So, fruity cherry banana. Another sample from Sil, and part of my ongoing quest to find a fruit tea I can really love. The dry mix is pretty impressive – I can identify pieces of most of the things that are supposed to be there, including strawberry, banana, apple and orange, along with the seemingly ubiquitous hibiscus and rosehip. Cherry is notable by its absence, but possibly that’s just in the flavouring. It’s hard to say exactly what it smells like dry – generically fruity is the closest I can really get, and none of the flavours seem particularly dominant at this point.
Brewed, this is a different story. The liquor is a deep pink-red, and the scent is more decidedly of cherry and banana. There’s also a slight background nuttiness which is intriguing. After my first sip, I was concerned that this was going to be primarily a hibiscus tea. Initially, that’s the flavour that comes out most strongly. Fortunately, it’s quickly followed by really quite distinctive notes of cherry and banana. It’s curious, because it sounds like it shouldn’t work, but it definitely does! The cherry is quite tart, and marries well with the hibiscus and rosehip while tempering some of the sourness that those two ingredients on their own would contribute. The banana is sweet and creamy, and just seems to help bring the whole thing together. I know the taste is reminding me of something, but I can’t quite put my finger on what it is at the moment. Some dessert, probably! I’m really happy with this, though. For a hibiscus based fruit tea, it’s not half bad!
