Made a mug of this for myself and one for my mom late in the evening on Christmas Eve…
Originally, I bought this one from Q2T because I was hoping the flavour pairing would taste similar to DAVIDsTEA’s now retired Cranberry Pear blend with a black base. Cranberry Pear is my all time favourite blend to ever be released by DAVIDsTEA and I was crushed when it was retired. I’ve been searching for an alternative similar to it for a while now…
It is funny I made this one on Christmas Eve though, I’ve always loved cranberry teas year round but I do tend to think of them as more of a Christmas-y flavour as well. So definitely appropriate on that front, at least.
But damn – drinking this was just so overwhelming nostalgic. If it weren’t for the woody rooibos notes poking through the flavours I say this is a dead wringer for my beloved Cranberry Pear! The cranberry is bright and sweet, and the pear is decidedly creamy and silky, and the two come together in the most melodious way highlighting the differences between the two fruit notes and making those differences all the more enjoyable because of the beautiful contrast between them.
I just felt lost in this mug… In this most beautiful way.
And of course this one is limited edition – so it’s not going to be viable as a replacement tea for my beloved. It’s as close as I’ve gotten though – and it was amazing getting to relive the beauty of my beloved when it’s fresh, compared to the flatter, stale(ish) leaf I’ve hoarded since it was retired…
EDIT: For the record, my mom called this one the “best tea I’ve ever served her”. High praise, indeed…
Did you just throw shade onto Brandy the singer?! ;)
If I’m being honest I googled brandy to make sure it was what I was thinking of and on the side of the page it just gave me two options “Brandy (drink)” and “Brandy (singer)”
Oh dear, this sounds delectable. Cranberry Pear with baked stuff going on. Swoon. I may have to give A Quarter to Tea another shot.
I’ve enjoyed several offerings from A Quarter To Tea. Maybe I’ll brew a pot of this one tonight.