37
drank Rose Hip Tea by Lupicia
911 tasting notes

Today I’m alternating between soup and tea in order to quiet my cough. But since I really don’t need to OD on caffeine, I thought I’d make the next tea an herbal. Okay, so there is a tiny bit of black tea in this. But based on the leaves, it’s too tiny to really count so I’m thinking I’m okay.

Dry, this smells sweet and woodsy and a little like dried fruit. I can’t figure out exactly what kind of fruit… maybe a fruit roll up? That’s sorta dried fruit, right? Or not. Anyway, brewed, it smells a bit like the apple cider TheraFlu. Yeah, this might not be pretty. Not that I wasn’t worried before. I mean, the description plainly states that it is using hibiscus to enhance the present tartness of rose hip.

Now, I’m not one that follows the school of thought that all hibiscus is evil. I just think that there is a place for it. It’s like the food service at my college – their food was pretty bland but about my junior year, one of the chefs apparently discovered that if they added spice to the food, it wouldn’t be tasteless and bland. Now, that is true, but when everything tastes like red pepper? Not that big of an improvement. Same with hibiscus. In certain situations it can be good and help accentuate the flavors already present. But to depend upon it to provide the sole taste? Not cool. So I’m hoping this really isn’t hibiscus flavored tea.

Huh. This is hard to describe. Okay, first off: the hibiscus. Yes, it is there. But it isn’t overpowering. It adds a lighter (and yes, slightly tart) note on the tail of the tea. It gives me a little bit of the phlegm-y feeling when piping hot that I get from hibiscus flavored things and I could do without that, but again, the hibiscus isn’t the dominant flavor and the phlegm-producing tang calms down a little as it cools a smidge.

Now, on to what I can only assume is rose hip (having never tasted it before). It’s very woodsy and a bit flat. The hibiscus does help fluff it up a little. And it is a bit tart but in a sweeter, darker way from the hibiscus. So in this case, the hibiscus does actually round out the flavor of the rose hip, giving it more depth. That’s good. I could probably do with a little less hibiscus but credit to this tea for having a distinct non-hibiscus taste going on.

So how do the tastes go together? This is going to sound weird, but this tastes like marinara sauce. No, seriously. There’s the darker initial flavor which is kind of like a roasted, slightly spiced, mellower tang and then it lightens to end on a tomato-like brighter tang. That might be the cold talking but seriously, that’s what I get. I even made the husband have some (sharin’ the germs) and he didn’t look at me like I was insane. He even said that he could see that with the tang at the end. So I’m not totally insane.

Now I feel like I need some pasta. I’m drinking tomato sauce. And I’m not sure how I feel about that. I might actually like it but I can’t get over the weirdness factor. Ultimately, while I don’t hate this tea, it confuses me enough that I’m gonna have to go a little towards the ‘meh’ face. Because I’m drinking marinara sauce.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 4 min, 0 sec
Cofftea

Rose and marinara sauce…??? Ew! lol:)

fcmonroe

Maybe the acidity made it seem like marinara?

Cynthia Carter

Rose hip should taste a little tart and berry-like. They are probably the dried berry looking thing in your tea blend. It also contains mass quantities of vitamin C, so it is a good choice for a cold. But I would think the combination of rose hip and hibiscus would be pretty nasty – both are very acidic. Rose hips and black tea would probably be nice, as would rose hips and green tea.

Auggy

There was some serious tart and acidity (though for me, less than coffee) going on but it wasn’t quite nasty. After all, I do like marinara sauce. But in tea form? Maybe not so much. We’ll just slot this one away under ‘medicinal’ and maybe I’ll luck out and finish all of it off during this cold. Go vitamin C!

Cofftea

Add it to that tomato tea I’ve seen here w/ a little oregano and you will have marinara tea!:)

Ricky

Seem like I should mix this tea with my pasta. That might be an idea =P

Jillian

I second the Vitamin C thing helping with you cold…of course you could also just take a supplement; some of those chewable Vitamin C tablets taste pretty good. ;)

Auggy

True, but chewable tablets won’t calm my cough like hot tea does! I did bring this with me to have at work today. We’ll see how brave I’m feeling. ;)

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Comments

Cofftea

Rose and marinara sauce…??? Ew! lol:)

fcmonroe

Maybe the acidity made it seem like marinara?

Cynthia Carter

Rose hip should taste a little tart and berry-like. They are probably the dried berry looking thing in your tea blend. It also contains mass quantities of vitamin C, so it is a good choice for a cold. But I would think the combination of rose hip and hibiscus would be pretty nasty – both are very acidic. Rose hips and black tea would probably be nice, as would rose hips and green tea.

Auggy

There was some serious tart and acidity (though for me, less than coffee) going on but it wasn’t quite nasty. After all, I do like marinara sauce. But in tea form? Maybe not so much. We’ll just slot this one away under ‘medicinal’ and maybe I’ll luck out and finish all of it off during this cold. Go vitamin C!

Cofftea

Add it to that tomato tea I’ve seen here w/ a little oregano and you will have marinara tea!:)

Ricky

Seem like I should mix this tea with my pasta. That might be an idea =P

Jillian

I second the Vitamin C thing helping with you cold…of course you could also just take a supplement; some of those chewable Vitamin C tablets taste pretty good. ;)

Auggy

True, but chewable tablets won’t calm my cough like hot tea does! I did bring this with me to have at work today. We’ll see how brave I’m feeling. ;)

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Bio

I’m trying to be a better tea logger and actually post semi-regularly again! I’ve let my tea tasting senses become too complacent – it’s time for some focused and attentive tea drinking!

Sometimes my notices for PMs and such have been questionable. Email me at your own risk at aug3zimm at gmail dot com.

1 – 10 – Bleck. Didn’t finish the cup.
11 – 25 – Drinkable. But don’t punish me by making me have it again.
26 – 40 – Meh. Most likely will see if the husband likes it iced.
41 – 60 – Okayish. Maybe one day I’ll kill off what I have in my pantry.
61 – 75 – Decent. I might pick some up if I needed tea.
76 – 85 – Nice. I’d probably buy but wouldn’t hunt it down.
86 – 100 – Yum! I will hunt down the vendor to get this tea!

Not that anyone but me particularly cares, but there it is.

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Texas

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http://pinkness.danzimmermann...

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