Carol recently gave me some new tea to try. It’s called Bewley’s. It’s an Irish Breakfast Tea, which is the kind of tea my current favorite is. I decided to give the Bewley’s a taste-test.
It had been a while since I had tea, so I brewed a cup of my favorite brand Twinings, and a cup of Bewley’s. I would start with the Twinings to get a baseline taste, then see what the Bewley’s was like. I still really like Twinings. It has a strong flavor, but it’s mellow. It’s like caramel without the sugar. Delicious.
Bewley’s is also strong. It has a rich tea flavor, dark and tasty. It also has a sharpness to it. As I was drinking it, I kept wondering how I would describe the sharpness. It’s not exactly a flavor. Instead, it’s a mouth sensation. I would almost describe it as an astringent quality. It isn’t entirely unpleasant, but it isn’t as smooth as Twinings. If anything, it gave me the impression that Twinings is perhaps more commercial, while Bewley’s is for the connoisseur.
I will keep brewing the Bewley’s. I would like to experiment some more with it. I think its astringent mouth-feel may work nicely with food.
Oh, yum…tastes like, what, mouthwash then?! Sorry….. 🙁
But I must say you can put a positive spin on just about anything. You’re actually going to keep brewing the “astringent” tea and trying it out with different foods to see if indeed it complements their flavor?! You may have a long wait there; I can’t think of any food complemented by, say, Scope or Listerine.
Again I say – sorry…
How coincidental that I am having a cup of Twinings as I read this! To me, it tastes exactly like honey and lemon. 😉
Actually, I have noticed that ‘astringent’ quality before when I’ve had brewed tea – it’s part of why I like it. The Yorkshire tea was particularly ‘breezy’ – I feel it in my soft palate and sinuses after I’ve drunk it all. So Carol – it’s actually a good thing!
Whew! Thanks,Martha Stewart; I feel a better about the whole issue now.
The book I’m reading this month for Book Club is set in London, and they drink tea in every chapter, mate. They fancy it like we fancy coffee. I do bloody hope you speak proper English while you do your taste tests. Jolly good then!