Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: White August Tea Company
Product Description:
Assam black tea garnished with black currant leaves and sweet berries. We recommend enhancing this tea with a lemon zest or cream for an outstanding smooth and lightly fruity morning beverage.
Taster’s Review:
What a delightful tea with which to start my day!
The black tea base is an Assam, so it is rich and bold! Very flavorful with a nice malty quality to it that compliments the wine-ish notes of the berries quite well. The black currant notes does give this a wine-like taste that is further emphasized with the slightly dry astringency at the end of the sip.
The aroma and flavor is very berry-like, and it has a pleasantly sweet-tart taste. It reminds me of late summer when the berries are ripe and bursting with flavor! On this rainy spring morning, that is certainly a welcome thought, and with the deep, rich flavor and strength of the Assam, this tea gives me the energy I need to get up and start the day.
This would definitely make for a deliciously different breakfast tea for those days when you want something a little special! And don’t you deserve something a little special every day?
On the 6th Day of Christmas … from 52Teas
I can’t believe that there is less than a week until Christmas! Are you ready for it? I’m not!
I still have TONS of shopping left to do.
But… ready or not, the holiday is coming.
One thing I am ready for is to find out what tea is waiting for me inside this pouch!
The sixth tea of Christmas is…
BLACK CURRANT BAI MU DAN
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Product Description:
Sometimes I think white tea is not as much fun as the others. It’s such a delicate and subtle flavor to begin with that it doesn’t lend itself to things like chocolate peanut butter cup. What DOES pair well with it are nice sweet fruits, like black currant.
Chelsea, my faithful sidekick insists that our black currant papaya green tea is great for taking baths in. She says it makes her smell good and it leaves her skin feeling softer. Clearly, I’m not one to take a bath in our teas, but I have to admit that it’s pretty sexy to think of Chelsea taking a bath in them. (Sorry Sheri).
Anyway, (and before I get myself in too much trouble) whether you drink it or bathe in it, I think you are going to find this tea amazing. We actually doubled up on the amount of real black currants in this blend and it is delicious.
Taster’s Review:
This tea was released on “White Tea Week” (and maybe Frank should make White Tea Week an annual tradition!) during the week of February 22, 2010. The reason it was White Tea Week is that three different white teas were released in the same week. I ended up ordering all three teas, and this one ended up being one of my favorites, even though it was the one of which I was probably the most skeptical.
You can read my first review of this tea here, and even though I have tasted this one before, I am really glad to receive more in this 12 Days of Christmas package, because it really is an excellent tea.
The white tea tastes fresh and smooth. The black currant has a sweet, wine-like flavor that melds perfectly with the Bai Mu Dan base.
Fruity and delicious! I love this one! Of all the teas that I’ve purchased from 52Teas, this is the one that I can remember disappearing the fastest. That is… I couldn’t STOP drinking it until it was gone! That’s how much I love this tea!
I only made a small amount to sip as a hot tea for this review, because I want to save the rest for iced tea… as good as this is hot, it’s even better iced! This is definitely my favorite iced tea!
Black Currant Tea from Sahara’s Supplies
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Sahara’s Supplies
Company Description:
Black Current tea is a black tea blended with natural black current flavoring and currant leaves.
Orange Pekoe refers to the size of the leaf, not the quality or flavor. This grading means whole leaf. Contrary to popular belief, the term “orange” does not refer to a flavor, but rather to the Dutch House of Orange.
Taster’s Review:
I am really enjoying this tea!
The black tea is very smooth and mild. I am not detecting much tannic quality at all, just a rich black tea flavor without the astringency I would normally associate with black tea. It’s really a nice change. I don’t usually mind astringency so long as it doesn’t detract from the flavor of the tea, but it is also quite pleasing to find a black tea without a strong, astringent nature.
The black currant tastes very yummy – sweet, juicy and berry-like. I’ve never tasted a fresh black currant (at least, not to my recollection) – so I can’t say whether or not it tastes like a fresh black currant, but it does have a fresh and juicy flavor to it that reminds me of fresh berries, but without the tart aftertaste. It also has a somewhat sweeter flavor – similar to what I would find in dried fruit.
The finish is smooth and sweet with just the tiniest twinge of tart to it right at the tip of the tongue. It is far less tartness than I usually experience with berry flavored teas – or with currant flavored teas, for that matter.
This tea is so delicious. I really like it iced – the mellow flavor is perfect for relaxing on a hot, summer afternoon. While it doesn’t need sweetening when it’s served hot, when chilling it, I do recommend adding just a little sweetener (I used agave nectar) because it helps the flavors really come alive. A really delightful tea from Sahara’s Supplies!