Wild Huckleberry Tea

I’m not sure if I have ever had huckleberry anything, but this tea is actually quite fruitful and flavorful.  It’s a Ceylon but I think it pairs well with this fruit flavoring.  It most reminds me of black currant?  I liked it using two teabags for a full mug, which is telling me is 4 grams total.  But it’s a perfect cup this way, with a quick steep time the first steep, so as not to let the Ceylon take over the mug and showcase the fruit. But then I overbrewed the second steep, but I was fine with the strength. This tea is better than I expected.  Great with blueberry pancakes.
I haven’t written a tasting note in a while, but this is the perfect tea to restart with.  It’s in Grandma’s tea drawer, as it was gifted to her from my aunt after her travels in Montana last summer, road trippin.  And coincidentally, my aunt is back visiting Montana now! (But only for a week this time.) It’s been a tough couple of weeks.  I came up to Grandma’s again intending to help her for a couple months, and a few days after arriving, she decided it was time to pass on.  Possibly she was waiting for a few in her family to be with her.  It was great to be here to share two last meals with her, in hindsight.   She hadn’t been eating much, but her last meal was her very favorites: tomato soup, ice cream, and coffee.  She had been doing spectacular for her age, but these last couple of years have not been great for her. I partially blame the Covid she had a couple years ago.  She was a strong lady.  Thanks for everything, Grandma!

The last of the tin. I’ve had this so long, I’m not even sure where it came from. I’m guessing a gift from a friend’s travels to where huckleberry grow. They aren’t found local to me. Sipping between meetings and watching a video about a new tea service that opened in Boston.
It smells lovely and steeps up a dark brown color. It hits me as rather astringent but with definite huckleberry. I may have oversteeped but I remember having the same impression with prior mugs of this. Fixed it with a splash of milk.

Teabag from a TTB. The berry flavoring is pretty interesting here. Sometimes it tastes a little floral/earthy for me, but it’s nice that it’s not the same old berry flavoring you see all the time. The black base seems a little low quality. I drank this cold, and it was okay, but it may be a little old at this point.

This tea is absolutely heavenly. I just took on a new role at work with another team, and as we were clearing out the office to make space for me, we found a batch of unused wild huckleberry tea, still good, still smelled delicious. Honestly, I would say its sweetness in smell is akin to like a cobbler, even.

I had this tea with a small splash (very minimal) of vanilla almond milk yesterday, and it was delicious. I am sad to know that there are only a few teabags of this left, so I do plan on buying my own when that time comes.

Had a cup of this tea a while back and remember being pretty impressed. The base is black ceylon but the fruity undertones really enhance the overall flavour. Now that it’s summer I’d like to get some more and try a cup iced. With any ‘fruity’ teas the danger is an overpowering flavour yet this is nicely balanced with subtle hints of plum and berry!

I get this tea at Our Daily Brew, not sure if this is the one they have. But the wild huckleberry tea that they sell is fabulous. It is great hot or iced. Smells wonderful and tastes even better. Hopefully they keep on stocking it.