A Tale of Two Teas – Artful Dodger
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This fruit-based tisane is actually rather delicious and if you think you can detect a note of surprise in my voice, you’d be quite right. Enjoying Artful Dodger tea was a rather unexpected outcome. Not because I was in any doubt about A Tale of Two Teas‘ teamanship. The two previous tea blends that I’ve had from this company were both lovely. It’s just that this is a fruit ‘tea’ and I usually find such things a bit pointless.
All the dried fruit pieces look beautiful before you add the water. In fact, it looks like something you could add to some muesli or just munch on as a healthy snack. What is really amazing is that it retains its tastiness once it’s been steeped in hot water for eight to ten minutes. (A Tale of Two Teas give surprisingly long brewing times on all their teas.)
This teamonger’s blends are all inspired by books. In the case of Artful Dodger, it’s Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens obviously. The tea consists of apple, hibiscus, rosehip, pineapple, mango, papaya, rhubarb and sunflower petals.
I mentioned in my reviews of Mr Darcy and Secret Garden that the relationship between the ingredients list of A Tale of Two Tea’s blends and the associated literature is a bit surprising. I said the last time that I wasn’t going to bring it up anymore. So this is definitely not me questioning the logic of pairing a book set in Victorian London with tropical fruits. I am not saying a word.
Anyway, it scarcely matters because this tea promises tangy rhubarb and creamy vanilla custard. And that is exactly what it delivers. It also promises ‘bittersweet mischief and lost childhood’, but I’m not altogether sure what that tastes like.
I don’t know if Jack Dawkins ate a lot of rhubarb and custard, but it’s certainly something that would have existed in the 1830s. I’m not sure if the pineapple, mango and papaya are pretending to be rhubarb or masquerading as custard, but whatever they’re doing, they’re making an excellent job of it.
This tea is absolutely delicious. And for once, I almost didn’t mind the lack of Camelia sinensis in the mix. (Rooibos is usually the only non-tea I have any time for.) This is a solid four star effort. I once said that I was unlikely to give a fruit or herbal tisane any more than three stars in one of my reviews but A Tale of Two Teas’ Artful Dodger has proven me wrong.
Today’s featured book is Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens. For some reason.
