Cherry Vanilla Cola Black Tea

This tea became mine in a swap with silvermage2000. I was curious about this one after reading others tasting notes, but it wasn’t available any longer. I’m so happy to get to sample some…well, more than some, almost a near full pouch!

The dry leaves of this tea smell just like cola. They even have an effervescent scent to them, I don’t know how tea can posess this, let alone the leaves, but it is so cool!

I brewed this for 3:30 mintutes at boiling. I think this may have been a tad long, or maybe I just need a little sweetner, because it is quite potent. There is something in the flavor of this tea that makes it tingle on my tongue. It really does have many similarities to cherry vanilla cola. I taste a sarsaparilla note in the tea, maybe that is part of the natural cola flavoring? Something reminds me of the sarsaparilla flavoring in the Root Beer Float tea that was made not too long ago. Yum!

This tea is great, I can’t wait to try it iced!

The success of the coconut cream pie inspired me to try one of the other ones I bought from the forgotten 52teas order. I’m not surprised I ordered this one and it was sort of screaming to me. Here’s the thing.

I. Love. Cherry. Cola.
Favourite soda (after orange) FTW.

Unfortunately it’s not something we can usually get here. I don’t know if you can over there on the other side of the water. I know you have Dr Pepper which to me is very similar, but also not available in Denmark unless you’re really lucky. We had it for a couple of years recently, but it was taken off the market again. Apparently it didn’t sell well enough. (I fear Mountain Dew has gone the same tragic way, because I can’t find that anymore either). Recently we’ve had a limited edition cherry cola from coca-cola which was yummy, but alas, that one seems to also have run its course. In my deprivation of proper cherry cola or similar beverage, I’ve found that I can make a relatively good substitute with ordinary cola and cherry cordial. It’s not the same, but it works okay.

What all this means is that I have VERY high expectations of this one. So high, that I’m likely to be disappointed. Anything below a clean 100 on this is not good enough. The question just is exactly how disappointed am I going to get?

The leaves actually do smell a bit like cola and something that I’m willing to call cherry-like. There is however also a note which to my own surprise I can only describe as vaguely menthol-like. This is worrysome.

After steeping, the tea has pretty much the same smell, only hot. The mentholness is sticking out a bit more here, which is a little odd to me because menthol (along with mints) is usually a cool sort of flavour.

Hmm… Flat cola with dusty vanilla. I can’t find any cherry outside of the smell. Something sour-ish, kind of citrus-soapy-like. So, yes, I did get disappointed. It’s just a question of how much.

This does require an amount of experimentation, but for a first experience, I cannot in good consciousness give it more than 65-ish.

Thanks to momo for this tea! it’s your box of samples I’m trying to make progress on at the moment – poked through the box last night and discovered like 15 teas I hadn’t tried! Most of them ones that I had specifically requested, too!

I don’t recall what the dry tea smelled like, but brewed up, there’s a definite and distinct cola aroma. Not coke or pepsi, just generic cola. Doesn’t smell too bad; I think I’m still a bit scarred from DavidsTea’s Cherry Cola, which is why I’m feeling apprehensive about trying this one.

However, I’m glad I did! This is actually really tasty! It’s by far the most authentically cola-flavoured tea I’ve had (ok, maybe that’s not exactly a category in which I’ve tried any/many other teas, but the flavour is very believable in this blend). I can’t say that I’m really getting the cherry.. it actually almost tastes a little more like Vanilla Coke to me. That said, I’m not a pop person at all, and it’s entirely possibly that I haven’t even ever tried Cherry Coke (I think I might have once, back in grade school, actually). It’s not even that I don’t like the flavour of pop though, I just dislike carbonation for whatever reason. So I’m the type that likes flat pop, yep! (And another reason I hate beer… not only is the taste bad, but it’s carbonated!)

Anyhow, I’m really enjoying this tea! I kept the infusion time quite low in case the base felt like getting bitter on me, and it worked like a charm. Zero bitter. Perhaps I should drop all 52teas blacks to 2:15 from 2:30.

So yes. Thanks to momo again for letting me try this, and a bazillion other teas which I’ve sucked at getting around to trying!

Another tea I ganked from the Travelling Teabox. I’m always up for something new and different so I was eager to try what I consider to be one of Frank’s odder teas flavours (not counting the Tuna Melt, lol).

The tea smells like cola – it’s more like a Dr. Pepper scent than a Coco-Cola scent IMO, but it’s surprisingly authentic. Unfortunately the taste…really isn’t. It might just be the age of the sample but mostly what I’m getting is the (rather bitter) black tea base interspersed with a bit of faint, sweetish cola flavour and maybe a hint of vanilla. This tea tastes like it needs milk, but I don’t think the flavourings would be agreeable to that – maybe some agave nectar?

I’ve got enough for one or two more cups so I’ll mess around with it a bit and see if I can’t get it to taste better.

Now this is more like it!! It really does taste like a cherry vanilla coke! It’s smooth, and almost has an effervescent taste as well. The cherry is lighter than the vanilla, but I think that makes it better (since some cherry-vanilla things drown the vanilla in the cherry). I wish I had some vanilla ice cream to make a float out of this tea…I know it would be amazing!

Oh, and thanks, Meghann, for sending me some of this and the pumpkin pie!

This tea smelled delicious dry…and steeped. But the taste…it just fell flat, pardon the pun. My wife just about said it all: It tastes like drinking a candle. I didn’t care for this one at all, which made me sad. I always want to love the teas from 52teas, because everyone raves about them, but I never do. I own six and none of them live up to what I expect.

Maybe we’re not meant to tea.

(Get it? Get it? I’m funny)

I won’t rate this as I’m selling it in my shop. But I will say this. Frank really earned the title the Willy Wonka of Teas! Smells very much like cherry vanilla cola when you open the pouch. I smelled more of the cherry flavor while it was steeping. When I had my first hot sip it did in fact taste like cherry vanilla cola. So I opted to serve this one over ice and add in two splashes of regular cola to it and it is delish (at least to me AND my husband actually wants to try it! But I’m not sharing this glass.).

Way way Backlog:

The beau did up some of this sometime last week. Will do a proper tasting note later, but my recollection of this went as follows:

-Accurate smell
-Accurate taste
-It’s weird to taste cherry vanilla coke HOT.

Definitely need to try iced (and I’m NOT much of an iced tea person). Will also definitely try hot again. If I could get used to those flavours hot, it would be fab!

Got busy with calls from work (gotta love being on-call on the weekend) and forgot that I had begun steeping this tea! After a good 25-30 minutes I thought I may have to throw it out, decided to add a good amount of milk and reheat. I also added a little sugar. It’s actually quite tasty! Tastes like creamy warm vanilla cherry coke, lol. Will wait to rate it when I steep it a bit more conventionally. ;)

Oh, by the way, Thank you Miss Meghann M for sending this my way!!

This afternoon I decided to treat myself to this. This is one of my favorites from 52 Teas – it reminds me so much of an old time soda shop cherry cola. (No, I’m not old enough to actually remember those old time soda shops, but, I used to work at a retirement home as an administrative assistant and they had an old time soda fountain for the residents. This soda reminds me of the cherry vanilla cola I’d have there on occasion)

Today, the smell of this tea is more reminiscent of that “old time soda” than the flavor. I need to remember to limit the brew time of this particular tea to 2 1/2 minutes or less. Any longer and the tea becomes a bit too astringent and that astringency interferes with the flavors. Then again, it could be my present lack of ability to taste.

I chose this tea because I remember the flavors being quite strong… and yes, even with my taste buds impaired, I can taste the cherry and even a touch of the vanilla. And as I said, the black tea base is a bit more astringent than I remember it being, which leaves the mouth feeling a little dry.

Overall, though, I really like this tea. I am going to save what I have left of it for iced tea. Right now, we are having winter-like weather, so it’s no time for iced tea! I am not going to issue a numeric rating for this tea at this time, because I don’t really think it’s fair based on my inability to discern subtle flavors.

TTB 1.2

52teas really got the scent right on this tea, it smells just like cherry vanilla coke. The cherry and vanilla flavors seem to dissolve into each other alongside the cola flavor which makes it taste very similar to the real thing. I think this tea is even better with a tiny bit of sugar. This isn’t my favorite offering from 52teas, but they accomplished what they set out to do: create a tea that tastes like cherry vanilla cola.

Steep Information:
Amount: 2 tsp
Water: boiling
Tool: kati loose tea system (my Review here.)
Steep Time: a little over 2 minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: vanilla, mint, fake cherry
Steeped Tea Smell: cola, sarsaparilla, mint, vanilla
Flavor: black tea
Body: Full
Aftertaste: astringent, mint
Liquor: translucent dark red-brown

Post-Steep Additives: +1 tsp German rock sugar – more sarsaparilla flavor to the tea

New steep:
Amount: 3 tsp
Water: 500ml 195 °F
Tool: Breville One-Touch Tea Maker BTM800XL
Steep Time: 2 minutes
Served: Hot

more sarsaparilla, still minty, no cherry

Rating: 1/4 leaves

Blog: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2011/11/52teas-loose-leaf-black-tea-cherry.html

I’ve tried it hot, I don’t like it; I’ve tried it iced by flash-chilling (make with hot water then pour over ice), I don’t like that either; I’ve tried it iced by cold brewing, and I don’t like that.

If I brew it for 5 minutes I can taste the cola, cherry and vanilla, but the tea has stewed and tastes unpleasant, if I brew for less time the tea tastes okay but the flavour mix is insipid. Basically, to me it tastes like watered down panda pop that’s been in the back of the car for seven or eight months (I was seven and I still remember that flavour quite clearly.)

DNW!

Cherry Cola takes me back to when I was growing up. I remember drinking ice cold cherry cokes on a hot summer day in the yard or even over at the local (sadly, long since gone) DQ. I was thrilled to get my first shipment from 52teas and pulled this one out right away to try it first.

The smell is a bit much for me, it is really quite strong. While I like the overall flavor, after much consideration I’ve decided that there is too much cherry flavor for me. I do like it but am looking forward to now trying the second steeping as others have mentioned it stands up well to such. I also look forward to sharing this unique tea with friends.

This is interesting. I made enough to be able to taste a bit hot, and then have a glass of it iced later. I wasn’t really a fan of it as a hot tea. Something about a cola flavor being hot just messes with my brain.

But iced, it’s good. I added a splash of club soda and a pinch of vanilla sugar and now it is even better. I didn’t get much vanilla, but I get cherry followed up by taste of cola. I don’t think I put enough vanilla sugar in for it to really make a difference and bring out the vanilla flavor, but I am definitely going to experiment with this a lot as an iced tea. It’s very unique.

I had an obscenely sinful amount of fun with this tea. I love the “cola” effect and the blend of flavors. I really have not had a tea like it. I could almost feel the splash of carbonation on my face. It’s a great blend. I may try the carbonated soda recipe that 52teas has presented but I think I would cut the sugar by at least half. My tea stood up to a second brew with no loss of potency, so I can make it last longer.

I don’t know if tea purists will appreciate this one; I, on the other hand, love strange and unusual combinations and blends and this is one of the best, in my opinion, of the always interesting, always loveable, and often outrageously great blends of 52teas. I just paid them for a 6 month program once I tasted this tea, so you can tell that my love is sincere.

Thank you Jenn for your sample full of huge cherry chunks yum. I ate the cherries after the tea steeped and all was right with the world.

I tried half a cup hot and half a cup in the freezer to be iced. Yay grammar.

I, sadly, was not a fan of this tea. The smell was amazing! Like Sodalicious candies (man I miss those), and my nose even felt the carbonation bubbles – VERY cool.
You know, I bet I would enjoy this tea if it was super concentrated and made into one of those tea-sodas, but as it was I didn’t get a lot of flavour and what was there was strange.

I added some sugar to try to re-create the smell, but no luck!

I’m so glad to have the chance to try this tea though, even just to smell it. It smelled like soda heaven :D

I apologize for the sheer cheek, but as my veins are likely at least 50% full of cherry coke…I am wondering if there is any way to procure this long extinct tea. I could swap/purchase/loan a kidney if that would tantilize anyone.

Thank you fo consideration of the matter,
a.

This is the third tea I’m trying (out of 4) from my 52 Teas order. I kind of put off trying this one because I figured it wasn’t going to work for me. I almost didn’t order it because I was pretty sure I wouldn’t like it, but I thought I’d take a chance. Unfortunately, I was right. I brewed it in a pretty big mug, so I might’ve miscalculated the proper brewing time, but it was pretty terrible. The smell reminded me of a sweet incense, which was a huge turnoff, and the taste was kind of similar. You know how you can “taste” a smell sometimes? That’s what happened here, and it wasn’t very appealing. There was a slightly medicinal aftertaste, which I assume was the cherry, but otherwise there wasn’t much in the way of vanilla cola as far as I could tell. I had to dump it out halfway through—I just couldn’t finish it.

I will definitely try this again, in a smaller cup with a shorter brewing time, but for now I have to say this was a big disappointment. Bummer.