Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Culinary Teas
Tea Description:
Cup captures the flavor of freshly sliced pineapple amazingly. Think of sitting on a sunny veranda with a nice cup of tea. Fabulous over ice with a pinch of sugar.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I like summer a lot more when it’s winter-y outside. That is to say, I like the idea of warm weather when it’s wet and chilly outside, but when it’s hot and humid outside, I’m not thrilled about it. I prefer the “warm thoughts” of summer over the real thing.
That’s why I love drinking teas like this Pineapple Black Tea from Culinary Teas when it’s cold outside. It makes me think those happy, warm thoughts without having to endure the heat of summer. I get the best of both worlds: the cooler climate with the warm thoughts. And let’s not forget, I’m also drinking tea. Bonus!
To brew this tropical delight, I started with 1 bamboo scoop of tea and I put it in the basket of my Kati tumbler. Then I added 12 ounces of boiling water and let it steep for 3 minutes. Then I sat the tumbler under my nose to enjoy the awesome aroma of fresh, warm pineapple while I waited for the tea to cool. The fragrance made me think of grilled pineapple – yum!
The above description recommends this as an iced tea and I bet it would make a stunning iced tea. But, I’m quite enjoying it served hot. The black tea is a smooth, rich and lightly malty tasting tea. It’s got an even flavor, making me think that this is probably a Ceylon base. It’s got that brisk flavor of a Ceylon and a light-to-moderate amount of astringency at the tail.
And it has a marvelous pineapple flavor! It’s sweet and it tastes so juicy. It reminds me of the taste of fresh pineapple. Not that stuff that you get in a can. Oh, don’t get me wrong, I eat that stuff in a can – most of the time! – because it’s a lot easier than cutting up a fresh pineapple but the taste of a fresh pineapple cannot be beat! I like the canned pineapple just fine and I eat it mostly because while the flavor of a fresh pineapple is better than canned, the convenience of the canned pineapple trumps the flavor of the fresh.
And that was more than I had planned on telling you about my love of pineapple.
I like this tea a lot. I enjoyed it served straight up but it would also be nice with a drizzle of honey if you like your teas on the sweeter side. I don’t think I’d go latte with this though. I think the addition of milk would ruin this lovely drink.
