Acton, Massachusetts is a suburban spot roughly twenty miles (or within spitting distance) of Boston. It also happens to be home to the Mark T. Wendell Tea Company. This semi-related factoid also makes them the perfect distributor of a tea that is a wonderful exercise in irony. Davis, Newman & Co. is Great Britain's oldest running tea merchant. As fate would have it, they were also the same company whose crates of tea were tossed into Boston Harbor on a rather illustrious day in American history. Showing a twinkle of British humor, said merchant developed a special blend commemorating the occasion...and Mark T. Wendell is the sole distributor. Within spitting distance of Boston.

Wow.

MTW describes this as a brisk blend of Ceylon and Darjeeling teas. They also mention that it's supposed to possess a sweet aroma. I didn't notice much sweetness, but the scent was indeed brisk, reminding me more of an English Breakfast or Keemun. If there was a Darjeeling in the teabag, I didn't smell it.

Brewing required little effort. The back of the bag said to use boiling water poured over, and then to infuse for three minutes. I was happy to see the three-minute recommendation. Anything more would've been an invitation for dry-mouth.

The bag-infused liquor brewed to a deep maroon, certainly not a typical color for either Ceylon or Darjeeling, even at their lowest altitudes. Mouthpiece aroma betrayed a strong, robust black tea smell. All boast, no subtlety; dry and with hints of malt. To the tongue, it was bitter on the forefront, settled on a floral and light-spice note in the middle, but ended with astringency. In a word, I was unimpressed. It reminded me of a low-grade CTC Assam, in a bag.

I really like the Mark T. Wendell Tea Company. Everything I've tried from them, to date, has brought a smile to my face. This maybe produced a smirk. While I give it credit for the day it commemorates, I can only give it a partial pass on taste.

Visit Mark T. Wendell Teas for more information on this tea and many more from their extensive product catalogue.

Geoff Teaviews.com Reviewer » Read more about this reviewer on Geoff's profile page. » Find a list of recent posts by Geoff.

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