Black Currant

Sipdown #40

Second tea from my Tea Forte sampler pack! This is a really delicious fruity tea, even sans additions. The black base is mild and smooth and complements the black currant very well. There’s no hint of bitterness, which is awesome. The black currant flavoring is light but flavorful. The notes vary from grape candy to a generic fruity sweetness that reminds me of blueberries.

Overall, I am really enjoying this! I thought for sure that I’d have to add some milk and sweetener, but I was wrong. This is great just the way it is! And as if my day couldn’t get any better, I GOT A PROMOTION TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Let’s be real here – I love black currant flavoured things. Black Currant Simpkins drops are one of my favourite candies and I am always on the lookout for a tea that can recreate that taste, albeit with a lot less sugar! When a coworker of mine told me she was doing a Tea Forte order, I knew I’d end up tossing in their black currant to try it out. I piked up the 50 gram loose pouch for $7.00 – if it’s good, that’s a decent price for a flavoured black.

The aroma out of the bag is bold and very closely aligned to the Black Currant Drops I so love. MMM, a deep breath of this is lovely. Weary of a potentially bitter base, I am giving this 2.5 – 3 minutes to steep. Steeped, the aroma has diminished but if you get close to the cup it hangs heavy like fog. I wish the smell were as vibrant steeped as dry, but hopefully the taste holds true.

First sips are a good balance of the tea itself and the black currant flavouring. No bitterness but neither is it sweet. I get the sharp flavour of black currant on the back of my tongue, and it builds throughout the sip. I wish there were a little bit more of the black currant, but this is a pretty good balance. I’m not sure if I prefer it to the Twinings Black Currant (one of the best bagged teas I’ve ever had) but it’s very nice. I’m very glad to have a black currant back in my cupboard as before this I only had the dregs of an old batch from Bulk Barn.

Yay tea!

Really nice—a nice round fruity taste, not tart and none of that nasty hibiscus hiding behind the good stuff :o)

But I’m wondering … do you consider black currants to be more grape-ity or more blackberry-ish? I am having to re-think my opinion.

This came my way from BrewTEAlly Sweet’s stash reduction sale. I see Tea Forte in the stores pretty regularly but have never bought/tried any of it.
This is a decent fruity black tea. Crisp, clean, bright and fruity – the type that I think would make a really good iced tea.
Really happy to have tried it, but I don’t think I’ll be rushing out to buy all the blends – might rethink that in the summer, but for right now – just happy to have tried it. Thank you.

Hm. Not sure I’ve had a plain black currant tea before so I wasn’t sure what to expect. The smell of the dry leaf is slightly sweet. I guess this is grapey? I know currants are grapey. The steeped liquor smells like grape and is slightly sour but not bitter. I probably won’t replace this when I’m out but not a bad flavored tea. I’ve been overdosing on unflavored blacks lately so getting back to some flavored blends it’s been nice to have decent ones. :)

This was the loose leaf version.

SIPDOWN! thank you nicole for sending this my way to try. I think i prefer the H&S version but this one is a close second. I like that it’s not astringent and yet still tasty! thank you!

Such a fruity currant aroma, but got nilch flavor in the taste. It tasted like a sweet black tea with such a teasing scent of currants. I was really hoping for a great currant flavor in this too!

Medium orangish-brown in color. Smells a bit like currant jelly or jam. It’s a bit more flavorful taste-wise then sniff-wise. This isn’t bad…actually I kind of like it! I think it’s one of the better flavored ones from Tea Forte that I have tried.

Sweet and fruity! This is one of the better black currant black teas that I’ve tasted, and definitely one of my favorites from Tea Forte. The flavor is smooth, no bitterness, and a pleasant level of astringency.

Very nice indeed!

Hrm, I’m not sure about this. The black currant sings through, but I added some agave to help it along. I think it’s kindof like peach teas where even if it’s great, I would still prefer something else in that vein, only a different flavour.
Blueberry is not a flavour I really love, and this reminds me very much of blueberry.
Otherwise, the tea itself is good. A little sour, but not astringent really… I think it comes from the currant.
There is also a very fresh note, and a lively refreshing aftertaste that I actually like. If this tea had strawberry flavouring instead, it would have gotten top marks! so 85on the tea, and 75 on currant flavour (lower because I had to add sweetener)… which brings it to a nice middle ground of 80. I’m glad to have tried it, as always! :)