Blackberry Lemon Basil White

Lemme guess… Another from the GCTTB? Yep! :D So when I was sorting through the box I found this curiously labeled tea; blackberry, lemon, basil white. Now I love basil, it’s one of my most favorite herbs and I like to use it everywhere (especially sprinkled over vanilla ice cream and fresh strawberries… Top with a bit of reduced balsamic vinegar and you’ve got a dessert to die for! Anyways…) but I’ve never thought of basil in tea, so to see it listed as an ingredient just blew me away. I had to try it!

The dry tea smelled of sharp lemon citrus notes mixed in with the darker basil. The blackberry added just a touch of sweetness with a bit of berry tartness, but I didn’t get much from the white tea (granted I’ve not had many white teas at this point so take that with a grain of salt.)

The infusion came out a deep yellow and smelled of lemon (almost camomile like but a bit sharper) with undertones from the basil and blackberry though nothing particularly distinct. There was a bit of a floral note there as well that might have been coming from the white tea base. Taste wise the lemon definitely came though (again almost like camomile but there were some grass tones in there that I’ve seen from lemon grass as well), as was the basil which helped to tone down the high citrus notes. I got the odd hint of the blackberry every once and a while but overall I didn’t find it very often. The tea itself was very smooth and had a slight astringent bite at the end.

An interesting, subtle tea with a decent flavor profile despite the slight lack of blackberry flavor. I really liked the addition of the basil, it gave a nice depth to the flavor and intrigued me enough to keep coming back for more.

The dry leaf of this sample was quite broken up, but the basil was visible against the lighter white tea and I saw pieces of lemon rind and fruit. The sent is of slightly sweetened lemon and basil. The basil is more savoury and less spicy smelling than Tulsi (Holy Basil). The white tea and lemon combine in flavour to sweeten and emphasise each other. The tea provides a certain thickness and sweetness to the tea. The basil is quite present but is not quite as strong as I thought it might be considering the amount of it in the dry leaf. It provides a hint of me nt and licorice and savoury spice. The blackcurrant is present but buried in the background. A pleasant cup that tastes more of its herbal elements than others. Thanks Dexter3657 for the sample!

GCTTB!

I picked this one out since it’s down to the last little bit of it and i didn’t want the tea to get any more crushed than it kind of already was. Plus, i’m game for trying things i don’t always love…that’s part of the fun of a TTB (wait till you see what i’m going to drink later…willingly…heh)

I’m not getting a lot of blackberry out of this one, but i can taste the basil and it’s an interesting addition to the tea. White’s aren’t usually my thing, but in this cup it’s actually a good pairing with the basiland lemon. I just wish the blackberry was a little more present :)