So when I went to get the two new pumpkin teas at DavidsTea on Friday, I had a sample of this in store and it was actually quite good. After trying a few cups at home, I have determined they must have steeped it for literally about 1 minute, and added a bunch of sugar lol. Nonetheless, I will review the current cup I am having of this tea to know what to improve in the future.
FIrst off, the dry smell is quite pleasant, cinnamon and spices with an apple scent in there as well. Definitely pumpkin spice. The tea in the store tasted very pumpkin-y, so I hoped to achieve this at home. Ok, the first cup I made was a complete write-off – blood red liquor, so tart I actually had to throw the cup out, and I am not a hibiscus hater…but that was just gross. So today, I tried a little less leaf for only about 2.5 minutes.
The steeped smell is still rather tart, although I can pick out the spices at least in there as well. And yes, it is still bright red. Ugh, less steep time next time.
As for the flavor..it is a huge improvement over the first cup, but this still isn’t the sweet spot. True, I can taste the spices, a pumpkin flavor, and a tiny bit of sweetness, but it is still quite tart and in need of some sweetener I think. Maybe I’ll add some brown sugar….okay, added some and some pancake syrup and not much change. Still quite overpoweringly tart. Whether it’s from the cranberries, rose hips or hib, I don’t know but…yeah. Gah. Ah well, can’t win them all. It is slightly improving as it cools, but still not a favorite.
Overall, I am not impressed with this tea. It was so tasty in store that I bought some, and at home it is just blah. I never sweeten my teas unless it is honey to enhance already awesome flavors (aka my amazing ginger teas), so the fact that I was adding random stuff does not bode well. I will play with it some more, as I know it has good potential, and I love the idea..but currently it’s just not for me. Sorry, but I will say this so far to this tea…No, we Cran’t. :(
Flavors: Hibiscus, Spices, Tart
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I swear that is what they do with a lot of their in-store samples: steep them for a shorter amount of time. You can tell even by the colour of the liquor, but maybe that’s what one ought to try at home too? I keep forgetting to haha.
Haha yeah this one I was hoping 2.5 minutes would be short enough..but it will probably be around 30s to a minute that actually works. The color in store was a light pink, not red even haha and so far all I’ve gotten is that deep hibiscus red…ugh.
Yeah, come to think of it, it seems like all hibiscus blends get super concentrated in no time, so maybe these blends should be steeped much shorter. Experiments are to be had!
I swear that is what they do with a lot of their in-store samples: steep them for a shorter amount of time. You can tell even by the colour of the liquor, but maybe that’s what one ought to try at home too? I keep forgetting to haha.
Haha yeah this one I was hoping 2.5 minutes would be short enough..but it will probably be around 30s to a minute that actually works. The color in store was a light pink, not red even haha and so far all I’ve gotten is that deep hibiscus red…ugh.
Yeah, come to think of it, it seems like all hibiscus blends get super concentrated in no time, so maybe these blends should be steeped much shorter. Experiments are to be had!