Back when this tea first came out I was a bit disappointed in Frank’s interpretation of butterbeer. I had imagined it to be buttery creamy butterscotch with malty undertones and smooth foamy bubbles. And since Hermione had supposedly gotten a bit tipsy on it once, I thought there might be about 1% or 2% alcohol content. Obviously you can’t get foam and alcohol into tea, but still… root beer did not match my imagination.
Yet, this tea regularly gets great reviews so I curious to try it anyway. Fortunately, Ashmanra was generous enough to share, what I assume was, the remnants of her pouch of this tea.
Now that my sinuses have mostly recovered, I was able to appreciate this tea.
The scent is definitely buttery root beer. I do have fond childhood memories of root beer so it’s always a nice flavor for me. The brewed tea is a dark reddish brown with nicely balanced tea and root beer flavor. The licorice is shy here, which is fine by me. The chicory probably provides body though I don’t really taste it. It’s pleasant and cooling in a traditional Chinese yin/yang sense.
I don’t normally sweeten my tea, but this one sort of demands it. A teaspoon of sugar in the raw and a splash of cream brings this a little closer to my imagined ideal. It’s not butterscotch, but this is a pretty tasty interpretation. I can’t wait to drink this again. :)
