Black Forest Cupcake

Don’t usually reach for bagged teas, but spotted this at Bulk Barn last night and thought it looked promising. Plus: cute penguin on the package. Brewed up, this tea is okay. It has a kind of campfire smokiness that I would associate more with a pu’erh – like, it really smells like a campfire. Mild, slightly sweet flavour. Could go for a longer steep to get some more of the “natural black forest cupcake flavouring” to show up.

Meh.

When I went to Ottawa a few months ago I got a ridiculous number of samples of this and other Four O’Clock teas foisted upon me at a Winterlude celebration. Goodness knows that I love flavoured tea, but this is tea for namby-pamby beginners – overly flavoured and sweetened, meant to be cute and candylike.

It honestly does smell like black forest cake when it’s brewing. But when it cools down, it smells and tastes very chemically, with a metallic sweetness on the back of my tongue and in my sinus cavities thats’ hard to avoid. I’m seriously considering tossing what I have left of this since the flavouring is so obtrusive.

Firstly — incredibly cute packaging! I love opening my cupboard to see a sweet little wintry penguin!

But on to the tea itself… This would be a hit if you are the type of person who likes chocolate cake. It is rich without being sugary, and it definitely has the smooth and creamy texture of a black forest cake. It isn’t too rich that you feel sickly, yet it satisfies your sweet tooth. I am not often a fan of “dessert” style teas, but this one is smooth and comforting. Perfect for a snuggly night on the sofa!

If you like Black Forest, and have a sweet tooth, you’d probably like this tea. The flavour is uncannily like a vanilla cupcake with some notes of black forest (hints of cherry, chocolate).

Its a novelty tea thats would be great in an assorted sampler or swap, but not something I’d want to buy in larger quantities to drink regularly.