This week, I decided to taste Siciliano's Market's Black Currant. This black tea, flavored with black currants, gives-off a sharp, sweet smell from the container. The fruity aroma was very, very intense. I steeped a teaspoon and a half of this tea in twelve ounces of just-boiled water for three minutes. The steep time seemed to be spot-on, and I feel that any longer would have brought-out some undesired astringency.
The aroma of the prepared cup has subdued from the intensity of the dry leaf. The black currant still stands strong, but now the black tea base is more noticeable (whereas before it was nearly overpowered). Sipping, I like how easily the fruit flavor slides across the tongue. Surprisingly, the sweetness is there, but the strength of it is nothing like what I imagined from smelling the dry tea before I brewed it. It does not taste intensely sweet. In fact, I would even go so far as to call the sweetness rather subdued. This seems to allow for the melding of the tea and fruit in a nice harmony. While the fruit flavor begins sweet, it finishes with a sweetness tinged with bitter notes, reminiscent of actual berries.
Overall, Black Currant provided a satisfactory cup that tasted fairly different than a lot of the teas I have recently been drinking. I certainly found it worthwhile to try. On my personal enjoyment scale, I would rate it a 3.
Photo credit to Built from Ink and Tea.
Siciliano's Market's Black Currant black tea is available at their store in Grand Rapids, Michigan. You can find more information about their store from their website, here.
This review was unsolicited and uncompensated.
You can read more about my Personal Enjoyment Scale, here.
Text is copyright 2016, Built from Ink and Tea.
No comments:
Post a Comment