My husband is a licorice fanatic.
I'm not sure who introduced him to licorice, but I remember living in St Petersburg, Russia around the time we got married, we would often take a trip to Finland on the overnight bus. Back then 10 euros bought you the privilege of traveling alongside a busload of Russian babushkas hiding several times more than the legal limit of cigarettes and alcohol to sell at inflated prices to desperate Fins.
I remember the moment we would cross the Finnish border and see a blessed westernised supermarket, Alexei would rush to the sweets section filling his basket with as much licorice (salmiakki) as our tiny budget would allow.
Sadly for my poor Russian husband, the only licorice flavour in Russia when he was growing up came in the form of medicine.
There was also licorice-flavoured fudge in Finland, which I could have happily drowned my sorrows in, rather than the cliche block of chocolate. I've always regretted not buying more. I've never seen a fudge shop in Australia make licorice fudge and it's such a terrible tragedy.
Anyhoo! This tea I created in honour of my licorice-loving husband. I also created it in honour of my country of birth, Australia. It's not often you find a tea or herbal blend that is mostly Australian-grown. And I'm yet to find one that is organic certified and tastes good too.
Make sure you try this blend because Alexei loves it. And if Alexei loves it, we're onto something good.
Happy brewing!
Rebecca Domorev
