A good friend surprised me with a box containing a Lupicia green rooibos blend and two sample sachets. I couldn’t wait to try them all! This was first pick.
A quick peek at google to find out whether it was a black or green tea so I could set the kettle to the proper temp told me it was cherry scented and I did not look any further. But it was a conundrum. Go ahead and make a fruity tea even though I was having waffles and maple syrup for breakfast, or rummage through my stash to find a plain black? My experience with Lupicia was that their fruity teas are SUPER fruity and it might all be too sweet together, but I decided I really wanted to try these sooner rather than later!
Then rats rats rats! I tasted the waffle before sipping the tea! I like to try a new tea unadulterated to get the full flavor. Nevermind, a few sips would clear the palate to give me the true taste.
And that’s where it got confusing.
Nice black tea base…yes, a hint of cherry but not super fruity, rather…..smokey? What is that? What is happening? Not smokey….SAVORY. And then…..warmth from a little spice starts to glow. Is that pepper? I don’t like peppery chai and this wasn’t offending me so what was it? Was the syrup messing with the true taste of the tea too much?
Here is where I had to stop everything and look up the tea to find out what was going on. The savory was coming from rosemary! And the spice was pink peppercorns, which I couldn’t see in the sachet at all but when I tore it open it was there. If there is going to pepper in my tea, I highly prefer pink peppercorn to any other kind.
This tea was a great pairing with the sweet syrup and waffles. The rosemary gave deep herbal notes and enhanced the black base while the pink peppercorns gave warmth and spice and a nice, lingering aftertaste that cut the sweetness of the food without the raw heat of black peppercorns. The cherry wasn’t cough syrup cherry or candy cough drop cherry, but a nice, realistic Japanese cherry that was not too sour.
This gets a thumbs up from me! In future I would buy it loose leaf so I could see those adorable bright pink/red peppercorns looking like tiny cherries!
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Lupicia
Description
SAKURAMBO is A fresh, intriguing blend of black tea scented with juicy Japanese cherries, one of our best-selling flavored teas of all time. The tea is topped with crisp rosemary and pink peppercorns imitating the ripe fruit. Visually appealing, this tea will make a great gift. Try its delicious sister product, SAKURAMBO VERT, which is a green tea blend.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
(photo credit: Lupicia)
