Mookit Send Message

So I come home today and find out that CHRISTMAS CAME EARLY THIS YEAR! My H&S order was waiting by the door and I couldn’t stop bouncing with excitement. This is my first time ordering from them directly, and I couldn’t be happier. The teas I chose all smell amazing! Just for the record, I ordered loose leaf tins for Paris, Boston, and Florence. Time to travel the world (I wish..)! It’s really too bad that I chose all black teas. I can’t try them tonight or I won’t get to sleep! Luckily, I received a sample of Caribe, a blend of green and black. I can’t NOT have any of my new tea today so I decided to start with this.

I tore open the sample packet and stuck my nose in it. WOW thing tea smells zingy! It was a punch of sweet and sour citrusy notes right to the nostrils. Really reminded me of Juicy Fruit gum, which I noted another review mention. The smell is really quite similar that my mouth started watering in anticipation of that delicious first sugary sour bite. Interestingly enough the aroma didn’t translate after I had brewed the tea. It lost a of lot of punching power, mellowing out to a sweeter guava-dominated aroma that is much easier on the nose. I only left the sachet in for about 2 minutes, as the tea turned dark very quickly (which has been my experience with all H&S teas I’ve tried so far). My first sips didn’t turn out much flavour however, so I threw it back in for a while longer.

This tea almost tastes like Juicy Fruit gum. I definitely get that sour pucker on the sides of my tongue. I don’t know how much I like the black tea base in there, it doesn’t seem to match the zingy tropical theme this tea is going for. Guava and lime are the most dominant flavours I can identify. It’s not terrible, but I think the flavour profile just falls short of its potential. I think it could be better without the black tea; with it I feel it is a bit muted, like the grumpy sibling to a bouncy little child that just wants to be free. Maybe I’ll go grab my guava fruit out of the fridge to pair it with!

Edit: As it cooled down the flavours got a lot more balance and liveliness to them, so I feel like this could make a great iced tea. If I ever get my hands on more, I will try it iced!