The first time I tried this tea, I actually didn’t like it. I wasn’t, in fact, sure that I could even finish the cup. Since then, I tried it again this summer, iced, and found it palatable. This morning, struck down by a cold at the beginning of the busiest week of the year for me at work, I found another bag of this in my desk drawer. Since I’d neglected to buy milk this morning, and a hot drink – any hot drink – sounded like a good idea to me, I gave this another try.
Actually, it’s not that bad. It’s very sweet, which is what took me by surprise the first time I tried it. I was expecting the liquorice to taste dark and sort of bitter (in my head, liquorice is black and sticky), but it absolutely doesn’t. Strangely enough, when I tried a tea with a dark, sticky, bitter liquiorce flavour (hello, Twinings Liquorice Allsorts Earl Grey), I didn’t like it at all. Clearly, when it comes to liquorice, I’m really hard to please. Anyway – on second acquaintance, I’m finding that the liquorice in the tea adds a pleasing sweetness which works really well with the peppermint. I still don’t like it steeped for an overly long time, but a couple of minutes provides a drink that’s both refreshing and comforting all at once. It’s cosy, and warm, and summery, and, as such, perfect for a dark, cold day when I’m feeling terrible.
It’s probably best if I don’t comment on the nuances of this while I’m feeling so awful. I have a whole box of this in my stash, so I’m going to save the reflection for future tastings. All I know at the moment is that this made me feel better, and that I was surprised to actually like it after all.
