I don’t know how it is that I’m the only person who’s ever reviewed this one? It came in the cutest heart shaped tin, so I’m guessing maybe it was a limited edition for valentine’s day once over, or something? It’s been in my stash a while, unopened, at any rate.
I originally bought this one because I was intrigued by the ingredients – strawberry, raspberry, black pepper, rose. I love pepper, so it was a must-try pretty much as soon as I saw it. I used 1 tsp for my cup, and gave it 3 minutes in boiling water, no additions. It’s pretty well balanced, I think. The initial flavour is red berry – I think I’m leaning more towards strawberry, but there’s a tart/sour end note that captures raspberry well, too. Neither flavour is candy-like or over sweet – it’s pretty accurate “juice” flavouring, as far as I’m concerned. The pepper is discernible in the mid-sip, and it lingers for a long time. It adds a touch of spiciness and a whole lot of heat, which builds with successive sips. I really like the combination, even though it probably wouldn’t have occurred to me to pair those two things in actuality.
This one would have been a good warming winter cup, but it’s still pretty cold out in the mornings so I guess I haven’t missed the joy of that entirely. To be honest, though, it’s so good I’ll probably carry on drinking it this summer. It’s been sitting around long enough!
