Coconut Black Tea

Absolutely delicious! For the coconut aficiondo, this one is delicious. It reminds me very much of Premium Steap’s Organic Coconut and I am very hard-pressed to select between the two. They both have given me superb coconut experiences. I may need to hold a coconut tea survivor game and sip all of my coconut “contestants” and force myself to vote one “off the island” until just one supreme winner remains.

But such is the speech of nonsense. I don’t want to snuff anyone’s flame. This tea is just as rich, full, and delicious and true to flavor as any other coconut I have had.

I also have to make a plug for the speedy service American Tea Room provides.

I tried more of this—two days in a row because I was having a major jones for it. As Jane Austen might say, “I extend my approbation completely”.

I drank some more of the Adagio Coconut sample earlier and had intended to try this back to back but got hung up on a phone call and wasn’t able to do it. So I’m comparing by memory rather than by direct back to back tastings.

The coconut pieces in this sample are huge compared to those in the Adagio. The samples smell different too. It’s funny, today I’m getting a sort of chocolatey note from both of them, and the Adagio is sort of the milk chocolate version of Mounds while the ATR is more a dark chocolate version. The coconut in the ATR is a little more green smelling than in the Adagio and since I thought the Adagio was a bit on the green side when I prefer that toasty macaroon coconut flavor, I’m wondering whether this will hold true after steeping.

The aroma has a dark character with respect to the tea and a green character with respect to the coconut. The liquor is almost a mahogany color. I’m guessing this is at least in part a Ceylon base.

Even though the flavor isn’t exactly toasty, there’s something about it I’m quite enjoying. I think it’s the fact that even though this isn’t a chocolate flavored tea, there’s a definite cocoa note, which makes this taste more like chocolate/coconut than plain coconut. There’s a slight sweetness, especially in the finish, and a pleasant aftertaste.

I prefer this to the Adagio, though I’m still not sure how I feel about coconut on it’s own as a flavoring agent. I tend to like my coconut with something else, be it chocolate, pineapple, coffee flavor, etc. I’d probably buy a chocolate/coconut blend over this, but if that wasn’t available, this would be a rather good substitute.

Once upon a time not so long ago, I did not like coconut. I would not eat an Almond Joy or Mounds, still don’t prefer them. But I had some strips of coconut shaved fresh and served as dessert and really liked it. I tried Royal Wedding and loved it. I bought some real fruit frozen pops and tried the piña colada one and loved it. So I thought that with today’s heat index of 115 degrees, some iced coconut black tea would be a treat!

This is from Doulton, a phrase you will be seeing a lot in the near future! First, the aroma on opening the package was very strong and familiar. I really did think of chocolate covered coconut candy first, then after inhaling a few more times, the wonderful summer scent of tanning lotion.

I did try a bit of this hot before icing it, and I found it to be smooth and flavorful. It had no need of sweetener or milk, had nice body, and didn’t seem astringent at all. There was a nice roundness to the cup. I tried it sweetened and iced, and while it is very good and most say they prefer it that way, I thought I detected more black tea taste and some astringency when I iced it.

I will definitely be serving this to some of my friends. I am eager to see how they like it! Next time, I will pay attention to directions and use slightly cooler water and a slightly longer steep time. I didn’t check first and I used boiling water for four minutes, while ATR recommends 200 degree water for five minutes. It did have great balance to me the way I made it, though, especially the hot cup before I iced the rest.

This was a very nice treat this afternoon. Thank you, Doulton!

This tea has a beautiful smell and is definitely coconut. I think it would make a really nice iced tea, but as for hot.. the black base is a bit overwhelming, at least for me. I prefer tea bases to be somewhat “smothered” with the added flavor. This is definitely a pick for someone who loves a more balanced relationship of coconut and black tea.