Raspberry Liquorice Laces

Happy National Find a Rainbow Day! I figured as Steepster’s #1 Hibiscus Fan (you guys all voted for me, right? right?) that I should brew a pretty red cuppa today! But did I have any ridiculously old hibi-hip blends? You bet I did! This sampler pouch was from B&B’s “Bluebird Tea Co.” days, and combines two of my favorite polarizing ingredients, hibiscus and licorice root!

Also using this as my Ode to Tea R entry!

Since this was a heavy fruit blend, the 20g sampler really wasn’t much. I thought about just doing a liter mason jar cold brew, but opted for my slightly smaller 750ml cold brew bottle and saved the rest of the leaf to brew one hot cuppa.

Used one heaping teaspoon brewed grandpa-style in 350ml 205F water, accompanied with two of the Jammy Dodgers cookies that Cameron sent me! (Thank you, Cameron!) The aroma off my hot brewed cup definitely smells fruity, and of licorice root… If I shut my eyes and just sort of take in the aroma as a whole, I can get where they are going with a Red Vine. There is a strong raspberry aroma, with that fruit punchy/tangy hibiscus undertone. Sipping the cup… hmm. I like the two flavors, but admittedly it is a bit strange tasting them together. I am getting a tart red raspberry, with a strong sticky-sweet licorice root. My brain is getting the association, but I wouldn’t say it tastes very accurate to a Red Vine, since the last time I had one of those, there really was no licorice sorts of flavors to it. I wonder if the ones made in the UK use some of the licorice herbs in them, since licorice in general is a more liked flavor in Europe?

The cold brew has the same flavor, though I feel like the berry is a bit brighter with a more juicy/jammy quality to it. There is still the snap of licorice root sweetness toward the end of the sip and that touch of herbaceousness, but it doesn’t feel quite as strong and lingering as in the warm cup. It’s a good “fruit punch” sort of tea, with that thicker/sweeter taste iced.

So, I can say, this doesn’t have the “tartness” I’d associate with hibiscus teas… on account of a lot of licorice root, which I know is equally polarizing. I’m sure the raspberry leaf is also contributing as well, as there is a subtle sort of herbaceous quality beneath the fruitiness. As for me… I like this! But I often feel like I have the weirdest taste buds on Steepster…

The biscuit choice was perfect, too! It was my first time ever trying Jammy Dodgers and they are delicious!

In other news, I have also finished off another “so old they were still Bluebird Tea Co.” tea, Easter Egg Nests, as a delightful latte (much more of a “milk chocolate” flavor when prepared that way!) which I’m using as my Ode to Tea E entry!

191/365

Finally getting back to Bluebird’s spring collection, now the weather has improved. I’m not a huge liquorice fan, so the idea of this one as a hot tea filled me with trepidation. Instead, I decided to cold brew 4 tsp in lemonade, and I’m actually quite pleased with the result. It’s sweet, for sure, but I was expecting that; what I like is that the sweetness is mostly coming from the lemonade. Even though I can tell there’s liquorice root in here, I’m not finding it as cloying as I usually do. I’m not really sure why – maybe lemonade and liquorice are just a good combination? It’s like the impact of the liquorice has somehow been toned down, and that’s something I can definitely appreciate!

As for raspberry liquorice laces? I don’t think it’s quite there in flavour terms. The sweets are so super artificial, and the raspberry flavouring here is almost too natural to really nail it. That seems like an odd thing to say, but there you go. Taken out of context, I actually like that the raspberry is fresh and flavour-accurate; it’s a touch tart, a touch sour, fruity, and refreshing. Basically, an ideal spring/summer cold brew. The sweetness of the liquorice and lemonade bring things towards a sweeter, more candy-like conclusion, but it’s not a flavour doppleganger for the sweets. I don’t think it would even be possible to capture that flavour exactly in a liquid, unless you were willing to use more chemical or artificial flavour constituents, and that’s not something Bluebird do. Instead, it’s a sweet, fresh-tasting, raspberry lemonade, and I’m happy with that. It’s another I’ll be sad to say goodbye to this weekend, when the collection retires.