As mentioned this morning, it’s a special occasion day for me. I have resolved myself to ONLY do things today which are fun. Logging a new tea for the first time is fun and lucky for me, I have a huge supply of those.
I am also resolved, as you may have guessed from the Aijiao, to only have awesome teas today, which made finding an untried one rather challenging. Eventually I found this one in the basket and was drawn in by the ‘fruit and caramel’ description. It seemed just the thing, so if it’s not awesome now the entire day-plan will be in shambles.
No pressure, then.
So, currant, caramel and citrus. Bergamot, in this case, if I’m not mistaken. Yes, it smells like all three. The caramel makes the aroma feel all thick and gooey, while the fruit, both kinds, adds freshness to it and sweetness that isn’t just sugar. It smells very much like sweets. I’m trying to pick up some actual tea aroma as well, but I’m not having much luck. It’s not overwhelmed completely by the additives, but it’s sufficiently camouflaged that I can’t tell anything about it.
Yes, that is definitely bergamot. And caramel. What a bizarre combination, really. I know Kusmi utilises it as well in their St Petersbourg blend, but it still strikes me as odd. And yet, somehow, it just works.
The bergamot is in the forefront here, which is something I tend to have a problem with. Bergamot has this old, dusty and somewhat perfumed flavour that I’m not generally that fond off, but the addition of caramel seems to keep the worst of that in check and makes it bearable.
And then on the next sip, it’s changed completely. Now there’s a ton of berries, pushing the bergamot towards the back of the flavour. I can only imagine that this is caused by the tea having cooled slightly in between these two sips and the berry flavour has been allowed to develop properly.
The caramel isn’t very clear in the flavour. There’s a lingering sweet aftertaste that reminds me of the first time I had fudge caramels (this is not common in Denmark. Are caramels tends to be extremely chewy. Watch your tooth fillings! You can find fudge like caramels, but the other sort is far more common) that the boyfriend had brought home from England. It’s creamy and seems to put a very very thin layer of aftertaste on the tongue, much the same way as that fudge did.
I’m still not sure I can really pick anything up about the base tea. The flavour that I think I’m getting makes me lean towards Ceylon, but I can’t tell if that’s not just the bergamot notes playing tricks on me.
As mentioned, I’m quite reminded of Kusmi’s St Petersbourg here, which I quite enjoyed. I can’t say if this one is worse or better or the same, really. It’s been too long since I had St Petersbourg, and the choice of fruit in the blends vary a little as well.
Quite nice. I could have lived without the bergamot and just had the berry and caramel, but you can’t have everything.
