Vinegar Black

Yep – this is another tea that I purchased just because it sounded weird. And yes, I am more than willing to taste a vinegar flavored tea before trying a peanut butter flavored one. I am a bit more fond of vinegar than of peanut butter…

This is a tea that really needs a “rinsing” before you steep. I brought a small amount of water to a boil, poured it over the leaves and then strained after just 10 seconds. This really improved the taste of the tea for me.

This is – surprisingly enough – a really good tea.

The aroma of the dry leaves is a lot like vinegar. Not as pungent-smelling as it would be if I were to open a bottle of vinegar, but it’s definitely vinegar. After brewing, the leaves take on a smoky aroma, as does the liquor.

But, as long as the leaves have been rinsed, the flavor does not present a strong smoky element. Don’t get me wrong, the smoky flavor is there, but it is quite in harmony with the other flavors of this cup.

If it’s vegetarian and doesn’t have bananas in it – I’ll try it!

Lately…the strange, the rare, and the down right ODD have been calling at me.

When I received this one from LiberTEAs I was more than stoked to try it.

I was ASS+U+ME-ing that this may taste like a Salt & Vinegar Potato Chip but it doesn’t. It smells of vinegar but doesn’t reeeeek of it. It infuses pretty quickly and fairly dark.

Once my infusion was finished you could barely smell the vinegar scent – it was more of a smokey or roasted aroma instead. This has a semi-sweet yet bold black tea taste.

Vinegar has many health benefits and people drink Apple Cider Vinegar concoctions so why not Vinegar Tea!?

I would still classify this as one of my morning and mid-morning teas. A great pick-me-up. This was a nice surprise, indeed!

First off, I think this smells delicious. All at once sweet, sour and biscuity.

I gave this a quick “rinse” before the actual steeping (as the directions recommended) but I think it may have rinsed away most of the actual flavor potency?

Now there’s just a hint of something like yummy vinegary biscuits—which I know may sound weird but I love vinegar! I love balsamic vinegar over strawberries. I love fish and chips doused with malt vinegar. And I love Sea Salt & Vinegar Kettle Chips!

Wouldn’t that be neat if there was a Salt & Vinegar Chip-flavored tea?

Anyways, this a mild black tea with a subtle “sweet and sour” flavor. Slightly malty. A bit drying on the lips.

Backlogging from this morning; didn’t have a chance to write the note then. LiberTEAS sent me this in a swap…and I was so excited to try it! I love trying teas whose name/ingredients make you tilt your head to the side and say “huh?”.

I did a 10 second boiling water rinse, then steeped for 5 minutes. Didn’t use the One-Touch (only wanted one cup to go), so I’m not 100% absolutely certain as to the temp of the water during the steep, though it shouldn’t have been too much below boiling.

This tea is different, but really good. I really couldn’t taste the vinegar itself, but the black tea seemed stronger and crisper because of it. Slightly sour tasting, but really, really good. Yeah, my reviews are best written whilst actually sipping the tea, since I’m having troubles coming up with the right words to describe what I remember!! I saved the leaves to resteep tomorrow morning; can’t wait to see what a second steep produces!!

Thanks for sending me some of this to try, LiberTEAS! I really enjoyed it!

I didn’t really get along with this tea. I will try it again with less tea and less steeping time. It just tasted more than a little acidulous and acerbic. I may revise my note after a second tasting.

Doulton’s Shakespeare: A Tasting Note in 5 Acts
Act II scene 6

’Twas told me you were rough, and coy, and sullen,
And now I find report a very liar;
For thou art pleasant, gamesome, passing courteous,
But slow in speech, yet sweet as spring-time flowers.
The Taming of the Shrew, Act II scene 1

Amongst all the teas that Doulton sent me, this one both intrigued and repulsed me. It’s in this adorable little tin with some Victoriana decorations. It looks like it should be a floral tea and not something with vinegar in it. Finally today I got the nerve to pop open the tin and give it a go.

I could not for the life of me smell vinegar in the dry leaves. Maybe the tiniest hints in the back of my nose, but I don’t think I would’ve noticed it if I hadn’t known what was in this tea. I went ahead and did a 10 second rinse of the leaves under hot tap water.

Smell from the cup was black tea — pretty sure it’s Assam. Still couldn’t find the vinegar. Then came sip one: vinegar! Yup, there it is being quite shrewish to the back of my throat. Three sips in I was wondering if I could finish this cup so I did my “let’s let it sit over here for a minute or two and then return to it” technique. That did the trick! The vinegar receeded to a very mild level and then disappeared completely for the rest of the cup and the 2nd steep as well. It’s actually a rather pleasant smooth cup of black tea overall.

With all that in mind I dub this tea my Katherina (a.k.a. Kate) from Taming of the Shrew. It starts off all feisty and full of spirit and over time is broken down into submission. Horrible, but true. I think that even though there are some funny moments throughtout this play it should be considered a tragedy and not a comedy.

Ultimately this is a very interesting tea. I’m rather proud to be able to say that I’ve tried and enjoyed a Vinegar Black tea. Next time I shall try it without the pre-rinse to see if it keeps its unique character longer. Will I be rushing to purchase more when the tin runs out? No, but it’ll be fun while it lasts. NE

This is an interesting tea. The vinegar is not too strong, but still detectable. A pretty nice tea, but not one I see myself ordering more of.