One day late on this tea from the 12 days of Christmas…
This tea is wow… Yep… This tea is wow… I find no other way to accurately put it. Most definitely Sherbet. 100% of the way. So much so that my brother smelled, sipped, looked puzzled and asked how Frank does it! His exact question was: “Does this actually has Sherbet melted in it?” I was very tempted to just say yes, I can’t imagine how else black tea could be urged to taste so similar to Sherbet…
When I opened and sniffed and looked at the leaves I smelled fruity and vaguely familiar. I looked at the label and I knew that the familiarity I was getting was because it was reminding me of Sherbet! I haven’t had Sherbet in years (I have never seen it in Ecuador…) and it was neat to me that the memory of the taste/smell was so familiar still. The pieces of berry and orange peal made the tea leaves just as fun to look at as real sherbet. So colorful!
I was weary of what I would think of HOT sherbet. I was pretty sure that this would end up being a tea that needed to be iced. As I brewed it and the smell spread through the kitchen, I couldn’t help getting excited about it. It smelled more and more just like Sherbet.
As with all teas that taste like something sweet, I decided to go ahead and add sugar. Stirred until it all dissolved, crossed my fingers and sipped… and… success! Sherbet in tea form has been a great idea! Even hot it is delicious! I get orange, berry and lime taste (if I think about each of the flavors separately) and a smooth vanilla finish with a dash of astringency to remind you it is a black tea. The aftertaste is pure “I just had a mouthful of sherbet!” Wow… I haven’t tried it iced yet, but I am sure that it will be just as good.
Rarely a tea comes along that even non tea lovers are surprised by it in a good way. This is one of those few occasions!
It sounds so weird. I’m glad it tastes good!
That was exactly my initial reaction and partially why it took me a while to get around to brewing it… But it is worth the initial shock! : )