I think at the time I ordered this I was thinking this would be a hibi/fruit tea with a lignonberry leaning, which appealed highly to me. It is actually something very different, but still incredibly tasty. The base, while including some hibi, is actually composed more of fluffy green blackberry and buchu leaves, but it isn’t really sweet. Sniffing the tea, it has an aroma of berries (leaning towards currant or grape on the nose) with a sort of bright pine needle aroma, and the flavor matches that pretty well. I have no idea exactly what it is in the blend producing that pine note, but I assume it must be the buchu leaf since I’m not particulary familiar with it. It is sort of crisp and a little savory leaning… a bit like rosemary but with a sort of piney finish, and since I love pine/evergreen notes in tea, I really like it! The berry note is rich and tangy, leaning a bit more toward the blueberry/black current line than brighter and sweeter red berries… the name of the tea had me thinking along the lines of cranberries or lingonberries, but it doesn’t really go there. I do really like the fresh pine flavor with the thick black currant notes, though. I don’t find the tea particularly tart (though I’m a terrible judge since I love hibiscus and can drink it plain), but I do think the sort of savory element of the tea would require a certain palate. Definitely a winner for me, though!
Flavors: Biting, Black Currant, Blueberry, Fresh, Fruity, Grapes, Pine, Rosemary, Savory, Tangy
