Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
It’s another hot day in Doo-Dah (I have no idea why Wichitans refer to the city as “Doo-Dah” but it feels right; feel free to enlighten me if you know where this comes from). I’m pretty sure that the global warming people were right. I’m just hoping we can fix it before we all turn into puddles of goo.
In the meantime, I’m relaxing with a big glass tumbler full of our new tea of the week. It’s a blend of shou mei white teas, dried black currants, organic bergamot flavor and natural black currant flavor. And it is seriously hitting the spot. I got some really nice shou mei for this blend: it’s light and sweet, but very much a presence in a cup that is otherwise a perfect balance of tart and sweet. I have always loved our black currant bai mu dan, and if you like that and like earl grey, I don’t think you can possibly go wrong with this blend. It is delicious!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
By the sound of the name, you might think: oh, this is just another Earl Grey with a black tea base. But it isn’t! This is truly an unusual tea – exactly the kind of tea that 52Teas is known for creating!
What makes this so unusual is that despite the name of this tea … it isn’t a black tea. It’s a white tea! Specifically, a Shou Mei. The black in the title refers not to the type of tea, but the fact that this tea is flavored with the essence of black currant. And, of course, bergamot (that’s where the Earl comes in!)
And wow! How is it that no other tea company has thought to combine the flavors of bergamot and black currant before? (0r, if they have, how is it that I haven’t yet discovered it?) This is really tasty. The flavor is sweet, tangy, tart and deliciously fruity.
The Shou Mei is a nice choice as a base for this tea. It gives the tea a bit more body and flavor than a typical Bai Mu Dan might while still managing to maintain a lightness to the cup. I think that a softer tea might have gotten lost in this blend, but a stronger tea might have overwhelmed the gentle balance tht exists between the two fruit flavors.
As it is, though, there seems a really pleasant balance between tea and fruit tastes. The tea has a pleasant texture – soft and silky … creamy even! This creaminess melds so nicely with the bergamot and black currant. The sweetness of the tea offers a nice contrast to the tart and tangy tastes of these two fruits, and also offers a slight nutty taste to the background.
The bergamot and black currant seem pretty evenly matched. The black currant gives a slight raisin-y, grape-y, wine-y kind of taste to the cup, sweet and just a little tart. The citrus-y bergamot matches that tartness with some of its own – giving it just enough tartness without causing me to pucker.
A very pleasant cup of tea – delicious hot, but even nicer as an iced tea! I can’t wait to try it cold-brewed with my Steep & Go!
