By A.C. Cargill

The Subject: English Tea Store’s Monk’s Blend Black Tea

My humans are having WAY too much fun doing these tea tastings. You should have seen the party atmosphere when they tried this one.

Rating:

Water temperature: 212° F
Steeping time: 5 minutes

Tea type: Black
Scents, flavorings, etc.: Pomegranate, vanilla
Aroma, dry: Fruity (pomegranate is very evident), vanilla is very subtle
Aroma in the cup, plain: Fruity (pomegranate is very evident), vanilla is very subtle
Taste, plain: Fruity, caramelly, mild, slightly tangy
Aroma in the cup, enhanced: Fruity, caramelly, mild
Taste, enhanced: Fruity, caramelly, mild, milky smooth, needs little sweetener

2nd Infusion: Lighter color, slightly bitter, still fruity but weaker
Chilled: Didn’t try, but imagine it would be as good as other chilled fruit-flavored black teas

Comments:
Teas with fruits blended in aren’t my favorites. I had a black tea with peach in it a few years back and was unwell for a couple of days. Live and learn. However, this black tea with vanilla and pomegranate added was still tempting. Hubby has been drinking pomegranate juice for his health and also because he enjoyed the flavor, so why not combine both of those benefits with black tea?

We always try a tea plain to see if we like it that way, even if the vendor says the tea should have milk or some other substance like honey added for the ideal tea experience. Everybody’s taste differs. This one plain was very pleasant, with a fruity flavor that complemented the black tea, which was not the least bitter. There was a slight tanginess, probably from the pomegranate, but one thing hubby noted was that this fruit taste did not drown out the flavor of the tea.

The great thing about this tea, as well as others we have tried, is that the second infusion is so good, it’s like getting more for your tea dollars, great news in tough economic times, and making this tea a very affordable indulgence.

Compared with other pomegranate teas hubby has tried (admittedly they were bagged “tea dust” with an overly strong pomegranate flavor added), he was extremely pleased with this tea. I promised to let him have the rest of the sample and to order some more soon.

We had to take off a half teapot for this being organic. We didn’t notice that when the sample was offered to us, just that it had pomegranate in it.

Disclaimer: This tea was provided by the company named. However, the rating of the tea and any opinions concerning it are always strictly objective.

Read more great tea reviews at Little Yellow Teapot Tea Reviews!