“Sipdown (1074)! I went back to drinking this one hot and it was much better that way. More overtly black licorice and sweeter and creamier overall too, with a medium to full body. I thought that...” Read full tasting note
“Sipdown! 147/365! This is a cheater sipdown, haha. Thanks to Roswell Strange for letting me sample her tea before I send it off! This tea was actually surprisingly good. I expected to be hit...” Read full tasting note
“Not a licorice fan but this is very tasty. It has a very subtle licorice note, and the raspberry taste is very good. Slightly tart. Nice. It has a creamy flavor background, surrounded with vanilla...” Read full tasting note
“This is the Tea of the Week for January 21 – and to continue the theme of “Retro Candy Shop” I chose to create a tea inspired by my favorite candy from my Handy Candy haul – Licorice Rockies! I...” Read full tasting note
Tea of the Week for January 21, 2019!
This tea is inspired by an old fashioned British candy that I ordered from Handy Candy. It was absolutely my favorite candy from my Handy Candy haul – what can I say? I adore black licorice! I loved the Licorice Rockies so much that the small amount I ordered from Handy Candy disappeared very quickly & I was immediately online searching for a more local source for the sweets (read: something that would be shipped from the US so that I could get it faster than the 3 + weeks it took to get it shipped to me from the UK).
These candies look like short black licorice ropes (the thick kind, not the strings) on the outside but inside there’s a pastel colored fruity cream. This sweet, fruity, creamy filling cuts the sharp bite of the licorice – so you get the sweet & salty, anise-y flavor of the licorice without the strong bitterness of it. There’s still just a hint of licorice bitterness – but it’s been softened – smoothed out – by the notes of cream & fruit. From the filling, I got a strong creamy note with light fruitiness. I tasted raspberry mostly – so that’s the fruit I focused on – but the fruit flavor was very light with the candy – the strong notes of the licorice & the cream gave the fruity notes a flavor that reminded me a bit of the color of the cream – very light … very pastel … a very softly flavored note that seemed to do more to soften the licorice than to really provide a forward flavor for itself.
To craft my Licorice Rocky tea interpretation, I started with a base of black teas (Assam, Yunnan & Ceylon) & added licorice root, marshmallow root & vanilla bean for the creaminess & a bunch of raspberries.
As I sit here, sipping this tea, I am happy to say that I managed to capture the flavors of the Licorice Rockies in this tea quite well. The licorice root stands out – but it isn’t sharp or bitter. It’s actually quite smooth thanks to the notes of vanilla, raspberry & the marshmallow root. So you get a smooth, creamy anise/licorice note with just a hint of raspberry. This is so YUMMY! It’s also organic, VEGAN, gluten free & allergen free!
organic ingredients: black teas, raspberries, licorice root, marshmallow root, vanilla bean & natural flavors
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