The Black Forest Tea – Magical Pomegranate, Cherry & Cocoa Black Tea

There is an old rule amongst Elven travellers:

Never enter an unfamiliar forest after sunset without knowing which path will bring you home.

And if you must... take tea.

The Black Forest Tea is one of the more mysterious blends kept behind the counter at The North Pole Tea Shop, created by Huatua from black tea, dark fruits, cacao and flowers whose histories are filled with stories of protection, transformation and the unseen world.

Its recipe was inspired by the great ancient forests of Europe — those shadowy places of folklore where wolves prowled beneath the trees, strange lights appeared between distant trunks, and travellers occasionally discovered paths that weren't marked upon any map.

At its heart is pomegranate, one of mythology's great fruits of the threshold. Its seeds appear in the ancient Greek story of Persephone and her journey between the world above and the realm below, and across centuries the fruit became associated with life, death, fertility and return.

Huatua pairs it with cherry and cranberry, bringing rich fruitiness to the black tea, before adding cocoa beans for a deeper, almost earthy character.

Then come moringa, cornflower and safflower petals — plants gathered from very different parts of the world, but each carrying its own long history of traditional use and folklore.

The result is dark, fruity, intriguing and wonderfully atmospheric. But within the North Pole Tea Shop, it has another name.

The Traveller's Tea.

Old Elven herbalists traditionally prepared blends such as this before journeys into unknown country. Not because they believed a cup of tea could prevent someone becoming lost.

Rather, Huatua explains, it was intended to remind the traveller of something considerably more important: who they were, where they had come from, and where they wished to return.

There is an old story that Huatua occasionally tells while weighing this blend.

Long ago, an Elf travelling through a vast forest noticed a woman in a red cloak walking some distance ahead of him. Whenever the path divided, she silently took one branch, and somehow the Elf knew to take the other.

This continued throughout the night.

Shortly before dawn, he emerged safely from the trees.

When he looked back, there was no woman.

Only a wolf standing upon the path.

Around its neck hung a small red ribbon.

Huatua has never explained what the story means.

He merely pours another cup.

From The North Pole Tea Shop

Ingredients: Black Tea, Pomegranate, Cherry Stems, Moringa, Cocoa Beans, Cranberry, Cornflower, Safflower Petals & Natural Flavours
Character: Dark, Fruity, Rich & Mysterious
North Pole Tradition: The Traveller's Tea — traditionally enjoyed before journeys, changes and new beginnings
Prepared by: Huatua, The North Pole Tea Shop, Santa's Village