Tea Forte Advent Calendar: Day 6 - Cherry Blossom

 


I had a busy day on Wednesday and knew that a Green tea was just NOT going to cut it to get me through my long day - so I skipped it and had coffee instead.  Yesterday, the idea of green tea made my stomach turn (I was fighting over exertion from the day before).  This evening however, as I sat down with my dinner of take out dumplings, I remembered that I had a green tea ready for me to try and thought it sounded like quite the fine idea!


With a name like cherry blossom, I was expecting the tea to be floral.  Even the write up mentions florals.  I braced myself for florals.... however, after getting past the soft delicate florals in the light fragrance of my cup, the florals vanished.  On the palate, it is all green tea and cherry and ... it's lovely!


It reminds me a lot of a nice Jasmine Green tea in how delicate it is on the top note and also in the way that the tartness of the cherry mixes with the green tea to wipe away any hints of a grassy note.  It feels like a festive green tea blend because the cherry tartness hits my palate a lot like a mild cranberry flavoring - more savory than sour.  


I tried it with the shortbread of the day - another of the salted caramel squares - and just... no.  Absolutely not.  The salted caramel entirely overpowered all of the flavors in the tea to the point that it just tasted like a sip of hot water after the shortbread bite.  The tea DID pair very well with my Chinese won-tons.  The cherry gave the dumpling filling even more umami and the green tea was sweetened by the aftertaste of the dumpling dough.  

Because I took my time drinking the cup as I ate my dumplings, the tea cooled quite a bit and when it got cold it reminded me even more of a jasmine green tea.  The florals worked their way into the flavor as the tea cooled and I can tell that this would be a very refreshing iced tea.  The cherry grew a bit more tart without the warmth as well - but in a good way.


Final thoughts:  Hot or cold, I would enjoy drinking this again - just not with shortbread.

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