My sister recently moved back from the UK so I took the opportunity to ask her to help me bring back a black tea blend that I loved when I visited Stratford-upon-Avon.

Looking at my original review, I called the tea “very bright, with an almost berry-ish aftertaste”, and since I brought a packet home, I’m pretty sure that it wasn’t just the holiday mood that made this tea so great to me. Now, while I still enjoy this tea and think it’s a great every-day blend (my dad is so happy we have a black tea that he can drink), I don’t really get the “berry-ish aftertaste”. Instead, I’m getting more malty and woody notes.

So what gives? Why did my perception of this tea change so much in three years?

I can think of two reasons:

The first, which I don’t think is the actual reason, is that the blend for this English Breakfast tea has changed. Possible, but I didn’t really see anything about an update to the tea so I doubt it.

The second, which I think is more likely, is that my tastebuds have changed. Three years ago, I drank mostly flavoured black teas from Lupicia and was just exploring the world of straight teas. Since then, I’ve been able to attend a few tea workshops, complete the Japanese Tea Instructor Course, and try a lot more tea. So it makes sense that I’d taste this tea in a different way.

I also think that because I’ve been focused on drinking up my senchas recently, the contrast between them and this CTC-style black tea would be very big and that might have affected the type of flavours that I got from the tea.

Anyway, this has made me very curious about some of the teas that I reviewed in my early years of tea drinking! I really wonder if I would still like the same teas or if I’ve changed my mind about everything. I’ve always been writing tea reviews as a way to remember the teas, so it’s nice to know that it’s finally paying off and I could potentially be, in a way, comparing teas across time and seeing how my tea journey has progressed.