Thank you very much to Laurent for the generous pile of Nina’s samples! The empty envelope that the samples came in is still positively fragrant with the smell of fruit tea. Quatre Fruits Rouges was the tea that smelled most like the remaining smell in the envelope – sweet, fruity, somewhat powdery – so into a teacup it went.
The leaf, both wet and dry, smelled wonderfully of fruits mingled together. I let this tea cool a lot before I started drinking it, though, so that sweet smell doesn’t translate as strongly into the taste. It’s well-balanced; I could taste the fruits, but they didn’t overpower the black base. The base itself has an aroma of chocolate/vanilla. I’m not sure which fruit gives off the strongest taste – perhaps the red currant or the cherry.
I still have half of the sample left, so I’m holding off on a rating for now. But yes, consider this a very red, fruity, almost candy-scented cup!
Edit: I’m definitely getting a cherry flavour in the aftertaste. It’s not artificial like candy or cough-drops, though – it’s more rounded, like real cherries or cherry juice.
