Picture the kind of afternoon that calls for this: frost on the grass in the morning, leaves turning red and coming down off the trees, a jumper pulled out of the wardrobe for the first time in months. This flavoured black tea was built around exactly that stretch of the year, though there's no real reason to save it for autumn alone.
The base is Ceylon leaf tea from Sri Lanka, chosen because it blends well with other ingredients rather than fighting them for attention. Into it goes red safflower and natural redcurrant flavouring, which is where the fruit and flower character in the cup comes from. It contains almonds as an allergen, worth knowing before you pour a batch for guests.
In the cup it's coppery and light in tone rather than dark, and the taste is full-bodied with bold fruity and floral notes over the brisk backbone typical of Ceylon black tea, with a touch of nuttiness and a creaminess that calls milk to mind even before you add any. It carries a moderate amount of caffeine, around 45mg per 8oz cup, enough to notice without keeping you up at night. Tea & Coffee packs it fresh to order at their factory in Kent, for freshness and consistency.
Brew it with freshly boiled water and steep for three to five minutes. It stands up well on its own, but a splash of milk or a dairy alternative, or a spoon of sugar, won't throw it off balance if that's how you take your tea. Black tea's antioxidants have long been credited with helping the body deal with everyday oxidative stress, and whatever truth is in that, a pot of this on a cold, bright morning is its own reward: fruity, floral, and warming in exactly the way the season calls for.
