Bombastic Blackcurrant: the dark cup

Pour it into a glass rather than a mug the first time. You want to see it: a dark, almost inky red that holds the light at the edges and gives nothing away in the middle.

Most fruit teas are pale and polite. This one is neither.

What is in Bombastic Blackcurrant

Black tea, currants, blackberry leaves, mallow, cornflower and sunflower petals. That is the whole list, and you can see most of it in the dry blend: the dark currant pieces, the blue flecks of cornflower, the yellow of the sunflower.

It opens with blackcurrant, rich and slightly tart, a concentrated burst of fruit that arrives immediately. The black tea base follows with a strong, structured body that gives the cup weight. As it settles, a softer berry layer and gentle floral notes round the edges, and the finish lingers rather than cutting off.

Where the colour comes from

That depth is not a flavouring or a colouring. It is whole dried currants and blackberry leaf, and the petals are there for the same reason they are in the pouch: they are part of the blend, not decoration scattered on top.

Mallow is the quiet one. It brings almost no flavour of its own and a great deal of body, which is why the cup feels fuller in the mouth than a fruit infusion usually does. Once you have noticed it you will notice its absence in everything else.

How to brew it hot

How to cold brew blackcurrant tea

This is the blend we point people to first for cold brew, and eight hours is the number. One gram per 100ml of cold water, into a bottle or jug, into the fridge overnight.

Cold water extracts more slowly and more selectively, so the tannins from the black tea base stay quieter and the currant comes through cleaner. What you get in the morning is closer to a cordial than a tea, without a gram of added sugar. Over ice, with a strip of lemon peel, it is the best thing in the fridge.

The full method, including the other blends worth doing this with, is in the cold brew guide.

Who it is for, and who it is not

People who find most fruit teas thin. If you have ever finished a cup of something berry flavoured and thought there was nothing in it, this is the correction.

It is not an evening cup. The black tea base carries caffeine, so it belongs in the daylight hours. If you want the dark fruit character after six, Cranberry Apple Popsicle is tart and clean with no caffeine in it at all, and Mulled Glühwein goes deeper still on hibiscus.

Four sizes, from £7 for 15g, which is fifteen cups, to £30 for 100g. The 30g at £12 is the sensible first buy if you want to cold brew a bottle and still have plenty left for hot cups.

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JoJo