Melange Hediard

Another gray day! But we went out and planted a few more things, so that was ok. I think I only have 2 more plants to put in and a few to transplant for inside and then I'll be done - Oh happy day. My rosemary got quite large and I am hoping to not kill it this winter. I only manage about every other year to carry it over. I think I finally figured out the problem - over watering. I lost a few this summer because it rained so much.

Today I tried Hediard's Melange Hediard, French for Hediard blend. I bought it in the summer, on one of my tea splurges. I had been wanting to try a Hediard tea for a while. This contains bergamot, lemon and sweet orange oil. On opening the can it smells VERY strongly of bergamot and something a lot sharper, more in the grapefruit range. It is a black tea with a mixed lot of leaf size. As it brews the scent just about disappears. The bright red gold brew actually is very smooth with a light lemony flavor. Not much to get excited about, but pleasant. It did get better as it cooled, as more of the bergamot and sweet orange came out. It may need a bit of sugar. I think next time I will use more leaf and maybe brew it another 30 seconds.

I am always hesitant to go beyond 3 minutes, unless there are specific instructions to do so, as so often the tea will be overly tannic, at least to my taste.

I had tried this particular blend, as it was one of the few that wasn't one of "the usual suspects" of Darjeeling, Jasmine or Ceylon. There was Christmas blend, but that had cloves in it and I dislike cloves in my tea as they usually are too far forward. As it is, this may be the end of Hediard for me. Oh well, that is the road for learning about tea. Some you visit many times, others fade in the distance.