Candied Hawthorn Berries

I have never had a hawthorn berry before. This is the first time I’ve even heard of them. This tea could taste like a totally different fruit and I wouldn’t know the difference, so I have to take them on their word about this flavor. It almost seemed cranberry like for a second, but it doesn’t have the puckering tartness and has a sweeter way about it. There is a very airy perfume like taste in the sip. It’s bright and enjoyable on green rooibos. It’s interesting, but I’m not super taken by the flavors. Little bit of rooibos dry mouth after each sip. Overall it’s a fun quick experience of a new flavor for me.

This month’s Almost theme, which is all Taiwanese treats, is probably my favourite one yet in terms of concept – we’ll see where they land with flavour, though…

I’ve only had Candied Hawthorn Berries once – at my friend Helen’s house. She’s Chinese and Hawthorn in general is one of her favourite childhood snacks; Hawthorn jams, cakes, pastries and – yes – the candied berries on a stick too. I actually thought they were really good! Sweet, for sure, but no more than a candy apple and the crack of the glossy candy shell was so satisfying. And much like a candy apple, Hawthorn has this interesting taste that rides the balance between sweet and tart quite well though it’s definitely a more dense and bordering a jammy kind of flavour despite any tartness.

So does this tea approximate the real thing well? Kinddaaaa. I guess it’s about as accurate as I thought it would be, to be fair. So expectations were met but also weren’t the highest in the first place? It definitely tastes very fruity with a distinct red fruit note that has some brightness to it. Relatively sweet, but not enough to be upsetting. Mostly I think the brightness is actually the more crisp and lively apple that’s in the blend than the hawthorn or any of the flavourings used. It’s a smidge boozy tasting from the quantity of flavouring used (I could see it swirling in my cup as the sachet steeped) and just how fresh it is. I can see it as Candied Hawthorn, but it’s a bit of a stretch and I think also generic enough that it could probably just as easily be described as a great number of other profiles – maybe even Candy Apple among them.