Today’s (unfortunately) late review features Cara McGee’s Hannibal Lecter blend.
The official description on Adagio reads: “blended with assam melody, pu erh dante, orange peels, rose hips, hibiscus flowers, natural orange flavor
teas: pu erh dante, assam melody, blood orange
accented with cinnamon and cloves
steep at 212° for 3 mins
this tea contains a high level of caffeine
*it does not contain people”
Upon first whiff of the freshly opened bag, the most prevalent aroma is blood orange, a heavy and vaguely citrusy scent. For a blend that features cloves as an ingredient, it surprisingly don’t overwhelm the other components.
I steeped a heaping teaspoon of Hannibal (haha) for about 3 minutes, resulting in a deep ochre color in my cup. The scent of blood orange almost goes away completely, leaving mellow remnants you can barely distinguish; kind of like old-school orange peel, cinnamon, and clove mixes that I simmer in a pot on low heat in the winter to serve as a sort of a natural holiday potpourri. (Truth be told, all the above-mentioned ingredients are generally the leftovers from when I make mulled wine or cider, so…)
At this point, the Assam melody and pu erh dante really take over. The only clue I have that there are cloves in this blend is the slightly spicy aftertaste. It is actually a bit difficult to pick apart all the different flavored of the tea, so subtly do they mix together. However, if you find Assam melody or pu erh dante too strong, this blend may not be for you.
Overall, the Hannibal blend is darkly smooth, rich, and strangely satisfying. I am absolutely bring another cup while I watch tonight’s episode of Hannibal.
I know I’ve been warned about the caffeine content, but so far, so good. Then again, I am a person who drinks a lot of coffee. I may not be the best judge of what a “high level” of caffeine feels like.
I give this blend four out of five stars. You can purchase it here .
*PS this entire review was written on my iPhone and mostly with voice recognition. Hopefully the formatting is OK. Wooo, technology!
