I typically don’t like to post multiple tasting notes for the same tea. But, this one is worth it. I have had several black teas in a row that I thought were pretty good. Then I made up a batch of this and am reminded how amazing a good flavored black tea can be. This is one of my favorites.
52Teas does blueberry and cream flavors so well. And, these flavors have a great shelf life. This tea had to be a couple years old. I found a small amount in an old package at the back of my cupboard. I brewed it hot and chilled it overnight in the refrigerator. If anything, the age has mellowed the black tea base, which used to have something of a bitter edge to it if brewed even slightly too long. This time I brewed for 4 minutes and the black tea turned out lovely, malty, and pleasantly astringent without any bitterness. It’s a great complement to the flavors, which are stronger for the longer brewing time. As before, I love that this tea doesn’t have a funky aftertaste that often accompanies flavored teas. In fact, the aftertaste is a continuation of the blueberry zabaglione flavor. Really love this tea.
I’ve been drinking tea long enough now that I have old tea packages that I never finished from years ago. Sometimes it’s because they just weren’t good enough to finish given all my other options, or maybe the package got lost, or in some cases it’s because I loved them and wanted to save the last little bit (like this one). As I come across these lost packages it’s interesting to see which ones are still good. This one is great. Many aren’t.
