Tea for Tuesday: Twinings Blackcurrant & Vanilla

Twinings Blackcurrant & Vanilla

Tea for Tuesday time again; this time in the form of a Blackcurrant & Vanilla fruit infusion by Twinings. As the flavours diffused in the mug, the water took on an orangey red colour and had an almost pink hue in certain lights.

Whereas the Blackcurrant, Ginseng & Vanilla infusion gave off a strong odour of vanilla when the boiling water touched the bag, this one had a distinctly stronger aroma of blackcurrant. The vanilla also came through, though it had more of a perfume-like quality to it. This was also true of the flavour: a slight tang of blacurrant with a vaguely vanilla after taste. It didn't have the same smoothness as the ginseng infused blend, but it was still delicious.

Another one of my favourites so far!

Tea for Tuesday: English Tea Shop Chocolate Super Berry Burst

English Tea Shop Super Berry Burst

Today's Tea for Tuesday post comes courtesy of my fabulous & creative friend Kei (Doing a Thing and Unfortunately Oh!), who sent me a rather lovely package of items out of the blue, some of which happened to be various types of caffeine-free tea. Hurrah! The tea in question is Chocolate Super Berry Burst from the English Tea Shop; I'd never tried chocolate tea before, so that's a bonus!

The smell of the infusion was highly chocolatey with a hint of vanilla, which was pleasant but slightly confusing to my senses (evidently, my brain didn't want to associate the smell of chocolate with a cup of tea!). The colour of the tea began at the orangey red colour in the photo above and arrived at a deep reddish brown by the end of its five minutes of brewing. It was actually a really pretty colour.

Looking at the list of the list of ingredients on the back of the packet (organic rooibos, organic hibiscus, organic roasted cocoa pieces, organic licorices, organic vanilla pods, organic raspberry concentrate, organic blackcurrant and organic pomegranate conentrate, with natural chocolate, strawberry and raspberry flavours), I wasn't entirely sure what the flavour would be like. It was, in fact, somewhere between the taste of chocolate and Turkish Delight, or at least what I remember TD tasting like during my childhood. In any case, the combination was not unpleasant and has a good balance of sweet, bitter and fruit hits.

Another new tea and another one I'd have again - great! :D

Tea for Tuesday: Twinings Cranberry & Sanguinello Orange

Twinings Cranberry & Sanguinello Orange

This week's Tea for Tuesday is Cranberry & Sanguinello Orange by Twinings. The scarlet red brew looked wonderful against the pale cup (though I didn't quite manage to reproduce the deep red colour in photographic form) and the gorgeous scent of tangy fruit filled the kitchen as it infused.

This fruit infusion tasted strongly of cranberries from the moment it touched my tongue and a pleasant, citric hit followed shortly after. I was worried that it might be slightly bitter, as sanguinello oranges can be, but it remained at a pleasant level of acidity. The only complaint I have with this particular flavour is that, although the orange tastes pleasant whilst drinking, the after taste continues to become stronger after finishing, almost to the point of being overpowering and tongue-numbing. However, I should point out that I'm very sensitive to citrus fruit, and so that might not be a problem for anyone else.

I'd like to try this tea again, but I don't think it's one I could have regularly.

Tea for Tuesday: Twinings Blackcurrant, Ginseng & Vanilla

Twinings Blackcurrant, Ginseng & Vanilla Fruit Tea

The first flavour that I decided to try for Tea for Tuesday was Blackcurrant, Ginseng & Vanilla from Twinings Fresh & Fruity range. The back of the packet indicated that this particular infusion is "naturally caffeine-free", so that was helpful!

The colour isn't as deep red as most blackcurrant teas tend to be, but watching the orangey red swirls diffusing their way around the cup was still rather enjoyable (or perhaps I just need to get out more, haha ;D). There was a faint aroma of vanilla as the boiling water hit the bag, but that dissipated quite quickly and the tea was quite odourless after that. 

As for the taste, the strongest flavour was undoubtedly that of the blackcurrant at first, before the faintly medicinal, but not unpleasant, smoothness of the ginseng came through. The vanilla merged nicely into the other, stronger flavours and the combination reminded me somewhat of a fruity version of elderflower. The packet also suggested that to add some sweetness, honey worked well, but I don't eat honey so I added a few drops of agave nectar instead. I did like the added sweetness, but it certainly wasn't a bitter tea and so it wasn't really needed. 

Definitely a flavour I'd have again!