So when Robyn was over yesterday, she was kind enough to bring me a sample of this tea – about a tablespoon. I’ve been curious about it for a while since I’m really interested in expanding my herbal teas to include some blends with more unique and interesting fruit flavours. I think a strongly flavoured guava tea would qualify and since I was able to get a sample from her I figured it was smart to take advantage of that.
Dry, the leaf is overwhelmingly guava but there are a lot of other fruits that come through in the smell too: mango is a notable one but also subtle whiffs of pear and something melony. I can smell the hibiscus too – but since the guava is SO strong I’m not worried about the hibiscus dominating the flavour.
I brewed a tsp and a half for about seven minutes, and the liquor is a medium to deep melon pink. The smell coming from my cup is guava first and foremost, but the mango is also pretty powerful too (which makes sense since it’s the other ‘featured ingredient’) along with some appley notes and a sort of light pear type scent. It smells really good – and also really different from anything I have stocked which is good!
First few sips, and the initial flavour is a cool, juicy guava and mango mix with a tart and tangy finish that reminds me of hibiscus and sour apple candy. This transitions into a light all guava aftertaste. It’s really interesting and is playing with my tastebuds a lot. There’s quite a few fun flavours floating around in this blend.
I’m drinking this with a melted down cheese and macintosh apple quesadilla: and the flavours are pairing together in a very fun and interesting way. It feels like a lazy, summer break type of meal and is taking me back to some really fond memories. And, the closer I get to the bottom of the cup the more tangy and sour flavours I’m getting: sour apple, tangy mango, a bit of hibiscus, and the ever present guava! Yum! I like that the level of sour here seems to be intensifying.
I asked my mom to maybe pick me up 50g of this for me for Christmas (tea seems to be everyone’s default gift for me this year, and I’m definitely going to take advantage of that), but if she doesn’t I’m pretty sure I’ll be picking some up for myself anyway. If I can hold out that long.
