bit of black tea.
Color: Reddish-brown
Brewed tea-smell: Aromatic black tea and a tiny flower/citrus smell.
Taste: Slightly bitter black tea, but still light. Bergamot, lime and flowers like ylang ylang and lavender.
