Strawberry Rhubarb Parfait

This tea was an offering from my cousin. He made a teapot full of it. The smell was overwhelmingly fruity. With a name like Strawberry Rhubarb Parfait, I had high hopes for it. Unfortunately I was disappointed, it was just okay. I could taste the strawberry with a little bit of tartness and a whole lot of sweetness. Way too sweet for me, bordering on cloying. It was so sweet that it actually made me feel nauseous. I am not a fan of overly sweet teas. I wish a little more of the rhubarb flavour was present but I had a hard time detecting it from the strong strawberry flavour. It wasn’t offensive or horrible but I wouldn’t run out and buy any for myself. Maybe this would be better iced than it is hot, I’m not sure but it might be worth a try. Definitely not for me but I could see someone with a sweet tooth loving this.

Oh happy day, my David’s steeper just arrived! I’m replacing an on older model from Teavana; it really held up remarkably well, but it had the terrible design flaw of a non-removable filter, and eventually it just got caked up. Teavana must have realized this happens, because their new model does come with a removable filter.

Anyway, I couldn’t wait to try it out, so I steeped up one of the teas that came with the order, this herbal Strawberry Rhubarb Parfait.

It’s a brilliant rosy red (looks beautiful in the crystal-clean steeper) and smells like strawberry candy. But while I DO get the strawberry, the rhubarb, and the yogurt flavor, this is, emphatically, hibiscus tea. Not bad, but nothing special. I far prefer David’s goji pop; it too has hibiscus, but there it’s one voice among many, it doesn’t shout out everything else.

Oh well, it’s drinkable and I have to have something herbal to keep me from going caffeine-crazy on all these unflavored teas I’ve got.

Just got my birthday present from Tre;

He picked me up 100g of Redberry Tonic, Apple Custard, and this blend from DT as well as the Strawberry Rhubarb Parfait white chocolate bar. I wasn’t really all that surprised ‘cause he told me he wanted to buy me tea and asked specifically what I wanted so he didn’t fuck everything up and these are the blends I listed – but I had told him to only get me 50g of each. I suppose I should have been clear that the reason I only wanted 50g was because I didn’t want anymore tins, but I didn’t expect him to spend more money than he had to, so I just left it at that.

Now I have three more tins than I actually want, and no room for them. And the terrible, borderline OCD part of myself can’t have empty tins. THEY NEED TO HAVE SOMETHING IN THEM DAMNIT! He meant well, but I’m so stressed out right now damnit!

Anyway – this review is for the chocolate he got me, which we shared while watching the Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt finale. Yup, totally binge watched the entire season on Netflix today and I have ZERO guilt about this. It’s a really, really good show! Hilarious, well written – just awesome. Netflix has really done it again.

Anyway, the chocolate.

First off, it was white chocolate so HOORAY FOR THAT. White chocolate is the alpha chocolate, in my opinion – and yes, I know it’s technically not chocolate. BUT WHO FUCKING CARES. It’s delicious and creamy as hell. As for the “tea” component – I had the same issue that I found with the Key Lime/Sunny Citrus chocolate bars – there was hibiscus petals in the blend that were horrible crunchy and tough and hard to chew on. STOP DOING THAT DT! No one wants a tough as fuck pocket of pure tart in their chocolate.

Taste wise, it was really nice though – I didn’t really taste the rhubarb at all but the strawberry was strong and paired with the white chocolate made me think of one of those really thick, frosty Strawberry Milkshakes from McDonalds that give you a headache from having to suck so hard on the straw – but minus the headache. Yummy!

Thank you Tre for the birthday present! Now to solve this tin dilemma because it’s stressing me the fuck out. I DIDN’T WANT TINS! CURSE YOUR UNEXPECTED THOUGHTFULNESS!

Had a pitcher pack from DT for this so I made a pitcher of iced tea. Very real strawberry taste. I didn’t add any additional sweetener.

Very nice iced tea. Slightly sweet, more strawberry than rhubarb flavor, but you can taste the rhubarb. Sweetening it brings out the flavor a bit more, but I tend to prefer it unsweetened.

Tart strawberry dessert tea makes me want to add milk. Milk will curdle if hibiscus is in it. My son and i did a small experiment: we cold brewed one and iced one, the milk added to the cold brew did not curdle and the one brewed hot and iced did. There is still the possibility that one had more hibiscus than the other and could effect the curdling.

Tart sweet strawberries and creamy yogurt bits, My son thinks we should get more but I’m not sure because any time I give a choice he never chooses this one.

This tea was on my to-buy list every time I went to DavidsTea but I always backed out last minute because I was never sure I would like it. I hate hate hate hibiscus, and the thought of drinking a tart tea (despite my love for strawberry) would surely prevent me from enjoying this tea.

Yeah, I was wrong. There are some teas that from the very first sip, you get that pleasurable tingling all down your spine because it’s THAT good. You all know the feeling, right? I’m not crazy? Okay.

It’s all strawberry and rhubarb goodness with a creamy finish. A re-steep of the leaves is not so bad, either. Would definitely recommend to those who like strawberry yogurt!

This tea made me so angry because I really wanted to like it. It smelled delicious but unfortunately the hibiscus took over. I do not think the rhubarb really helped either because the after-taste is so darn tart. Ugh, I really don’t like tangy tea. Sorry. The smell is so creamy though, and I may actually go on a mission to find a strawberries and cream tea. That actually sounds good!

My new favourite tea… by a long-shot.

I can’t get over how well the sweetness of the strawberry and creaminess of the yogurt blends with the tanginess/tartness of the rhubarb. Sooooooo yummmmmy!

It tastes absolutely wonderful hot or iced. I can’t decide which way I like better!!

EDIT: After having this tea for a while, I’ve come to the conclusion that I really don’t like it as much as I thought. I still love it iced, however I think I’m starting to detest it hot. I took one sip of it today and dumped the whole cup down the drain. I just can’t take the hot water and extreme tart mix anymore. Is it still a good tea? Yes. Worth a 100 rating? No, not in my eyes (at least not anymore.) Also my taste in tea is changing. I think the fact that this is a herbal throws me off a bit… I like to know that I’m actually drinking some type of REAL tea leaves.

Oh well, I’d still absolutely recommend it iced to anyone! But I’ve changed the rating from 100 to 80. No longer a favourite of mine. :/

Backlog:

So, I’ve been wanting to try this again since I am searching for more decaf teas. Darby graciously sent me a sample in our last swap! :D
The first time I over-steeped it (of course >>), by like 4 minutes so it was super sour. Drank it down anyway and then re-steeped.
It was MUCH better!
The strawberry and yogurt flavors were creamy and meshed together so well. It was so naturally sweet and flavorful. It really was done well.
The only problem I have is that I’m scared to buy some because I’m not a huge strawberry fan. I like the yogurt and cream flavors. That makes it so much better. I’m just not sure I would want a 50g bag of it, even though I really really wanna love it. Does that make sense? Probably not…
Maybe I will just have to get it for my frequentsteeper points…If they actually let me cash those in haha!
Anyway, it’s a really good tea, I just need to love strawberries more, and it would be a staple in my collection probably! At least for some time!
Thanks for the sample, Darby!