I didn’t have much information on this tea going into my first cup, so I was surprised to see these black tea leaves unfurl into a deep, dark, red brew. This tea almost seems like a pu erh rather than an astringent black tea. The base is earthy, almost smoky, and much richer and more savory that I expected.
Aftelier Perfumes describes the tea as “red tea rolled into pearls and roasted,” which makes sense with the musky, toasted notes I tasted.
The orange and cardamom are minimal, the most noticeable on the back of each sip. There’s something sweet and herbaceous in this blend, it’s not a full-on smoky black tea, but the brightness is slightly subdued and more noticeable in the mouthfeel than the flavoring.
This tea was unexpected, but very enjoyable. I was waiting for the astringent bite of orange, or the baked-good sweetness of cardamom, and instead tasted a complex, smooth, and earthy tea. This makes me curious to check out other flavors Aftelier Perfumes has to offer!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Aftelier Perfumes
Description:
This delicious full-bodied tea is flavored with Aftelier Chef’s Essences: the perfect marriage of mouth-watering blood orange and the spicy warmth of cardamom. Organic Red Pearls Black Tea, a rare tea from Fujian, is fully-oxidized Mao Feng tea leaves that have been rolled into small black pearls. They are then pan-fired where they develop a burnished sheen, toasty caramel-like aroma, and spicy, assertive — yet wonderfully sweet — flavor.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Orange Cardamom Black Tea from Aftelier Perfumes
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: Aftelier Perfumes
Tea Description:
This delicious full-bodied tea is flavored with Aftelier Chef’s Essences: the perfect marriage of mouth-watering blood orange and the spicy warmth of cardamom. Organic Red Pearls Black Tea, a rare tea from Fujian, is fully-oxidized Mao Feng tea leaves that have been rolled into small black pearls. They are then pan-fired where they develop a burnished sheen, toasty caramel-like aroma, and spicy, assertive — yet wonderfully sweet — flavor.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Orange Cardamom Black Tea from Aftelier Perfumes is a truly unique tea offering from a company that started making natural perfumes over 30 years ago! Here at Sororitea Sisters we’ve posted other reviews about Aftelier Perfumes Tea offerings and have enjoyed our past experiences with their teas. Orange Cardamom Black Tea from Aftelier Perfumes certainly stands up to Aftelier’s quality and creativity that we have come to learn and love.
Mandy from Afterlier Perfumes uses Organic Red Pearl Black Tea which is a Mao Feng rolled into tiny black tea balls. The tea itself is slightly caramelly and sweet. She pairs that with luscious blood orange and spicy cardamom in a fascinating way!
The flavor combination is very nice and perfectly done. When I first heard that Mandy was sending us some of this new offering to try I was hoping the cardamom wasn’t going to over power the actual tea. After one sip I knew that she took a good amount of time to get the orange and cardamom ratios ‘just so’ and for that I am truly grateful. I will never question her brilliance of evening out flavor levels again! This was a remarkable offering that’s for sure! If you or someone you know are into trying different flavors of teas don’t pass this one up!
