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Mmm nice. Light, vegetal, and fruity. A bit grassy, with a nice, strong kiwi flavour. Bright but not really getting into tart. A touch astringent, hints of bitterness.

I’m glad I’m giving this tea another chance, with fresh leaf. The last cup I had was bordering on undrinkable, but it hadn’t been stored well at all. This one, this one is lovely.

The flavour profile is simple, and it tastes the way it smells – lots of juicy black currant, with the dimension and complexity I love about black currant but that often doesn’t quite make it into black currant flavoured things. There’s a bit of malt from the black tea base, but it’s mostly just really fruity and juicy tasting. No bitterness or astringency.

Very, very nice. I wish Bulk Barn had bags that were appropriate for storing tea in. Their stuff is good, but just doesn’t hold up well in those self-serve plastic bags with the bread tab closures.

Okay, so I kind of feel like an ass, because I just realized that I posted this tasting note on the wrong black currant tea. I’d had some Cornelia Bean black currant and then when I finished that, I moved my Bulk Barn tea into the same package, since the plastic bag it was in was terrible. And then I forgot.

Small brown leaves that don’t unfurl much, deep brown cup. There’s both a fruity and astringent fragrance that’s slightly off-putting and reminds me of cheap lychee black tea bags.

I think this tea might be a bit too old, since I remember it being better than this cup. The currant flavour is subtle and the tea tastes a bit flat, none of that full mouth flavour or delicate notes that I look for in a good cup.

I may need to pick up some fresh tea leaves and give this a shot again, because I’m disappointed in this.

Another sample from the lovely Dexter.

Years ago I used to go for afternoon tea at The International House of Tea in Thunder Bay, and they had a marvellous Turkish Apple tea that was nothing but apple pieces, but had an amazing bright lemony apple flavour. And then it went away and I was very sad, and I’ve been on the hunt for a comparable tea since (just checking their site, they have a Turkish apple tea again, so maybe I’ll have to order.)

So anyway, that’s my backstory to wanting to try this tea, even though it’s loaded with hibiscus, and I generally don’t like hibiscus teas.

Well I still don’t much like hibiscus teas, and this one isn’t working too well for me, unsurprisingly. I opened the bag to take a whiff and was nearly knocked over by just how tart it smelled. I think this is the most acidic smelling tea I’ve ever encountered, because it was like sticking my face into a bag of vinegar. Nostril burning sour.

Steeped it’s better. The liquor is a bright pink, which is pretty, and the vinegar has mellowed, but is still there on the nose. Just a hint of apple cider vinegar.

Taste-wise, there’s a bit of apple, but mostly it’s just tart, tart, tart.

This tea certainly lives up to its name, but I was hoping for something similar but very different.

This is sweet and extremely spicy. Super comforting if you’re not feeling well, or just need to warm up.

I had some last night, to help with nausea, which it really did, but this is also just a daily staple in our house.

I’m trying out a rooibos for my morning cup, instead of tea, since I’ve been having a lot of tension headaches and I’m thinking about tinkering with my daily caffeine intake to see if that makes a difference.

It’s been ages since I’ve had this one, but I’m reminded of why my bag is almost empty. This is delicious. It both smells and tastes very almondy, with a sweetness that makes me think amaretto or angel food cake, rather than nuts.

I’m not really getting the chocolate in this, but I think it may be helping to mellow the woodiness of the rooibos (in a very good way) and to just make this taste incredibly rich.

Mmm, love it! And boy did that cup disappear fast!

After a few other cups, I’m revisiting this one today, with a second steep of the same leaves.

And steep two is so completely different from the first steep. The first was all fresh garden veggies. On the nose is something that I can’t quite identify… hay, corn husks, soy milk and clean furry animals? Weird but not bad.

On the palette the start of the sip is very floral with rose petals, and then moves to cucumber and melon. A touch of tang and astringency on the finish.

Very nice! I’m very intrigued by how this is developing, and how unexpectedly.

Sipping this because I just needed something easy and comforting. Today it’s reminiscent of coffee and has a lot of caramel coming out.

Wow, so the nose this is very, very different from any white tea I’ve had before. It smells of corn, spinach and predominantly, lightly cooked zucchini. Maybe even hints of mushroom.

On the palette, my first impression is fresh peas from the garden. Mid sip it transitions into zucchini and dark, leafy greens, and then on the finish the peas are back with some green beans, and subtle corn notes linger after the sip is done. There’s some hints of earth and umami in here too. As I sip and it cools, the zucchini notes get even clearer.

The mouth feel started off pretty silky and there’s just a hint of astringency building, but that doesn’t come out in the flavour at all.

This is crisp and light, and just beautiful. Unlike any tea I’ve ever tasted before. This is tending your garden and eating the ripe produce straight from the ground. It’s vegetal but not at all grassy – it’s all fresh, juicy garden veggies.

Fantastic!