Thanks to Kittenna for this sample!
Another day, another cold brew. Doing a different tea a night is actually a pretty handy way to go through my huge sample box, and also a nice way to keep drinking tea when it’s so hot outside! I picked this one last night because I am on a cherry blossom kick after trying Den’s Sakura Sencha. Theirs is blended only with sakura blossoms it seems, and I have another blend with sakura, rose petals, and cherries. This one is different, because… well, there’s no sakura! Kind of weird since the name is Cherry Blossom, and there’s no cherry blossom in the ingredients list. There is a host of other stuff though, like coconut (?), dried cherries, rosebuds, and 4 or 5 different base teas blended together.
This tea is a little tart and a little sweet, with a nice cherry flavor. Not cherry blossom, but actual cherry. It’s not fresh cherry (which is a flavor I’ve never found properly replicated in tea) but it has a tart, juicy edge that’s pretty close to the real thing. I thought the rose would be more prominent, but I’m only getting a hint of it towards the end of the sip. The coconut is there too, in a mild way, adding some sweetness and another fruity dimension. If someone gave me this without me knowing what was in it I don’t think I’d ever guess “coconut” but there is definitely another fruit layer going on.
The disappointment comes with the base: you’d think with 4-5+ different kinds blended together, you’d get a ton of complexity. However, I’ve found that the more kinds of tea are in it, the less complex it is. Two is fine, especially if they are similar (white peony and a light Chinese green, for example), but add more than that and they are just competing for attention. There’s no fruity taste, no floral notes or grassiness, not even a hint of vegetal goodness. It’s just a basic “tea” taste, which is a shame because it seems like there are some interesting types in here: I think this would be better on a white peony or sencha base, to be honest. It’s not bad by any means and in fact I am really enjoying it, but you have to think of it as “cherry tea” rather than “complex floral cherry blossom tea.”
Oh, ick :(
Cherry seems to be so hard to capture properly, it turns out icky easily I find…I’m still on the hunt to find the perfect one cause I love cherries so much…
Cough syrup usually doesn’t bother me if it is sweet enough but I’m not sure how I’d like it as tea in large quantities. Cherry flavour is really difficult apparently.
That’s just it. I actually don’t mind cough syrup either, but to drink two litres of tea that tastes like it? No thanks.
Theoretically, you would think if blends had actual dried cherries in it, the tea would have really good cherry flavour…
The perfect cherry tea…it’s got to be out there somewhere…
My wife had some of her cold brew of this today, we added a touch of vanilla agave and she seems to like it! I’ll poke her into posting a tasting note.
You too, gmatis? Let’s make sure we let each other know when one of us finds it!!!
A work friend gave me a bag of “Cherry Blossom Tea” from a visit to Washington DC; it was repackaged/relabeled from Eastern Shore Tea Co. Wasn’t entirely natural, but it wasn’t cough syrupy either. I can’t find my own review here on Steepster—I’m sure I did, but K S posted on his blog: http://theeverdayteablog.blogspot.com/2013/10/eastern-shore-tea-company-cherry-blossom.html Still isn’t the cherry nirvana I’m looking for.
Oh, gross! I think I’ll avoid making this as a cold brew then..
That’s it, I want cherry nirvana, don’t we deserve that? And so true Fjellrev, why aren’t there cherries in most cherry blends? All I seem to find is rose petals!!!
Glad your wife likes it, aisling of tea!
A friend of mine swears by a sencha-based sour cherry tea a local store here blends. I haven’t tried it yet since I keep spending my money on e-tailers, but it too only has cherry flavouring. When I get around to it, I’ll let everyone know the verdict, and if it’s good, I can send some to the Steepsterites on the hunt for that perfect cherry tea. :)
What kind of cherry tea are you guys looking for? Cherry Tisane? Cherry green? Chocolate Cherry Black?
Some of RLT’s cherry matchas are nice. I liked Black Cherry.
I’m personally open to any of the above options with cherry, but particularly a chocolate cherry black sounds good. I know of the Tea Spot’s Chocolate Cherry Bomb but shipping is ridiculous.
I’ve heard mixed reviews about RLT’s cherry matchas but Black Cherry does sound tempting.
I love both, sweet black cherries and sour. I too love to pair black cherries with chocolate, but it’s never really done right. Rivertea is not bad though I must say, but not overly cherry the way I’d want it to be.
The sour cherry teas/tisanes I’ve had always end up being overwhelmed by evil hibiscus. I love tart , but somehow hibiscus takes over everything else. But that’s just me :-)
Chocolate cherry bomb??? Don’t I wish, that’s what I’m looking for, but in a non deceptive way…
My favorite Cherry Tisane is Cherry Goddess from Tealux – I think it’s really tart – but I like that. The other one that’s really good is Pondi Cherry from NMTC – it has hibisus too but it’s not quite as in your face as the Tealux one. I add cherry tisane – which ever one I happen to have in the house to all kinds of things – straight black, green, white teas – I’ve added it too cherry chocolate teas – Cherry Cordial from Culinary Teas wasn’t cherry enough for me, but it was a decent cherry chocolate – then I added a bit more cherry and was pretty good….