I had not heard of Aronia Berries prior to this lovely tea blend from Saint Fiacre’s Farm. Apparently the berries are so sour when they are fresh off the bush they make your mouth pucker, hence their familiar, less glamorous name, chokeberry. These berries are a new fruit flavor I haven’t encountered in herbal tea before. They are a bit sour, but not quite the same flavor as cranberry or hibiscus. They have a little bit of darker elderberry or raspberry flavor among the tart pop, maybe that is where the “plum” comes in.
What really makes this blend so fantastic is the balance of fruit and spice. The tart berries and juicy hibiscus are counteracted by the sweet licorice root and earthy fennel seed. Coconut and vanilla round out the blend with some comforting bakery-like tastes.
Rich and relaxing, this is a great blend for when you want that wintry mulled wine or cider experience. Always a pleasure to find new, robust flavors in my herbal tea collection.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Saint Fiacre’s Farm
Description:
This tea features Oregon grown aronia berries, plums and cornflowers. A spin off the traditional sugar plum which is a candy that has a hard outer coating of sugar… think along the lines of the Jordan almond or an M&M type candy. A sweeter, desert like tea which comes from the licorice root and organic extracts.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Let’s Get Sassy with Pootea Tang from Modest Mix. . . .
Modest Mix has some seriously sassy tea names, often involving satisfying expletives. If that sounds up your alley, I highly recommend browsing their store for some blends with fired up names that suit your attitude. The blending services of BlendBee were used to craft these teas, so you know they will be flavorful and balanced.
In line with the Modest Mix theming, the Pootea Tang blend is a bold and flirty treat. With cacao nibs and orange peel, it is equal parts smooth and chocolatey, and bright and tangy. Juicy citrus is the driving force in this blend, powered up even more by the complementary flavors of tart rose hips. The taste of the cacao nibs and the black tea itself come to light in the back of each sip, and in the soft mouthfeel that follows the first burst of orange.
In a stroke of tea-blending genius, this blend uses an assam black tea base. The assam is strong enough to carry the flavorful orange, but smooth enough to compliment the cocoa, dessert-like flavors. This is a tasty blend when you are feeling a little sweet and sour and want a tea blend to match your mood.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Modest Mix
Description:
You f**king love chocolate don’t you? How about some added orange for that tangy zest that your bad*ss body craves? You’re welcome.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Pine Oolong from Golden Leaf Tea
The dry leaf and the first brew of this oolong smelled like sour green fruit, like white grapes. Brewed, the tea reminds me of a kukicha green tea, with a slightly fermented flavor with notes of sweet grass and new hay. There’s an extra mineral sharpness to this tea, and that might be the “pine” part of this oolong. There was an almost-lemon citrus flavor that made my mouth pucker with tartness. I brewed this tea twice, and by the second steeping, the blend had more warm roasted tones and notes of honey, making for a smoother experience than the first brewing.
I like the idea of an evergreen tea, such as pine or spruce…. maybe not hemlock (which is poisonous, just ask Socrates). Still, I love the smell of pine resin in the woods and the smell of green Christmas trees. This tea doesn’t quite satisfy that evergreen feeling, but Pine Oolong from Golden Leaf Tea is a solid oolong with a nice balance of sweet and sour fruitiness.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Golden Leaf Tea
Description: Pine Oolong Tea is a semi-fermented delicate green tea from the pristine hills of Taiwan. This tea brews to a light honey color with a slightly floral fragrance that lingers after the last sip. A light and delicate green oolong.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Uper Fagu Darjeeling Oolong from The Tea Shelf
I’ve not come across many Oolongs from Darjeeling in the years I’ve been drinking tea, but the ones I have tried have always been something special. This one is no exception.
It starts with the leaf, which in appearance reminds me a lot of a first flush darjeeling (although it’s actually a second) crossed with a very fresh white peony. The are a high predominance of downy silver buds, some verging more on silver or pale green, plus some brown-ish-copper leaves. The scent is sweet and lightly jasmine.
Initially, the taste is subtle and fairly mineral, in the way that some lighter or green oolongs can be. There’s a distinctive citrus flavour in the mid-sip – it reminds me most of grapefruit, with a slightly sharp/sour tang. There’s also some of the muscatel flavour you’d typically associate with a second flush darjeeling, and the pairing is an unusual and inspiring one. As it cools. a hint of dark chocolate starts to emerge, although it’s mostly confined to the very end of the sip and it doesn’t linger long. 
Despite the scent, I didn’t detect any floral flavours in the actual tea, which is a small relief because it’s already quite busy. In terms of mouthfeel, it’s lightly brisk but doesn’t cross over into astringency, despite being slightly drying on the palate.
I enjoyed this one. I’ve discovered that I like Oolongs from Darjeeling in general, and they often have some of the more unique flavour profiles. Mineral, grapefruit, and chocolate don’t sound like they should work together very well, but, somehow, they do. If you enjoy either Darjeeling or Oolong, this one is definitely worth a look.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: The Tea Shelf
Description
One of the finest oolongs of Darjeeling, the aroma of dark chocolate envelopes your senses, reminiscent of a cold wintry day! The leaves are springy with a moss like mosaic of silver and copper. The infusion shows another surprise with individual leaves clearly visible with bright colours of copper and mauve. The chocolate experience continues but now coupled with citrus and fruity notes. The steeped leaves give way to a gorgeous sunset yellow cup, which is very brisk on the palate with notes of jasmine and citrus, which linger on.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Cherry Fantasy Tea from TeaLyra
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black, Green, Roiboos, Etc.
Where to Buy: TeaLyra
Tea Description:
Imagine bowls full of juicy plump cherries, a summer breeze and easy living, ahh, a Cherry Fantasy! Top quality black tea provides the perfect base to our favourite cherry black tea! We think our blend has the best combination of both sour cherries, and sweet acerola cherries, offering a truly balanced cherry flavour! This brews a robust black cup, with bright cherry notes and a subtle ginger flavour.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Cherry Fantasy Tea from TeaLyra is the tea of the day filling my cup! Right off the bat I will tell you that I am overjoyed this doesn’t have hibiscus in it! I find that hibiscus is overdone in fruity teas like cherry for example and often power the rest of the flavor. So…thumbs up…already!
Black tea, sour cherries, freeze-dried Acerola cherries, freeze-dried fig pieces, and freeze-dried sour cherry pieces are the ingredients of this tea. I love that they used freeze-dried fruit in this, too!
Cherry Fantasy Tea from TeaLyra is nicely done and can be enjoyed hot or cold as-is. The Cherry Trio is at the prefect flavor intensity. I have to say that this is one of the best (if not THE best) cherry flavored black teas I have had to date! This one really surprised me and I am very happy about that! If you are a fan of natural cherry give this tea a try!
