Raspberry & Pistachio

My second Almost Tea box arrived on Thursday so I’ve started tasting through that one now. I ordered all three available boxes on the same day and so far two of three have arrived, though more than a week apart from each other. It’s been a weird experience since the tracking on all three boxes (including the delivered ones) hasn’t updated once. I’m not sure why they’re all arriving so staggered considering the orders were placed and fulfilled at the same time…

Anyway, I started with this one because the Raspberry Caramel Fudge from my previous box was probably my least favourite of the teas because of the raspberry flavouring used. I assumed it would be the same flavouring used here as well, so probably in my best interest to just get this one out of the way.

I do think it’s the same somewhat chemical tasting raspberry flavouring, but I still like this blend a lot more overall. The flavouring seems more light handed and balanced and while I still don’t love it I find it a lot more tolerable. Plus, the chocolate flavour coming from all the cacao shells is really nice. It very much has a more “raw” cocoa powder type of taste to me that makes me feel more like I’m drinking a raspberry hot cocoa. One made from scratch, not something instant.

The only thing is, like Dustin, I can’t taste the pistachio at all. So, while this might be somewhat of a redemption moment for Almost’s raspberry flavouring it’s certainly still lacking because half of the tea’s namesake is just fully absent.

I’m noticing that each month’s release of teas is photographed in a different shape which is a nice way of grouping them visually. After much back and forth with customer service we finally figured out why I didn’t get the teas from last month. When it was ordered for me the gifter had the option of choosing the teas from the first or second month selections as my first delivery and chose the first meaning I didn’t get the second and skipped to the third. I’m glad it is resolved and nothing was lost in the mail, but it felt like pulling teeth getting the answer.

This tea was tasty hot and I had to set it down after drinking half the cup mindlessly and came back to it after it had cooled and I had more time to focus on it. It reminds me of Lupicia’s Framboise Chocolat. The taste is similar with the raspberry standing out with something deeper behind it. It was pretty smooth while hot too. When I came back to it cooled the hibiscus stood out more giving the raspberry a natural tartness that the fruit has. It’s not so much that I’m getting that metallic grossness that hib often has, it’s just enough to round out the fruit and bring out the chocolate notes which were harder to detect when hot. The front of the sip is the berry, the back of the sip is cacao and the finish is a little alkaliney with cacao. I’m really struggling to pick out any pistachio. I love pistachio and I’d really like to be able to taste it prominently instead of searching through the other flavors for it in vain. I like it, I’d drink it again, but Framboise Chocolate has a permanent spot in my cupboard and I don’t need such a close match.