When I was in high school, I used to buy bags of tiny Italian hard candies in different fruit flavors—from Trader Joe’s, I think. Google tells me they’re called Puntini. Anyway, I haven’t seen or even thought about them in ages, but this tea tastes exactly the way I remember one of the berry flavors—probably blackberry, and the best one in my opinion—tasting.
The honey is quite prominent as well, and there’s a generic sort of floral undertone to it all that, as an unabashed floral lover, I’m enjoying quite a bit. I don’t get distinct lavender, which is just as well since that can easily veer into soap territory. The tea base (Ceylon, maybe?) comes through nicely despite the strong flavoring. There is a bit of astringency, which is fine by me.
I like this much more than I expected to, given my (admittedly few) past experiences with Palais des Thes—their teas have struck me as passable but lacklustre, with a bad case of the jumbled (or perhaps muddled would be a better descriptor?) flavor thing I just can’t get into with so many French teas. I’m sure the nostalgia blast isn’t hurting, but even aside from that this is a really lovely blend for those who like florals and don’t mind a bit of astringency. I bet it would also be great iced. Thanks for the sample, Dustin—I’m adding this one to my shopping list!
I had totally forgotten about those candies! I used to get them at TJ’s too. They were so small that I’d often eat four at a time and they would get stuck in my teeth as I ate them!
Glad you enjoyed the tea. Now I’m going to have to think of those candies next time I have a cup of this!
Yes, they always got stuck in my teeth too! I’d forgotten about that part. I’m kind of tempted to order some now, actually. And thanks so much for the sample—I’d kind of written PdT off my shopping list, but this has inspired me to give them another chance.
Palais is a hit or miss company for me. I looked at the descriptions of their teas, wrote down what sounded interesting, then went to their shop and sniffed them before buying. There were several that sounded good but didn’t pass the sniff test and I think if I had bought on description alone, I’d have been disappointed.