So my mom was recently in British Columbia on vacation and she decided to surprise me with some tea she brought back with her! Namely, a tin of this one. I’m not sure if I’ve ever tried anything from Silk Road – although I’m definitely familiar with the company.
She picked this one out for me because it actually uses black tea grown in Canada and she thought that would be something more unique – and she’s right! Even though I’m familiar with the tea farm here in Canada I haven’t tried it, so this is a really cool opportunity. I’m skeptical of how it’ll taste; there’s kind of a reason that tea isn’t a tea growing country and just a consuming country. Geographically, we’re just not really an ideal growing country. So what unique traits will our terroir have?
Initial impression…
This is nice; it’s kind of soft and medium bodied and I really like the fruity/berry notes from the added ingredients in the blend. It’s a bit of a mixed berry sort of taste, with a strong red and black currant flavour being the standout fruit note. There’s a lovely floral undertone; I definitely feel like I’m tasting more of the rose than the lavender though even though I saw much more lavender in the dry leaf than rose. Mmm! Berries and roses! Very tasty, fresh and a little romantic, no?
That’s the strongest part of the flavour profile, for sure – but there’s also a VERY LIGHT citrus/bergamot note in the bottom of the sip that kind of hides behind the other fruity notes. I guess there’s vanilla in here too, but I don’t taste the vanilla. I think maybe it’s just acting as part of whatever is making this so smooth and seamless. It’s hard to taste the specific notes of the black tea – but I think it’s adding a subtle malt flavour to this, and it’s just a hint astringent/tannic. It leaves a really faint astringency on the bed of your tongue – and it’s just light enough that I actually find it relatively pleasant.
So yeah, overall my first impression of this one is really positive. I very much like the currant notes I’m tasting in particular. Personally, I think this one was a much better pick for me than the other teas that she picked out last time that she was in BC. Maybe that’s because it’s from a higher quality tea company than Granville Island (which just sources their teas and doesn’t blend the majority of them themselves) but maybe she was just a bit more thoughtful in her choice this time as well.
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erywPdFfORE&list=LL1M1wDjmJD4SJr_CwzXAGuQ&index=4
