Utopia Tea threw this one in as a sample and I’m glad they did because the aroma alone is amazing (for me)! It’s red fruity with a backdrop of spice. Dried and sweetened strawberries seem to blend with ginger and spice just as well as any self-respecting peach or pear taste, it seems.
The flavour is pleasantly surprising in that I can taste the creamy white base. Flavoured tea is not too appealing as of late, and I’m grateful for that presence. There’s a toasty strawberry jam pastry note that lingers as an aftertaste, although the fruitiness isn’t as present during the main sip as the dry leaf smell had me believe. Pepper and freshening ginger are subtly present in the corners, but I’ve a hard time discerning where one ends and the other begins.
The Utopia teas I received consist of some very interesting ingredient combinations, which I think I may need some time to warm up to. This one, however, I like right away. Strawberries are some of my least favourite berries too… Maybe it’s the sweet fruit jam, or the prickly zest of the spices, or the smoothness in mid sip- it’s definitely not the drying, puckering sensation it leaves in my mouth. Once I empty out my cupboards I’ll pick up a tiny amount of this.
