Cucumber Kiwi Honeybush

I’m honestly at a bit of a loss as to why this blend seems like such a hard sell, as I think that it’s quite enjoyable. Kiwi isn’t a flavour I’ve had the opportunity to try in a tea very often. And the last experience I had with Tea Forte’s kiwi tisane reminded me ore of Buckley’s cough syrup than of the fruit. This, on the other hand, is quite good. For one thing it manages to actually taste like real kiwifruit and the natural sweetness of the honeybush seems to soften its tanginess just the right amount. It has a pleasant fresh, clean tone to it that would probably make a good iced tea as well.

Tasty! I’ve tried a few of Frank’s cucumber tea selections over the past couple of years, and have enjoyed them all, so I knew that I’d probably like this one too. The flavor is sweet, but, there is a hint of tart in there too, just enough to keep it balanced. I’m drinking this hot right now, but, this would be AMAZING iced too. Very refreshing.

No surprise, this tisane tastes best to me as a cold tea rather than hot. The cucumber comes through as a cool, fresh smoothness over top of the kiwi. For some reason I keep getting hints of lime, but that’s probably just my taste buds?

Sipdown! Oh, Cucumber Kiwi Honeybush, I will miss your tart, yet refreshing deliciousness. I hope that you will someday be reblended so that I may enjoy you once again.

When this tea first went up I was dying to get it. I really loved their Watermelon Blackberry Honeybush, and assumed this would be kind of similar (since, well, they were both fruity honeybushes), but I held off and was very glad I did since it ended up on sale! For $6 with shipping I was definitely willing to give this one a try.

I made this as a cold brew, since I can’t even imagine anything cucumber flavored being hot. I mean, cucumber = cold and crisp to me, so it has to be an iced tea! Like WBH this brews up really dark, like a black tea in color which is nice. Some part of me is still convinced I DON’T like honeybush, so it’s a bit of a brain trick haha. This blend actually smells a little… weird in the cup, kind of artificial? And a little medicinal too.

Thankfully it doesn’t taste artificial or medicinal! The cucumber is front and center, and contrary to how dark the brew is the flavor is actually quite light. It kind of tastes like cucumber water! There’s a little bit of fruitiness from the kiwi and some woodsy, sweet aspects from the honeybush but cucumber dominates the cup. It’s also got a hint of sourness, I’m not sure from what. It’s a good blend, though nothing at all like what I was expecting. I kind of expected a candy-aspect like the Watermelon Blackberry, which reminded me strongly of cotton candy, but this ended up being a very mellow, laid-back cup.

Thank you Fiddling for this sample.

In raw form this looks like any other honeybush tea until you smell it and take in the sweet and light fruity aroma. Not like kiwi as such but definitely exotic.

I cold steeped this for roughly 6 hours (as a side note this is my last cold steep for a while..I think). After the long 6 hour steep this tea is brown in colour and has a much stronger fruity scent that is so sweet and delicious it’s making me salivate. Reminds me very much of 52 Teas – Breakfast Smoothie blend which I adore.

Taste is similar to the Breakfast Smoothie blend too but lighter and with less fruit tones. It’s very sweet and tastes like some sort of tropical fruit gobstopper. The mild tones are like cucumber in as much as it’s light, refreshing and subtle in flavour but it’s not something I would be able to pick out if I didn’t know what it was. Same as the kiwi really, it’s not sour like I usually associate with kiwi but there are gentle fruit tones in there.

Overall it’s a perfect blend of light, sweet, fruit that remains refreshing throughout and leaves the most amazing taste in my mouth. Would make a great iced tea on very hot days, a true treat. I love it, as much as the Breakfast Smoothie Blend.

ps. If anyone has any of this to trade please let me know. :D

Used 1.75 tablespoons for ~375ml of water.

The primary scent in the brewed leaf is that of honeybush which gives a warm feeling to the aroma. I’m getting that burnt-out beeswax candle smell that I seem to be associating with other honeybush teas from 52teas. I can also detect the tanginess of the kiwi in the smell. There is something in there that reminds me of cucumber-scented hand-cream, otherwise I have never really been able to find a smell from a fresh cucumber. I’m also smelling something that reminds me of citrus.

On the sip, I’m detecting mostly a melon flavour which evolves into something that tastes like the scent of cucumber-scented hand-cream. There is only a hint of kiwi flavour in this one. I’m also tasting the burnt-out beeswax candle smell.

Overall, this tisane has a very mild flavour.

As the tisane cooled to room temperature it took on a refreshing flavour profile and reminded me of the taste of cucumber-infused water. I’m also being reminded of mint taste.

Many thanks to Ellyn for sharing this with me!

Thanks to Raritea for sharing some of this with me (via Ellyn!)

I couldn’t detect any aroma whatsoever from the dry tea, so really had quite low expectations for this blend, but I am getting flavour, and it’s actually not bad! I don’t distinctly taste cucumber (which is completely ok, because the one time I purchased cucumber water it made me gag! Not that I don’t like cucumbers though) and I’m not tasting as much kiwi as I would like, but it’s quite a refreshing blend. I’m actually kind of tempted to purchase it for myself if there’s another 52teas sale in the future, while it’s still available. I can definitely also taste the distinctive flavour of honeybush, which I do actually kind of enjoy, sometimes.

Thanks again you guys – this was a blend I’d been wavering about purchasing for a while, I just wish I’d gotten around to trying it sooner!

Made the last of this iced.

It was a little less chemically, but I was still picking up the strange flavor. The cucumber came through a bit more iced, which was actually nice. Overall, I think I liked this one better iced, but it still isn’t one I’d buy.

I really love cucumber tea. HOWEVER, this is just not my thing. I have tried it several times and can’t get into it. I am sending the rest of my packet on in a swap….I hope someone else likes it!