Strawberry Shortcake

So many of the cake teas in my stash ended up being chocolate flavoured or with different kinds of spice notes – very indulgent and “brown” tasting. So, one of the choices I made when picking out what I was going to drink was to ensure I had some fruity options in the mix too. This is still a decadent sort of tea, with it’s creamy pastry type notes, but the fresh strawberry was quite different from a lot of what else I’d picked and it ended up being a favourite from the assortment.

Tea Photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/CpxoE_fuAkC/ (4th Pic)

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLxzEMReYhc

For the May prompt “a strawberry tea.”

The dry leaf aroma of this tea actually does remind me of strawberry shortcake… it has a sweet, candied strawberry sort of aroma mixed with a vanilla/cream scent that comes off very light/whipped and kinda pulls my mind to imagery of soft sponge cake.

Brewed up, both aromas are still present off the warm cup, with the strawberry aroma becoming a little zestier due to the malty/mineral notes of the black tea. The base has a surprising amount of boldness, with a deep coppery malt, citrus, and mineral flavor; it comes off a bit strongly when the tea is still piping hot, but as the liquor cools the flavorings become more dominant. The strawberry is a little fruity and a little candy, falling more on one side or the other for me depending on the sip, and the sweet vanilla/cream flavor is lovely.

Really enjoying this one!

I opened the bag and was hit with a ridiculously powerful punch of artificial strawberry essence, to the point where it made me a little queasy! The scent reminds me of something from my childhood, but I can’t quite put my finger on what it is. It might be strawberry-flavored Creme Savers, which I VERY MUCH ENJOYED in the late ’90s/early 2000s. That said, I was a little nervous the tea would taste like 100% artificial, perfume-y strawberry and nothing else.

At first, it doesn’t. Once it’s brewed up, the artificial scent mostly dissipates and I’m getting a much more natural strawberry aroma, although there’s definitely an artificial flavor that hits at the back of a sip. It’s layered on the same soapy black tea base I recognize from Canadian Breakfast; the website tells me it’s a blend of Ceylon and Keemun. (I really need to get better at recognizing black tea varieties!) I’m not really getting vanilla or anything to evoke the “shortcake” part of this tea, and I feel like the base is just not super high quality… so, overall, this is pretty meh. It’s also making my entire WFH office room smell like a cheap strawberry candle someone bought at the dollar store and forgot about in the trunk of their car. Ooh, or maybe it smells like a cheap air freshener?! That could be what I’m getting in the scent. Regardless… not great.

A bit of oat milk adds some body and helps hide the artificial flavor, but I think this one will be, ahem, shared in the TTB when it comes my way. XD

Edit: OK, I couldn’t finish my cup because even the small amount of lingering artificial strawberry scent was bothering me. I can’t get the car freshener comparison out of my head! I have to reduce my rating because to me, this is just vile. I rarely dump tea, but this one went down the sink. :(

First time having this tea. Brewed for 3 mins in boiling water.

The dry leaves smell exactly like a strawberry shortcake. I would eat it if i could. The leaves are shiny and heavy as if there is a lot of artificial flavoring - although you can already tell that by the smell.

The brewed tea – smells more like a black tea and less like a dessert.
The taste of the tea is like strawberry flavored cake or cookies— not ones that use fresh strawberry . This would be good with some milk and sugar ,which might help enhance the strawberry flavor and give you the creaminess of a cake.
I am drinking this tea plain and it is perfectly fine. The black tea is smooth and very refreshing. The aftertaste of this tea leaves a wonderful artificial strawberry flavor.
If you have ever eaten the pink frosting/ strawberry flavored cream biscuits or pocky sticks, that’s the artificial strawberry flavor I am getting.