A sample from Miss B! Another David’s blend I’ve heard good things about but not tried before – until now! I used 2 tsp of leaf for my cup, and gave it 4 minutes in boiling water. It smells really good, first off. Like a pina colada, only hot. To taste, it’s also pretty amazing. The initial sip is intensely tropical – I can taste coconut and pineapple primarily, maybe a touch of mango. There’s a slight whisper of spicing at the end of the sip, but it’s not overpowering or even really all that present. If I’m honest, I’m not sure what star anise is doing in this blend at all, but it doesn’t impact too much on the flavour so I’ll put that aside.
What this tea reminds me of most is one of those freshly squeezed fruit juice blends, only with a touch of added cream. The creaminess kind of crept up on me – I didn’t really notice it at first, but it gets stronger and stronger with successive sips. Another thing that builds in intensity is an artificial-tasting sweetness at the back of my throat. I’m guessing this blend is maybe pre-sweetened with stevia? Either that or there’s some liquorice root kicking about. It’s that kind of sticky, overbearingly intense sweetness that becomes difficult to ignore after a while.
Having said that, I am enjoying this one. I like the fruitiness, and the creaminess adds that extra touch of deliciousness. It has a brilliant tropical fruit juice/pina colada vibe going on, and in that respect it’s very easy to like. The intense sweetness is perhaps to be expected, and to be fair it’s not completely spoiling my enjoyment. I’m just very aware that it’s there, and really speaking it’s a little more than I’d like. It’s unseasonably warm today, so I feel like this tea made a fitting afternoon companion. A little hint of summer in a cup.
