Date Flavored Black Tea (52teas)

It’s been a while since I’ve reviewed one of the concoctions blended by Frank over at 52teas. His work can be both ingenious and esoteric. Since the blends largely come from community suggestions these 52teas blends can be hit or miss. I’ve found most of them to be pretty decent though. Including this Date Flavored Black Tea.

For those who haven’t run across 52teas before, the brand was started as an experiment to see what would happen if Frank from Zoomdweebies Tea Bar in Wichita, Kansas created small batch hand blended teas requested by people online each week of the year.

Boom! I think the idea exploded with enthusiasm! With nearly 80 blends so far Frank clearly hit a creative nerve for the industry and his blends have been so popular, some companies have requested to carry them wholesale!

I don’t think this Date Flavored Black Tea hit the chord with the masses, but I certainly enjoyed it.

Visually this tea is neat to look at. It’s orthodox twisted black tea leaves blended with coconut shavings and pieces of medjool dates. If you don’t like artificial flavors though, this tea won’t be for you, as some of those are mixed in too.

The aroma is clear but keeps you interested. There’s clearly something there you don’t get until you taste it and the complexity is belied regardless of whether it’s been steeped or not. In the aroma I get dates and coconut, but no realy nuance of the tea. There’s just something asking me to drink it instead of smell it.

The flavor is soft at first. Kind and gentle to the palate, not striking like an Assam or quite sweet like a white tea. The twinge of sweetness comes in the finish from the coconut and there’s a lingering “snap” from the dates there as well.

I expected this tea to dry the palate. I’m not sure why I did though. I was pleasantly surprised that it didn’t. There’s no real astringency to worry about. It’s a comforting tea I’d have no problem drinking habitually several times a week.

I can easily recommend this tea to fans of orthodox Assam, muscatel Darjeelings and high mountain Oolongs. Fans or dates/figs, coconut and currants should also take note. This tea is something you may truly enjoy.