This tea was originally crafted by Frank back in 2010. I have since reblended this tea twice, once in May 2017 and again for our special FUNdraiser in October 2017. I’ve had a lot of requests for it since then – so I put it on this year’s poll and it received a really impressive number of votes. No, it wasn’t the top vote-getter but it received more than enough to be part of this year’s box.
I stayed as true to the recipe as I possibly could. I did not have the Fujian black tea that I used in the previous FUNdraiser blend, but I did have a slightly different Fujian black which I utilized instead – in addition to an Assamica grown in the Yunnan province, a tippy Yunnan Imperial and just a touch of Ceylon to round out the flavors of these rich black teas.
Here is the previous description of this tea – which includes descriptions from previous descriptions (including Frank’ original description):
This is my second batch for this reblend – I first reblended it earlier this year for the featured reblend for May. Sadly, I didn’t make nearly enough for the demand that would follow the release of this tea, so I decided I should reblend it again. This time around, I’m reblending it as part of a fundraising trio (along with Chocolate Eclair & The Vanilla Marshmallow). I made a large batch this time around, so hopefully in addition to the pre-sales, there will be enough left over to please the customers who missed out on this blend back in May.
My previous description went like this:
Well, it’s Retro Monday, so this month’s Featured Reblend is also our Retro Monday Tea! This time around, I decided to go with a popular one that just narrowly missed out on the reblend roster when we had our start-up Kickstarter fundraiser. It’s been one that I’ve seen several people wish that I’d reblend on Steepster and even on Facebook and Instagram. So – without further ado – here it is: Blueberry Cream Cheese Danish Black Tea.
The original version of this tea was one from Frank’s era that I remember fondly. I remember a strong blueberry presence, a soft note of tangy cream cheese and perhaps a hint of buttery pastry.
Frank described this tea as:
Here’s our premium Indian black teas (a little extra Assam in this blend since I envisioned it as a breakfast tea) blended with GREAT BIG, whole freeze-dried blueberries and natural flavors. I have a feeling this is going to be a VERY popular blend. Enjoy!
I do believe I did justice to the memory of the original blend. The base is different this time around – I used a blend of Yunnan Gold and Assamica grown in the JingMai Mountains and just a hint of Fujian black tea. These teas combine to create a solid, well-rounded flavor that is both robust and smooth. I didn’t use extra Assam here – because I felt that the base is perfectly balanced – both on it’s own and with the flavors of this blend.
The blueberry flavor is sweet and juicy. The cream cheese is smooth and tangy. Every once in a while, I taste something that mimics a buttery, pastry-like flavor. Yummy!
I stuck close to my recipe with this, but I did add some Assam to the recipe because after my first taste test, I thought it really needed that malty note to it and I just wasn’t getting the kind of malty I wanted from the JingMai Assamica. A big, bold blueberry note along with creamy, tangy cream cheese notes. This blend is absolutely fantastic (if I do say so myself!) Also, you may notice that there are calendula petals in addition to the cornflower petals. That’s because I had added some calendula before I remembered that I had cornflower! They really don’t add anything to the flavor – they just add a touch of pretty to the dry leaf.
If I reblend this one again, I may just end up making it a D’s Teas blend (aka our Permanent Collection) – if for no other reason than to reduce the size of the descriptions!
Oh, and YES! It’s VEGAN, gluten free & allergen free!
ingredients: black tea, organic black teas, organic blueberries, organic cornflowers, organic calendula petals & organic natural flavors
