Fortnum & Mason Tea Advent Calendar - Day 13 Rose and Violet Infusion

 I read the flavor of the day yesterday and a sense of dread made me go a little cold.




Expectations for this tea:  1) I expect to HATE it.  2) I expect it to be so disgusting on my palate that it makes me gag.

If you were on my tea advent journey with me last year, you will have learned that I despise chocolate in my tea.  Well.... there is a flavor I despise even more than chocolate and that is violet.  Violet candies, candied violets, violet flavoring.... to me, it all tastes like stale soap.  More often than not, the smallest bit of violet flavor will send me running to the bathroom to hurl.  And then, on top of the initial gag induction reaction, the soapy aftertaste always seems to linger on my tongue for hours after making the whole uncomfortable flavor a long term bother.  Hence my expectations for the blend.

Looking at the tea bag did NOT help matters.



I mean.... LOOK AT ALL THOSE FLOWER PETALS!!!  It's nothing but flower petals.  *sigh* 



None the less, I brewed up the cup and pressed on - knowing that I had already DoorDashed Indian food for lunch so the curry spice would be able to drive away any lingering violet.  Folks, THIS was the color of the liquid that came from the steep.


I admit to being a little scared.... but then I remembered that the first ingredient listed was hibiscus, and hibiscus always gives your tea liquor a color somewhere on the ruby spectrum.

If I thought the fragrance in the bag was strong, it was NOTHING compared to the hot steaming floral bomb that was in my cup.  It was like sniffing a room full of old ladies wearing perfumed powder.  Oh it was..... to put it mildly, it was not my cup of tea.  Still, I took a sip..... and while I instantly hated it, I didn't hurl!  So I took another sip, confused as to why I wasn't inspired to do a technicolor yawn. 

The rose is STRONG, the violet is certainly present and giving the whole thing its signature soapy flavor, but the main flavor on my palate was the sweet hibiscus.  On sip 4, the rose started to build more, on sip 5 the violet had built enough that I poured the rest of the cup out and reached for my lamb korma.


Final thoughts:  Hate it I will never buy it - but pleasantly surprised that it didn't make me vomit!

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