A sample from Roswell Strange. I’m a big red velvet cake fan, so it’s nice to have the opportunity to try a tea inspired by it. I think I’ve only tried one or two before now. I gave this bag 4 minutes in boiling water, no additions. The liquor starts off a beautiful pinky-red while brewing, but ends up more of a brownish colour with a red tint. I do wonder what this would look like with a splash of milk, so I’ll definitely be adding some to my second cup just to see!
The scent of this one is really nice – primarily raspberry, sweet and a little tart. The flavour, though, is more chocolate (in a dry, mildly dusty, cocoa sort of way). There’s also a creamy, almost thick-tasting cream cheese flavour going on, that’s surprisingly flavour accurate in a cool, tangy sort of way. The raspberry from the scent is less prominent in the finished cup, but it is there in the background. I can taste little sparks of hibiscus, but by no means overpowering so it’s not a problem. This is a surprisingly rich, flavourful cup, and I’m enjoying sipping on this while I tidy up a few loose ends at work this afternoon. A definite winner.