Mango Fruit Punch

Fitting that my last cup I make of this is the best. I tossed my last bit on my big pitcher and just let it go. Amazingly, I got light mango fruit tea. No bitterness, no peel, none of my earlier complaints. At least I can finish this tea knowing that I got one great brew out if it.

Just got back from our first camping trip as a family-o-four and I just remembered that I forgot to log this!

I bought one of those pitcher packs for $3.50 and used the entire thing in my steeper to make teapop (I’m currently addicted!) for the drive to the campsite. It didn’t even need a whole lot of agave to sweeten it, which meant that the mango fruitiness shone through. Probably won’t repurchase though, since I could buy a mango Bolthouse smoothie for the same price, and I can make “smoothiepop” out of that just the same as I can the tea. I have to agree with everyone on here… this makes a delicious iced tea, but the amount you get for the price just doesn’t make it worth it!

Dry Leaf Nose: Mango is prominent with a sweet background of tropical friuits.

Liquor: Golden, bright colour liquor with a prominent mango and pineapple aroma.

Flavour: A blend of sweet tropical fruits with the mango dominating the whole. Sweetness comes from the pineapple. Tart citrus notes abound.

This one really tastes like mango juice. I like it a lot, but it is SO expensive because it is so heavy. For 25 grams I got two iced teas out of it.

Sipdown! I’ve almost finished logging my teas, just some assorted samples and then the main shelves but I think most of those should be in already. I’m going to go ahead and add everything (even single serving David’s Tea samples) to my cupboard so I can keep track of numbers better. I’m hoping this will help me buy less and use up what I have. Anyway to the actual tea…

I don’t think I like this as much as the last time I had it, I may have made it a little too sweet though. I also brewed it hot and I think it would be better cold. I think I’ll have some rooibos instead…

This is my 4th tea from the summer collection and so far the one which I find to be most disappointing. As far as taste, this one is very similar to mango madness which was great however, I found myself asking the question “where is all the tea?” The 25 g sample barely had any tea in it and was mostly just dried fruits…making this iced would probably require nearly all of the 25g sample. For that reason I will give this one a 75.

I found that I still had a few packs of this floating around when I did a bit of a clean up in preparation for the traveling tea boxes. This I did my version of cold brewing. Used the “hot” amount of “leaf” and boiling water, though I don’t think I’d enjoy this one warm. Let it steep for awhile and then stuck it in the fridge for a day or so. It was the perfect drink while I was cooking dinner this evening, since while hot tea is usually my drink of choice this time of year, when you’re dealing with a hot stove, a cold drink is a bit more refreshing.

Way too expensive for what it is, but if it pops up on the sale page again, I’d totally consider it. No sweetener needed, even if it is heavy and thus expensive.

It was the day after the premier of Hangover 3 did I try this one and boy was it a refreshing fit. In comparison to the Valencia Orange that I tried when I came home and Mango Madness this one is the perfect blend of both. The natural goodness of a tart blend sweetened nicely by the nuances of pineapple. I have yet to try it cold but I can say with certainty that it would make a smashing tea pop or an iced tea.

On the note of a tea pop. This is also the time I tried the new tea pop at David’s. My first trial was the Lime Gelato. The combination of soda water and the tea was very refreshing I found. The flavors still came out just fine and worked great with the soda water without anything really getting muddled.

As for pricing, I can see why they charged $4 for the drink. It’s approximately $2 for the soda water and $2 for the tea. So it all evens out in the end and makes it worthwhile on paper. Especially if the clerk at the desk lets you experiment with the type of tea that you intend to use as a base. (The ones back home at my neighborhood David’s allow it and encourage it. :) )

Iced: Made this myself and also had it as the tea of the day at DAVIDs, both times I found it somewhat weak, despite using almost all 25grams for 1 tumbler of Iced Tea (the DAVIDs leak proof iced tea tumbler, my latest tea accessory and a much loved one!). I love mango smoothies, but this isn’t the mango taste I am used to, I found it somewhat overwhelmed by the tangerine. But it was indeed pleasant and fruity and grew on me as I drank!

Hot: Definitely need less to make a hot cup with equal flavour. Smell is intoxicating, as is the taste. Mango comes through stronger here, complemented nicely by the tangerine. Lots of little powder pieces on top of the brew- not very appealing but don’t do too much to mar the taste. Overall, yummy but no magic.

Ahhhh,my beloved Mango Fruit Punch why must you be so expensive for just a lot of dried fruit? Nevertheless I fell in love with you the moment I first sipped you. Your sweet taste, heavenly citrus taste and perfect with a few additions of oranges in a punch bowl. But damn, why must you be a golddigger?