Blood Orange Black Tea

Blood orange and safflower give this blend its colour before you even smell the cup: a China and Ceylon black tea base studded with bright orange peel and red safflower petals. The natural orange flavouring leans sweet and tangy rather than bitter, closer to a ripe Italian orange than the sharper blood-orange citrus itself, with a faint bitterness on the finish reminiscent of coffee. It drinks well on its own in the afternoon, when that citrus lift feels less like breakfast and more like a change of pace. Infuse the loose leaf in freshly boiled water for three to four minutes; pull it earlier if you want the orange to stay forward rather than tip into tannin.