This is quite possibly my favorite Teavana tea. I don’t mean to imply that this means a lot because I have lots of Teavana favorites. Quite the contrary. I’ve liked few teas from Teavana, and this is one of those. It’s especially weird, given the low ratings this tea has. But I’ll just start with saying that, in its defense, it does not contain Hibiscus.
The tea brews to a clear, pale yellow, with a peachy hue. It does have a tendency to bitterness that can be eliminated by fastidious brewing and drinking (drink fresh and hot) procedure, but it does lead me to think that the white tea in this is not particularly high quality. This makes sense given that it is only being used a carrier for other, much more pronounced flavors. Enter the offensive sour cherry others have noted. So… I went through 1.5-2 oz. of this stuff over the course of a year or so, and never did the cherry flavor seem particularly sour or overwhelming. Strong, dominant, certainly. But never did I get the medicinal flavor mentioned in so many of the negative reviews. Not only that, but I found that although many of the reviews had a problem with this flavor, many did not. I mean, one expects that if a tea has a very pronounced flavor, some will love it and some will hate it, but it seems unlikely some would taste it and some would not. So I can only conclude that either Teavana changed this blend about 2-3 years ago or the flavor of the blend is severely inconsistent due to the distribution of “sour bits” (which, again, I didn’t really notice). The sour bits being presumably cranberry bits that the description mentions (and shows) but which I didn’t really taste or even remember seeing for that matter.
As for the flavor I did taste, it starts with sweet cherry, which dominates the palate but is accented delicately by faded rose (I sincerely mean that in the most positive way possible, like a faint scent of rose rather than its flavor) and carried by the mild, grassy notes of the white tea.
I found this tea pairs well with sweet, dessert dishes and fruit. It’s also great as a standalone treat when craving something sweet but light. Teavana’s regular price is definitely excessive, given that, as I said, I doubt the quality of the white tea is very high, but I would definitely buy it again if it was on sale.
Flavors: Cherry, Rose
