I think I’m attracted to weirdness in teas, and this one seemed like an ambitious flavour so I pretty much had to give it a try. I also love cherry cola, so it was pretty much a given from the moment I saw it. This one has been in my cupboard for a while, unopened. Today it finally saw the light of day! I used 1 tsp of leaf (plus a whole cherry!), and gave it 2.5 minutes in boiling water. No additions.
I hated my first sip. It made me scrunch my face up, and I’m not really sure why. The sheer oddity of the flavour combination? I’ve been fine from my second sip onwards – clearly I’m acclimatised! It has to be said, though, that this is a bit of an odd duck. The initial flavour is, I’d say, chocolate cake. The malty black tea base helps this effect, I think, and there’s some of Della Terra’s “cake” flavouring kicking around in the background. The thick, almost stodgy one (a la Pineapple Upside Down Cake, Blueberry Crumble, etc.) The cherry cola flavour emerges mid-sip, and it’s actually pretty accurate. It even tastes a little effervescent, although it’s hard to imagine how that is achieved. The cherry tastes pretty natural and juicy; not too chemical or medicinal, which is a relief, but the end of the sip is a little sugary – almost like sugar syrup. There’s some of Della Terra’s sparkly crystal sugar in this blend, so maybe it’s that now it’s sunk to the bottom of the cup. Pretty, though!
On the whole, this is a pretty odd combination of flavours. Cherry cola and chocolate cake are probably not two things I’d consume together. Having said that, I do actually really like this tea, now that I’ve gotten over the initial weirdness. Quite what that says about me, I don’t know!
