There are three major interests I have in life that developed very early on in my childhood. My general interest in Princess Diana. My (obsessive) admiration for the Beatles, in particular George Harrison, and my utter, complete love for Sherlock Holmes.
It started when I was a wee six year old reading the Ladybird edition of The Hound Of The Baskervilles. And it flowed through my teenage years as I read story after story and watched the marvelous Jeremy Brett (in my opinion, the ultimate Holmes) solve all manner of cases, The Eligible Bachelor being my favourite. Or is it The Dying Detective? Or the Mystery Of Thor Bridge? Or The Copper Beeches ....?
(Holmes. Drinking tea.)
So, I suppose you can guess my excitement when Dan from Chash Tea told me that they had just released their new blend: Sherlock Holmes. This glorious blend made it's premiere at this years National Tea Day, which I sadly missed and which I still feel so upset about.
Even more annoying then missing National Tea Day was the fact that during my recent supermarket sweep like, bonus spending shopping spree with Chash, I overlooked this tea amid all the excitement. Having sworn blind I had ordered it and then checking my invoice to find I hadn't I was bitterly disappointed. However, this month's teatourist box has recently arrived and what did I find amid all the other wonderful tea's? This little gem. Finally, I was going to try this blend. I was beyond excited.
The ingredients in this tea are exciting and different. They are: Breakfast tea, lapsang souchong, ginkgo and elderflower blossom. Now I will admit, lapsang souchong and I do not make the best of bedfellows. I was put off it a long time ago by drinking a really potent, bad quality lapsang and have been rather nervous around trying it again. I have though, tried it since a few times and found that the better quality the lapsang is, the nicer the taste. I don't hold grudges either, so went into trying this tea with new eyes and fresh taste buds.
This is such a pretty tea to look at. The actual tea is so dark in colour and the elderflower adds a dash of startling colour. It smells nice and smoky too, but delicately so. This certainly isn't a type of lapsang that is so strong that it throws you halfway across the room, and on this matter I was very pleased. I knew that had it been too strong I would of struggled with the smoky element. Aroma wise, the strength of blend is just right.
I first tried this tea after a pretty hard and stressful day at work and it was just the right tea to relax to. I am so happy that I love this tea so very much. I suppose, because of it's name, it's a blend I really wanted to like. And I honestly do.
The first flavour that comes through is the smokiness - and that is natural as it's such a obvious flavour. But I was really impressed that though it's a very present taste, it is by no means overpowering. How Chash have achieved this is beyond me but it's a spark of utter genius. The lapsang souchong fills the mouth with a interesting smoky flavour, but at the end of the sip there is a sweetness to that smokiness as well. It's rounded and well balanced and I feel the amount of lapsang added to this blend is just about perfect.
Underneath that smokiness lay the breakfast tea. This is a fine and strong tea to use as the base tea. I think that the base tea needs to have strength to carry the smoky flavour. This tea probably wouldn't of worked so well had a Ceylon or Darjeeling been used. I love the slightly malty element to the breakfast tea. It's rich, smooth and moreish. It bursts with flavour leaving you feeling both satisfied and relaxed.
Underneath this malty, smoky match made in heaven, there is a fruity, plum like sweet taste to the blend which I assume comes from the ginkgo. This adds a sweet femininity to this very masculine blend.
If you had asked me to describe what I think a Sherlock Holmes based tea would taste like then this is pretty much what I would of said. When I think of Holmes, I think of the thick tobacco smoke within his rooms, and the thick peasouper fogs that filled the air outside. This tea is magical and gives Holmes another dimension. As odd as this sounds when I watch Holmes now I automatically think of this tea. So when I drink this tea whilst watching Jeremy Brett portray that conundrum of a man, it's like I'm experiencing Holmes in 4D! Not only can I see and hear it, I can now taste it. I can taste the air in 221b Baker Street.
The Sherlock Holmes blend is one of the most different and special tea's that I have ever tried. One of the very few tea's that has made such a impact straight away. There is also such a emotional attachment, for me at least. This perfectly created and blended tea adds it's own magic to those wonderful stories by summing up Holmes and his life in liquid form.
I did try to take this tea to work in my Bodum and it wasn't the best idea. My mind wondered constantly to Holmes, to Victorian London, to Dr Watson. To violin music, to Moriaty, the Reichenbach Falls. It was just a good job it was a Sunday and we were quiet!
This is just a splendid, strong and flavoursome tea. Both satisfying, comforting and exciting. A perfectly crafted joy of a blend.
And much joy it has brought to this ladies life.
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