Culinary Tea's Cherry Almond black tea is a visually appealing tea. There is an abundance of thinly sliced almonds among long black tea leaves, insterspersed with rose and safflower petals. The dry blend has an aroma that is very floral in nature but also has a tart fruity element. The black tea base is a Ceylon and appears to be of fairly high quality. I used one teaspoon of leaf per eight ounce cup and infused the blend for three minutes in boiling water. The tea is a rich coppery color and is fairly fragrant. The flavor of this tea is certainly on the tart side, but it is not too tart so as to be mouth-puckering. It is fairly comparable in tartness to some blueberry blends I have previously sampled. I have to admit that I didn't get much of a real cherry flavor here, even though the Culinary Teas website refers to "deep cherry notes". For me, the flavor was much more berry than cherry. After reviewing the full ingredients list, I am not surprised that I wasn't really tasting cherries, as there are no actual cherries used in this blend. The ingredients list reads as follows: "Luxury black tea, Sweetened cranberries, Almond slices, Rose petals, Blackberry + lime leaves, Safflower petals, Natural flavors", so the cherry flavor must be incorporated under that 'natural flavors' item in the list. I must admit disappointment that there were no real cherries used in the blend. After reading the ingredients list, I see that the tart flavor I was picking up on is most likely the contribution of the cranberries. The almond flavor is not too strong but is certainly detectable and adds a nice sweet touch to balance out the tartness of the tea. I didn't feel that the rose and safflower petals did too much to the flavor profile and may have been added more for visual appeal than for taste. In all, this was certainly a drinkable and enjoyable tea, and I did like it both as a hot and iced tea. This is a good example of a tart and fruity flavored black tea. However, I would caution that if you are expecting a genuine cherry flavor, you will likely find yourself disappointed.

— To purchase Culinary Teas Cherry Almond Black Tea, or for more specific information on ingredients or the story behind this particular tea, click here to go directly to the manufacturer's web site.

Vanessa Teaviews.com Reviewer » Read more about this reviewer on Vanessa's profile page. » Find a list of recent posts by Vanessa.

---