This is….actually not as bad as I was fearing. I picked up a 25g package of this from a 2 for $5 bin my last trip into a DavidsTea, after smelling it and finding it not too bad.
I got home and after trying another tea of their’s with coconut (Fantasy Island) and really disliking it, I nearly threw this in the swap bin before trying it just because it had coconut. But I figured why not.
Opening it, all I saw was the star anise, so I poured the bag into a bowl and all the tea was at the bottom. I measured out as evenly as I could 1 1/4 tsp (though it was probly closer to 1/2), dropped two of the star anise into the steeper and steeped 4 min @ 208*.
The smell of the wet leaves especially reminded me of the sassafras I get at the Renaissance Faire. I don’t always like licorice, but in small amounts it’s alright. I rarely have a taste for it. But the taste in this one wasn’t overpowering like I worried with the two giant star anise in the pot.
Taste wise it was licorice-y, but mellow, and the coconut accented this pretty nicely. It wasn’t all in your face like the Fantasy Island. This one was also just mildly spicy-esque and makes me think it’d be good for a morning tea. I added a bit of brown sugar and smidge of truvia and it was very nice indeed. I can imagine this would take milk well if I were so inclined.
I couldn’t really tell the black tea here, but then, I was so busy with the star anise and coconut I didn’t really give much thought to the black tea base other than ‘there, but not strong’. I didn’t get any astringency that I could tell.
Didn’t try a second steep, though I probly should have. Maybe the anise would’ve been toned down so I could taste the black tea. Ah well. Next time I make it.
I actually like this quite a bit. Enough that I’d consider picking up a bag to keep on hand when it goes on sale. Which was certainly surprising to me. Lol.
