Tea Review: Highlands Breakfast Black Tea by Plum Deluxe

 

Dry and in the bag, the orange essence was STRONG on the nose, and that worried me a bit because it smelled oily and fake.  Thankfully, once the leaf was wet the fake orange smell vanished as though it had never been there and all I could smell was the Assam.  Also, the liquid was clean with no trace of oil floating on top.

It brews up very dark, which I adore in my black teas.  The first sip wasn't complex or layered at all - it was pure hit you over the head Assam.  It took me a few sips to acclimate my palate to taste anything past the Assam.  This is NOT a complaint though, because it's high quality Assam.  The first flavor I got past the Assam was the Ceylon.  I was about half a cup in before I noticed the heather in the mid note - but once I noticed it, I couldn't un-taste it.  The orange peel was far milder than I would have liked because I did get a bit more tannin in the finish than I prefer and orange peel often mellows that out.

In an attempt to mitigate the tannin issue, I added just a DROP of sweet cream.  Oh my gentle readers this takes cream in such a DIVINE fashion.  It lightened up that overwhelming Assam and stripped the tannin away beautifully.  It also became a deep rich cuppa with heather on the nose and blooming full in the mid note.  After creaming, the orange peel popped out in the end note the way I like it too.  It tasted of my time in Inverness by the loch which made me want to add a drop of single malt scotch.

Gentle readers - this is a strong kick in the mouth of Assam with no cream.  With cream it's a lovely deep rich heather filled cuppa.  With cream and a drop of single malt it is DIVINITY that will transport you to the Highlands.

Final Thoughts: ...... I'm gunna need a bigger bag of this blend.