The Tea Merchant

This tea traveled all the way from South Africa to join my tea stash in Toronto. Better than that? It arrived with two other Tea Merchant teas in tow: Cranberry and Strawberry Cream. They were all intriguing but my family unanimously determined that this was the best smelling of the three, an interesting decision given that everyone else in my family doesn’t like cherries. I, on the other hand, am a cherry fiend and couldn’t wait to dive in.

I have now had this tea a few times since it first arrived and I think I like it best cold brewed. There is a lot of hibiscus here and when prepared hot it can get rather tart. Cold brewing tames that hibby tartness and provides a chance for the other flavors to come through. That’s not to say it isn’t tart, because it is, but there is also sweetness here and the combination is reminiscent of cherry. Underneath everything, the currant acts as a foundation and though I am not entirely sure what elderberries taste like, this blend has a fairly juicy yet generic berry/cherry flavor that I am sure captures the taste of them.

If I am being totally honest, I do enjoy this tea and it makes for a flavorful juice-like drink but it is a bit of a disappointment in light of how good it smells. The scent is quite distinct but the flavor is far less specific. Plus, when you name a blend something like “Black Forest Cherry” it creates a certain expectation of baked goods and chocolate cake that is just not present here. So, as much as I do like this tea from time to time, it is not quite what I hoped it would be.

Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type: Fruit Tea

Where to Buy: The Tea Merchant

Description

A rich cherry infusion to blow your taste buds away. Packed full of flavour, this blend of cherry, black currants and elderberries is simply wonderful.

Ingredients: Hibiscus, Currants, Grapes, Elderberries, Chopped Almonds, Natural Flavourants, Safflower, Cherry Pieces

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

VariaTEA

Hey there! My name is Rachel. I’m a twenty-something from Toronto, Ontario, Canada who loves dogs and has a bit of an obsession with tea. As a child I hated the stuff since all I ever knew was Red Rose (no offense to Red Rose). However, a few years ago that all changed. I was on a diet and desperate for new flavors without adding calories and that’s when I turned to tea. I started off by going to DAVIDsTEA and Teavana for all their dessert-inspired flavors, and since I didn’t know any better, I bought 100 grams each of about twenty-something different teas. This was okay for the teas I liked but for those I didn’t I needed to find some way of getting rid of them. Enter Steepster.com. This is where I met some incredible tea friends, discovered tea swaps, and learned of so many amazing tea companies. My desire to try all the teas grew and since joining three years ago I have tried over a thousand different teas. I have learned what ingredients I love and I have learned what flavors I don’t like. I determined my go-to brewing method is Western-style with no added milk or sweeteners, though I also enjoy cold brewing, iced teas, teapops, lattes, and smoothies. I have yet to brew gong-fu style but I hope to do so just as soon as I get the proper teaware to do it. About a year ago, I actually stopped drinking tea but as my stash of over 200 teas started aging I decided I needed to respark my interest. I chose to take a 365 days of tea challenge on Instagram in which I post a new tea picture every day. So far it has been rather successful as I find myself drinking (and buying) more and more tea each day. Plus it enabled CuppaGeek to find me and invite me here to SororiTea Sisters.

This post was posted in Fruit/Herbal Tisane, The Tea Merchant