I tried this tea in the bagged form as it was part of a set of THE O DOR teas that I had purchased. Upon opening the bag, I was surprised at the sweet cherry and vanilla aromas – it almost smelled like a baked cherry and vanilla coffee cake. Delicious!
I brewed the tea for 4 minutes and 30 seconds (THE O DOR recommends 4 to 5 minutes) and grapefruit notes of the tea came through much more strongly in the aroma (but not overwhelmingly so).
The cherry and vanilla flavour were still there upon tasting, but much mellower than expected. The tea was also much less sweet than the original aroma led me to believe it would be. There’s also a bit of strawberry taste (though very slight) and overall, the tea is a mellow, soft and easily drinkable black tea. I definitely think this tea could hold up to a bit of sweetener (I’m thinking something neutral in flavour, not a honey) and milk/cream, but I think a bit of lemon would cause the soft fruit nuances would be lost.
Though I really liked this tea, I’m the type of person where if I’m going to drink a flavoured tea (which I do often), I want there to be a bit more flavour. So while I’ll definitely finish the bags that I have, I don’t think I’ll purchase again.
