Goji berry brings a distinct fruit-forward twist to black tea, with a taste that leans smooth and sweet before the berries' tart, cranberry-like edge comes through. Malt from the black tea leaves grounds it underneath, and the cup carries traces of honey, grape and lemon alongside the goji itself — a fuller, more layered flavour than a plain black tea gives you.
The blend combines goji berries with black tea, orange peel, carrot flakes, yellow rosebuds and safflower petals, each contributing something to the final cup. The berries themselves come from two closely related plants, Lycium barbarum and Lycium chinense, both part of the boxthorn group within the nightshade family. Depending on where you encounter them, they go by other names too — wolfberry, Chinese boxthorn, Himalayan goji, Tibetan goji, mede berry, or Duke of Argyll's tea, among others. Goji berries have been used for centuries across China, Mongolia and Tibet, and they hold a long-standing place in Traditional Chinese Medicine, where they're associated with a range of traditional health uses. On their own the berries carry no caffeine — whatever caffeine ends up in the cup comes from the black tea leaves, which as one of the more oxidised tea types tend toward the higher end of the caffeine scale.
To brew it, use freshly boiled water at 100°C and steep for three to five minutes. It works well plain, or with honey or a squeeze of lemon if you want to soften the tartness. Tea & Coffee packs this blend fresh to order as one of roughly a thousand loose teas in its range.
