Ok, so I was pretty skeptical of this tea. Mostly because bleh, hibiscus. But hey, it’s supposed to be Strawberry Rhubarb, so the tartness should be appropriate, and I like teas with the creaminess of yogurt, so all hope is not lost!
The dry tea smells, to me, exactly like a strawberry Campino candy! Delicious delicious DELICIOUS! I’m so excited! Although guaranteed it won’t taste quite like that since there is hibiscus, but if the strawberry and yogurt come through…!
Steeped, it smells a bit more like realistic strawberries and some tartness, but as it’s cold, there’s not a ton of aroma.
I was very conservative with the infusion time so as not to end up with a mouthful of blechy hibiscus (it worked earlier today for me – I had quite a lovely cup of Paradise Found, which I apparently neglected to log)… and I think I was successful! There are lots of little yogurty floaties, a consequence of the tea cooling, but I can deal with that. I am quite shocked at how well the hibiscus works here though! The tartness pairs perfectly with the very much realistic strawberry flavour, and with the creaminess, I can actually imagine myself to be eating, say, plain yogurt with a lightly sweetened topping of strawberries/rhubarb! Delicious! I imagine that this tea would be absolutely glorious sweetened, but I shan’t ruin it for myself by doing that.
Add another to the potential re-buy list… this one’s pretty good!
ETA: I’m impressed! I re-steeped this one in half the water, and paid no real attention to infusion time, and actually got quite a nice second cup! Surprising because of both the hibiscus and the fact that it’s a herbal! Again, it was a tart drink, but fresh strawberry tart, not hibiscus tart. Not as creamy, of course, but I’d make the effort to use these leaves a second time. Also, I’m kind of sad that pretty much all the new teas were misses for me, or at least, not teas that I’ll miss when the season’s out. Luckily, this one’s the TOTM and I think therefore staying on as permanent, which is awesome!
funny how everything changes the more we learn and try, isn’t it?
I started with Teavana & Davids, and I will not give up on them; however I agree, in a couple of short months I’ve discovered my tastes have changed significantly.
It’s funny, I felt the opposite way. I wasn’t impressed with this one, and now I am obsessed with it.
It’s funny, reading back on my logs for this tea, my impressions seem to be greatly varied. I suppose a lot of it depends on my mood and perhaps on what comes out in the scoop? I think this is a good tisane if I’m in the mood for something tart, but there are just so may tart herbal teas out there, that the more I try, the less they make an impression on me.
What are your favorite caffeine-free teas?
That’s a good question CHAroma. Depending on my mood some of my favorites include 52teas Chocolate Malt Honeybush (particularly for the colder months. this tastes best if I make it a little strong)
52teas – any of their strawberry based Honeybush blends
DAVIDs Tea Peppermint Amour
52teas Pina Colada Honeybush
I also drink a lot of Davids tea super organic ginger and cold 911 but that’s more because I chronically get sore throats
Cool, thanks! I’m not much of a rooibos or honeybush fan, so it’s usually hard to find good caffeine-free teas that I like. Sometimes it sucks being picky. LOL!