Simple Loose Leaf, Strawberry Black

Simple Loose Leaf Description:
Our bold South Indian Flower Orange Pekoe Tea joined with the mouth-watering flavor of strawberries for a delicious combination! This tea can be enjoyed hot or iced for any occasion.

Ingredients:
South Indian Flower Orange Pekoe Black Tea, Freeze-Dried Strawberries, N/A Strawberry Flavor

My Review:
I pushed this tea to the front of my 'to review' list because I noticed on Steepster that Simple Loose Leaf is running a promo where you can sign up for a 3 month plan and the first month is $1. After the first month the rate is $15/month including shipping in the US. There is a five dollar additional fee per month for Canadian tea drinkers to cover their really high shipping rates. Depending on your selection each month you will choose two teas from a choice of 5 and they will ship one or two ounces of each. Alternately you can choose to receive a sample of all 5 teas. The code to use is 1DOLLAR3MONTH For more information check How It Works.

I feel comfortable mentioning this tea of the month club as this tea completes a six month subscription I received from Simple Loose Leaf. I have enjoyed all of them and loved the Winter White Chai. I did just notice I have forgotten to record one of the teas and will fix that in a few days. Anyway, I think Simple Loose Leaf is a solid value - a good product at a reasonable price.

Now on to this one. The South India leaf is really dark. Submerged in my scoop is a chunk of strawberry. The scent is intense strawberry but almost like it has been dipped in chocolate malt. Yeah, it smells that good.

I steeped it for 4 minutes in boiling (212 F) water in my press. The brew is deep orange/red and sparkly like a fruit juice. The wet leaf is broken orange pekoe and has expanded nicely. The scent is strawberry.

The taste is more reserved than the scent suggested. Yes it is strawberry but it is not in your face STRAWBERRY. I can catch the black tea base late in the sip and it shares space in the lingering aftertaste. As is usually the case for me, I like the flavor more as the cup cools. I think this would make an excellent iced tea. Perfect for a porch swing on a lazy summer afternoon. All I need now is a porch, a swing, and a lazy afternoon!

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