Hackberry Tea

This was the first tea I tried from my Hackberry order. I opened the envelope and smelled it and it was all over after that. It smelled so deliciously plummy that I had to try it right away – and my husband did too. We both ended up resteeping the leaves, which is unusual for me – I usually don’t resteep at all. The leaf appeared to be of good quality: long and unbroken. No fannings here! There are some bits of red, those could be hibiscus but I did not really taste the hibiscus in the blend. The overriding flavors are definitely plum and currant. Anything else in the blend just enhances and supports those. It would be easy to say that this is the best plum tea I have ever had.
Photos: https://tealover.net/2015/05/hackberry-tea-red-velvet-a-la-mode-salted-caramel-corn-currant-plum/

I was really intrigued by this one since I haven’t seen many teas with this flavor profile and I am a sucker for anything salty/sweet. The leaf is really interesting. It has corn, popped corn, and corn nuts! I wasn’t sure about it when I popped it open and smelled it because it had a really strong smell, and the first couple of drinks had me still unsure. But as the cup progressed it reallly grew on me, and toward the end I was totally hooked. This is really good! I can taste the hint of salt at the end of the sip, and the caramel flavor is really smooth, buttery and rich.
Photos: https://tealover.net/2015/05/hackberry-tea-red-velvet-a-la-mode-salted-caramel-corn-currant-plum/

Where I live, red velvet is a chocolate cake with a bottle of red food coloring added and cream cheese frosting. When I saw the name of this tea I expected something chocolate flavored. If I had read the description on the website I would have known better, so that’s my fault. The goal of this tea is to taste like a raspberry trifle with whipped cream, and it really does! There are raspberries in the dry leaf, and the big thing on top in the photo is a candied lemon peel. I believe the green that is visible is the lemon myrtle. The main flavor is raspberry cream, but I definitely get the lemon too in the top of my mouth.
Photos: https://tealover.net/2015/05/hackberry-tea-red-velvet-a-la-mode-salted-caramel-corn-currant-plum/