Bing Cherry Vanilla

Decided to revisit this one this morning…I wouldn’t say it’s bad…but there is little flavored to this flavored black. That is why I am giving it a lower rating…not because it tastes bad but because it doesn’t taste like cherry or vanilla or much else…but the cup is drinkable and the black tea taste is present.

Sorry for the lack of posts recently. My life has been absolutely crazy since the 1st of this month. I interviewed for a position within my company that would involve relocating to Florida. I still haven’t heard too much, other than that I have made it to the “narrowed down” list. (Whatever that means.) My patience is truly being tested. I’m trying to remain positive…but not to the point of devastation if I don’t get it.

Anyway, on to the tea. Unfortunately, it sucks. There ya go…great review, huh? For starters, the tea leaves are very broken…not coffee grounds, but quite broken. The smell of the dry leaves was not very impressive either. It wasn’t quite cherry or vanilla, but something sour smelling. Meh. After steeping, only the faintest wisp of cherry/vanilla was present in the smell and taste…and that only happened after the cup cooled to lukewarm. Bland, bland, bland…and super astringent. I feel like this marks the last of my flavored tea purchases. (Other than chocolate…Numi’s Chocolate Pu-erh comes to mind.) I picked this up at Whole Foods on a whim. I’m much more into blends at the moment and picking out the notes of unflavored teas. Another phase of my tea drinking, I suppose.

Well, back to waiting and positive thinking.

Steep Information:
Amount: 3 heaping teaspoons
Water: 750 milliliters filtered, 212°
Tool: Breville One-Touch Tea Maker BTM800XL (Black, Strong, Auto start)
Steep Time: a little over 3 minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: Strong vanilla, hints sweet cherry not fake but real fruity scent
Steeped Tea Smell: Sweet vanilla black tea
Flavor: Astringent, slightly bitter black tea a hint of vanilla
Body: Full
Aftertaste: Astringent, slightly bitter
Liquor: Mostly opaque dark brown with slight reddish orange hints

Post-Steep Additives:
+German Rock Sugar – no more bitterness, brings out the vanilla, still not getting the cherry
+Lactose-free milk – less astringency much better

This is from LENA in the wonderful little Tupperware containers! Yes another one I have been hiding away and am finally getting to.

This tea is a good strong wake you up black with a bad astringency problem. I am very glad I didn’t order a whole tin! Thank you again LENA for helping me satisfy my curiosity and not end up drowning in ‘Meh’ tea.

images: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/05/republic-of-tea-loose-leaf-black-tea.html

Meh.

I am just not finding this tea impressive. I’ve had bad luck with cherry flavored teas – can’t find one I like. I’m finding this one hard to brew without bitterness, and there’s very little that stands out as yummy. No happy flavor of tea leaf, no creamy from the vanilla, and no juicy cherry flavor.

I’m just not impressed.

Purchased this one earlier today and brewed a cup. It was a pleasant surprise to find out it’s loose leaf and not bagged. It really is a nice mellow tea and is even better with sugar and a splash of cream. I will be keeping this one on hand!

I decided to give this tea another try this morning, and it’s just on the meah side of okay. I don’t taste cherry or vanilla, but the black tea isn’t completely objectionable. I drank it. I don’t care to drink it again anytime soon.

I feel a little guilty about my run of negative Republic of Tea reviews lately. I really do think that they have some good blends, I just haven’t been drinking any of those lately :/

Has a delicate sweetness that I like a lot on mornings where bolder teas might be too much. Not a strong flavor, so it isn’t going to make up for soda, but it is a nice hint of sweet that makes the basic black tea pop.

Even with no decaf-ing, and a 3 min steep at 195F, I’m still not thrilled. Less astringent this time, but it’s just very bland for a flavored black tea.