I received this from Roswell Strange a super long time ago. I was not avoiding trying it, it just somehow got put into my tea cupboard and I never got around to it. I sent some of this to Courtney in a swap recently, so I thought I better get around to trying it myself.
The dry tea bag smells exactly like Saskatoon berries and black tea. Saskatoon berries are a bit of a local delicacy. I would describe them as small berries (about the size of a current, maybe a bit bigger), dark purple in colour. They grow on giant trees/bushes – I think like 15-20 feet high sometimes. To me they taste like a mix of a tart blueberry and a black currant.
I added some brown rock sugar to this tea because I didn’t want it to be too tart. This tea is fairly decent. I was anticipating the Saskatoon berry to kick me in the face, but it didn’t. So that was a pleasant surprise. I would say the black tea base is the dominant flavour. It is slightly astringent and not terribly smooth, but it is not bad. The Saskatoon flavour is natural, not as sweet or as tart as it could be.
This is one of the better Saskatoon Berry teas I have tried.
Thanks Ros!
SASKATOONS!
Yay, I’m glad you liked it! I adore Saskatoons :) Plus, since we swap so often I thought it’d be cool to give you the tea related to the berry which is my town’s namesake.
I always think saskatoons taste like a cross between a blueberry and a black currant.
I have some of this, but I’ve never tried it. Hmm…
Haha. If only you could send me the berries next time, then I would know how true to the name this tea really is :P
I do have some of DT’s Prairie Berry – which is another Saskatoon Berry tea, so a taste of that one could likely be arranged. Sadly, I’m not sure how well the berries themselves would mail over ;)
@OMGsrsly – MAKE SOME! It’s probably my favourite bagged black ever ^^ I know I sent some to Lala, too. Now that I know where to buy it again I’ve been slipping it into quite a few swaps! Gotta share the Saskatoon Berry love! Though, watch the steep time. It gets bitter quickly :(
There’s a place in town that makes hot, fresh Saskatoon Berry pies that you can order in just like a pizza… Mmmmmmmm! And an ice cream place open in the summer between Regina and Saskatoon which has the BEST Saskatoon Milkshakes and Mozza Fingers!
Saskatoon berries are delicious! If you haven’t had some, you definitely need to try!
Now I want Saskatoons! Yum. And to try this tea! Where did you get it?
In Regina, I was only able to find it at the McKenzie Art Gallery in the gift shop (they sell amazing Riverblend Plantation Chocolate too), but in Saskatoon I’ve been able to find it at a local foods store on 8th St. and the university gift store. Yay! I’m seriously craving Saskatoons now though; whether it’s in actual fruit format, pie format, milkshake format or tea format D:
I’ve found Saskatoon Berry pies at Sobeys before.
They’re kind of everywhere in my city. Though, that makes a lot of sense given I live in Saskatoon, heh…
Haha. I guess berries mixed in with the teas could get a tad bit messy.
Saskatoon berries tend to be hit-or-miss here. A lot of years they’re dry and it’s really hard to deal with the seeds. Last fall they were fantastic. :) I will try this one, soon. Really soon. :)