Once upon a time not so long ago, I did not like coconut. I would not eat an Almond Joy or Mounds, still don’t prefer them. But I had some strips of coconut shaved fresh and served as dessert and really liked it. I tried Royal Wedding and loved it. I bought some real fruit frozen pops and tried the piña colada one and loved it. So I thought that with today’s heat index of 115 degrees, some iced coconut black tea would be a treat!
This is from Doulton, a phrase you will be seeing a lot in the near future! First, the aroma on opening the package was very strong and familiar. I really did think of chocolate covered coconut candy first, then after inhaling a few more times, the wonderful summer scent of tanning lotion.
I did try a bit of this hot before icing it, and I found it to be smooth and flavorful. It had no need of sweetener or milk, had nice body, and didn’t seem astringent at all. There was a nice roundness to the cup. I tried it sweetened and iced, and while it is very good and most say they prefer it that way, I thought I detected more black tea taste and some astringency when I iced it.
I will definitely be serving this to some of my friends. I am eager to see how they like it! Next time, I will pay attention to directions and use slightly cooler water and a slightly longer steep time. I didn’t check first and I used boiling water for four minutes, while ATR recommends 200 degree water for five minutes. It did have great balance to me the way I made it, though, especially the hot cup before I iced the rest.
This was a very nice treat this afternoon. Thank you, Doulton!
So far I haven’t met a coconut tea that I didn’t like. It just works well as a flavoring.