237 Tasting Notes
Ooooh no, not another mate…I got this as a sample, so I WILL try it. The aroma of the steeped tea is definitely very reminiscent of honey but it also smells strongly of mate, which is normal, but turns me off completely. The taste is actually much better than anticipated, the honey notes are beautiful, and the typical flavour of the mate is almost like lemon. Lemon + honey equals classic, so this is not so bad. There is the faintest bit of plastic-y taste…hm….strange…
All in all, not the best but not the worst.
I’ve had this once before, and I remember the fruit flavours being too intense for me. I didn’t want to review it on that day, because maybe I just was not in the mood for it, and I thought it was unfair.
So now, I’m having it again, and I added a splash of milk, just in case it was way too fruity again. I can taste a bit of bergamot, strawberries, blueberries, a touch of vanilla…It sounds wonderful, but it actually tastes quite artificial to me, and it has a strange aftertaste. I’ll give this one a 60, because it is not yuck, but definitely not yum.
So this is me, speaking to my little sachet of watermelon mint, preparing this one iced after having it hot the other day: “Ok watermelon mint, it’s you and me baby. This is happening. In there you go – I pour it into the steeper- ok, see you in 15 minutes. I’m expecting you to be good. Bye you.”
Now this probably happens a lot more often than I think, but I caught myself this time and it was a bit embarrassing. Not that anyone was there, but I couldn’t help but feel like a big nerd. “Bye you” Really?
I addded a bit of agave in the steeper, without really knowing if it was the right thing to do, because yolo, and I’m a bad witch and I’m just feeling very free spirited tonight. I’m leaving that sample in there for 15 minutes. It’s herbal so I find if I leave it in there forever, it just gets better really.
So now for the taste…YUM! The watermelon tasted much less articificial when it is cold, and the mint is also less intense. It is very refreshing, and I litteraly feel like I am biting into a piece of watermelon (maybe not a ripe juicy one, but a watermelon nonetheless). Definitely buying this.
My baby girl has been crying and crying and screaming when I put her to bed these days. It is very stressful and it wears me down. I usually don’t drink black tea in the evening, but I’ve had it rough and this is cake flavoured, and it’s not like I ever go to bed before 2-3 o clock anyways so WHATEVER I’M DOING IT. I’m a rebel. An anarchist.
So I measure it out and dump it in my cup while the water’s boiling. Wait WHAT?! Virginia, this is not instant coffee, what are you doing? I stick my fingers at the bottom of the mug and push the tea down into my steeper. The aroma of the dry leaf reminds me of the Oh Canada and Birthday Cake rooibos, in the sense that it has the same sort of sweet smokiness. No red velvet cake here. I really hope this doesn’t taste like those other ones because that would just make me sad.
Steeped it for 5 minutes in 96 degree water. The liquor is beautiful and dark, and the scent is cake-y but not in an unpleasant way. Ok, here goes, look at me, breaking the rules: first sip.
I like it. No wait, this may be love.
When I sip it, I get mostly black tea, nothing to write home about, but good. But THEN, when I exhale, all the sweet delicious cake flavour hits my tongue, like I’ve been baking a cake in my lungs. This is gooood. No dessert rooibos disaster here. This is wonderful.
I let this one steep for 4 and a half minutes, at a very very low temperature after reading everybody else’s comments. The taste is mostly peach, with a faint floral je-ne-sais-quoi, and an astringency I can relate to green tea. There is a sweetness, a bit like cantaloupe. I wouldn’t say it is bitter, but I can see that it’s probably very easy to get there. I actually liked this one, not enough to say I would buy it (this was a sample), but I won’t procrastinate to finish it.
Mmmm this smells like apple pie. It is my first time trying this, and so far I’m very happy with it. My tongue picks up cinnamon, apples, oatmeal, raisins, walnuts….It’s sweet without any sweetener. This tea is very comforting. I feel like it’s something I would love to drink in the fall. Simply delicious.
Another summer tea! Yay! As I open the sample, the smell automatically reminds me of bubblegum and mint. There may be a bit of orange at the end too with a punch of hibiscus. Sadly, the sample is too small to make iced tea, so I will have to have it warm.
After steeping at 96 degrees for 7 minutes, the liquor is a darker red. In my cup, it is as dark as wine. I smell it: hibiscus, roses and orange. Take a first sip: hibiscus, orange and blackberries really dominate this. The hibiscus is very strong in this one. The flavour is intense.
I then add a bit of rock sugar, and the flavour definitely becomes more raspberry and the hibiscus is toned down, but the sangria aspect of it is gone. It leaves my mouth very dry. Am curious to try it iced. It really does taste like sangria (well a tea version anyway), but I can’t say that I am in love with it. I might buy a bit when it comes out, to try it again, but it is not my favorite. I can see how others may like it though.
Preparation
When I got this sample with my last online order, I was thrilled! I get to try a summer tea before it’s even launched? WHAT? Yay!
So I started off by smelling the leaves, and it smells exactly like those little watermelon slice candies, followed by a whiff of peppermint. I steeped it in 96 degree water, for 7 minutes, using about half the recommended amount of water, since I wanted to be sure to get the full flavor of the tea.
The steeped tea smells more minty, and the watermelon smell comes after. The liquor is a light yellow, very clear.
Ok first sip…Wait a minute. Wait a minute. I get full blown watermelon candy flavor, and then the peppermint wraps itself around my tongue and completely washes out the watermelon flavor. The thing is, when you combine the flavor of those ultra sweet watermelon candy and peppermint, you get a taste like candy cane. I personally love it, I find it very smooth and I love the feeling on my tongue. It is definitely refreshing.
Sadly, I did not have enough in my sample to make iced tea. I can see how this would be lovely iced, and maybe the fruit would come out more in an iced version.
I added a teeny tiny bit of rock sugar at the end, just to see if it would help bring out the flavour of the other fruit. I now taste the honeydew more clearly and definitely feel the tangy of the apple on the back of my tongue. I love it personally, it’s very nice. I love all things peppermint and all things sweet though, so I may be biased ;)
