When I was growing up, fruit cocktail was a regularly served side dish along with dinner.  At least once a week, right along side the roast (or whatever “entree” my step-mother was serving that night), there would be a bowl of fruit cocktail.  And I liked fruit cocktail.

My favorite part of the fruit cocktail was the maraschino cherries.  Unfortunately, by the time the bowl of fruit cocktail made its way around to me, the cherries would have been long gone… one of my siblings had gone “cherry picking” and left me with the peaches, pears and pineapple.  Not that the peaches, pears and pineapple were all that bad, mind you.  They were still quite delicious.  But … they weren’t the cherries.

Because of my fondness for fruit cocktail, I was very excited about 52Teas’ green tea version.  And, fortunately Frank (Chief Zoomdweebie) was also quite fond of the cherries in fruit cocktail, because there is no shortage of cherry flavor in this cup!  In fact, the one fruit flavor that is very distinctive in this blend IS the cherry flavor.  And that brought a smile to my face the first time I tried it, because I finally got some cherry in my fruit cocktail!  Hooray!

The other fruit flavors are a bit less distinctive.  That is not to say that the flavors aren’t in the cup, because they are.  But, it is as though the peach, pear and pineapple have somehow melded into one “superfruit,” and their importance in the overall profile of the tea has been downplayed and allowed the cherry flavor to take the starring role.

This tea really tastes like someone had taken a can of fruit cocktail (heavy on the cherries) and put it in the blender and liquefied it.  And, while I can taste the green tea (and it is, in fact, quite strong in this tea as well), it is in perfect harmony with the fruit flavors.

The Chinese Sencha tea is perfect for this blend.  The buttery richness of the tea responds so well with the fruit flavors, that it somehow becomes part of the fruit cocktail.  The sweet, fresh, vegetative quality comes through very well and seems to become part of the fruit cocktail.

52Teas describes this blend as

My grandparents were part of that “Greatest Generation” of Americans. My grandfather served in the Navy in the South Pacific during World War II. After the war, he became an auto mechanic and opened his own garage. My grandmother was a registered nurse. In my recollection of her, I always thought she came from something of a well-to-do family, or she had aspirations to be a well-to-do family. (I can’t help but think about Hyacinth Bucket in the BBC comedy Keeping Up Appearances; my grandmother wasn’t that bad, but there was an element of Hyacinth in her).

Anyway, whenever the family got together at grandma’s house, she had these extravagant meals planned that frequently started with fruit cocktail. I can’t say why this fact has stuck in my memory more than others, but I remember the Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve dinners with fruit cocktails all around to start. I remember thinking it was like getting dessert before dinner.

So, in memory of my grandparents, here’s our delicious Chinese Sencha blended with real peach, pear, pineapple and natural peach, pear, pineapple and maraschino cherry flavors. It’s so delicious, you could serve it as a first course.

While this is a very good tea served hot, I think it’s even better iced.  This was one of my favorite teas over the course of the hot summer days.  My whole family loved it!  It was delicious unsweetened.  I love it with a slice of lemon or a sprig of mint!  YUMMY!