Queen of Tarts (Organic)

Tea type
Guayusa Tea
Ingredients
Blackberry, Hibiscus, Marigold Petals, Organic Guayusa, Stevia Leaf
Flavors
Blackberry, Tart, Berry, Raspberry, Earth, Rhubarb, Smoke, Sour, Fruity, Sweet, Floral, Hibiscus, Citrus, Lemon, Berries, Cranberry
Sold in
Not available
Caffeine
Low
Certification
Not available
Edit tea info Last updated by Cameron B.
Average preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 5 min, 45 sec 10 g 44 oz / 1311 ml

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73 Tasting Notes View all

  • “Well, now that I’m done my “morning ritual” of going through every tasting notes on my dash and reading the hundreds of notices that I missed/received while I was laptopless, I can finally begin on...” Read full tasting note
    64
  • “Tart tart tart! The name does not lie. Ya can’t even taste the guayasa! feh! You call that tea?! it’s an herbal I say. That is all I have to say bout this tea. Now on to my story :) I stopped by...” Read full tasting note
    67
  • “As a rule, I usually hate hibiscus in teas. Especially herbals. They always smell so sweet and delicious and then BAM!! hibiscus is all you can taste. So with that in mind, it is probably a wonder...” Read full tasting note
    68
  • “Here’s a quick tasting note from the Walmart checkout. I tried this iced to-go, and I love it. It wouldn’t be great hot, but it’s enjoyable iced. Apparently I CAN do hibiscus. Agave helped.” Read full tasting note
    76

From DAVIDsTEA

A winning hand

When it comes to refreshment, this blend is playing with a stacked deck. It’s loaded with tangy hibiscus flowers, which bring their signature deep red colour and lip-puckering taste. Plus golden marigold blossoms, for a pretty pop of yellow. But that’s not all – we have an ace up our sleeve. We upped the ante with a super-energizing burst of Ecuadorian guayusa. Fresh, fruity, tart and invigorating…could this be the perfect iced tea? Looks like it’s in the cards…

Ingredients: hibiscus, guayusa, stevia, marigold. With natural fruit and berry flavouring.

About DAVIDsTEA View company

DavidsTea is a Canadian specialty tea and tea accessory retailer based in Montreal, Quebec. It is the largest Canadian-based specialty tea boutique in the country, with its first store having opened in 2008.

73 Tasting Notes

64
15545 tasting notes

Well, now that I’m done my “morning ritual” of going through every tasting notes on my dash and reading the hundreds of notices that I missed/received while I was laptopless, I can finally begin on my tasting note backlog from yesterday! Yay!

I wasn’t able to job hunt at all yesterday because I use Tre’s laptop since mine is broken, and recently he changed the password so I can only use it when he’s unlocked it for me. His reasoning was “this’ll give you more incentive to fix your own laptop”. Are you fucking kidding me!? I can’t afford to fix even even though I very much want to. I need to find a fucking job so I can earn money, but I can’t do that without a computer… So basically it’s a viscous fucking circle of needing a computer to get the means to fix my computer

Because this was so nasty hot I decided to cold brew it because that would use lots of the leaf and hopefully result in a decent tasting mug – so a ‘winwin’. Before I strained it out, the tea cold steeped for about eight hours. I ended up drinking it in a timolino on the way to the dentist’s and then in the waiting room.

It was actually pretty palatable. It tasted pretty much like a berry punch, with just a touch of earthyness to it – from the mate. It was really refreshing and juicy, and thankfully no presence of “beets” in the aftertaste. Hooray! Downside? It still wasn’t tart and therefore doesn’t live up to the title, but at least I found a way I can finish the sample from VariaTEA with some enjoyment!

I’m raising my rating a little bit because the cold brew was drinkable.

Flavors: Berries, Earth

Preparation
Iced 8 min or more 3 tsp 25 OZ / 739 ML
Lala

You should be able to get free internet access at any library, if there is one that is close to you.

Roswell Strange

The nearest one is downtown, and is restricted to an hour of access a day :/

Sil

Wish I could give you my old computer :(

Roswell Strange

Problem is, my computer is fine – but the hard drive is fried so I don’t have to get a new laptop, just a new hard drive. So instead of a $1000 dollar expense, it’s just $100-250. I can’t afford that though, and I don’t think Tre grasps that I really, truly am broke. If I fix my laptop, then I can’t pay March’s rent. I don’t want to be using his laptop – but it’s pretty much my only resource for the time being.

TeaLady441

That sounds really unhelpful!!! Is there an employment center or somewhere nearby where you could go to use their computer as well? Hopefully something easier to get to? IDK. I hope you find something soon!

OMGsrsly

What kind of laptop HD do you need? I’ll ask around, I know a bunch of people who do computer work.

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67
1759 tasting notes

Tart tart tart! The name does not lie. Ya can’t even taste the guayasa! feh! You call that tea?! it’s an herbal I say. That is all I have to say bout this tea. Now on to my story :)

I stopped by the shop today… because I’m going camping with a bunch of friends next weekend, and they were planning to bring their fave green tea… which I found out was TETLEY!? Uhhh no, that will not be served at my campsite…
So I figured since I haven’t got any fresh straight stuff in my cupboard right now, atleast not in the quantity I’d be needing, I’d stop by the most cost effective loose tea shop I know of, and pick some up. I bought the North African Mint sachets on sale for super cheap, some genmaicha, and some gyokuro. Also some Blueberry Jam for those who don’t want it “green”, or for something more dessert-like!
Don’t worry though, I have some premium Dragonwell, and Chinese Breakfast, from Tao’s for anyone wanting some of the serious quality stuff.
I’m hoping to make a few converts. Wish me luck!

JustJames

blueberry jam is one of the few i like from david’s… when did they start doing guayasa?! huh! i’m sure you’ll have converts and there will be a whole herd of ‘indigo children’ on steepster! lol.

Indigobloom

Hmmm. It’s the tea of the month. Maybe their way of testing the market?
Aha I certainly hope so!! that would be fun :P

Cattibrie

They did a guayasa last year as well. I wish I could remember which one. I am looking forward to trying this one though. I love tart.

Indigobloom

Oh if you like tart I am sure you will like it! Reminds me of berry good, only with guayasa and a little more tart

Cattibrie

Can’t wait. I hope to get into a store next week. They have the Raspberry Agave back again and I need to get some. My husband says I can’t buy any new teas though. Will have to figure out how to get it by him without the 4 year old ratting me out.

Indigobloom

LOL oh those little truth tellers! little angels huh :)
Does she go shopping with you?

Cattibrie

He does go shopping with me. And he loves to get his own to go tea. But he has no filter and tells daddy everything.

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68
6444 tasting notes

As a rule, I usually hate hibiscus in teas. Especially herbals. They always smell so sweet and delicious and then BAM!! hibiscus is all you can taste. So with that in mind, it is probably a wonder as to how I like a tea that is predominantly hibiscus.

I think the answer is it is honest. The hibiscus is not lying in wait to ruin a perfectly sweet treat. Instead it is proud and advertising itself as tart. And tart this tea is. Not my favorite cup, and I probably won’t restock after I get through my 100 grams, but I also have confidence that I will be able to get through the tin just fine.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 5 min, 0 sec
JennyFur

Hibiscus and I aren’t good friends either. Which is odd because I love tart things otherwise.

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76
1598 tasting notes

Here’s a quick tasting note from the Walmart checkout. I tried this iced to-go, and I love it. It wouldn’t be great hot, but it’s enjoyable iced.

Apparently I CAN do hibiscus. Agave helped.

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73
1792 tasting notes

I was having a pretty good day up until five minutes ago. I decided to whip out the new large filters I bought at the sale and try this out, as I purchased 16g. Long story short, as I was trying to fill the filter, I dropped most of the contents on the floor.

Hot, the liquor is a gushingly deep red, as expected. I would say that this is mostly tart hibiscus. I can taste the guayusa base in there too, but it’s rather faint. There’s nothing else going on with this blend.

The pun makes me think of the Red Queen, and I imagine the luxurious pastries baked exclusively for her would have more character than this. I like tart, but not a one-dimensional hibiscus, you know!

Now the spilled leaf is sitting inside of an ancient Hoover vacuum machine. The flavour hasn’t changed much over the past fifteen minutes despite it cooling down considerably. The hookah-smoking caterpillar disapproves.

EDIT: Cold steeped the last of it at room temperature in my Timolino for a few hours. It’s definitely better this way. The hibiscus isn’t a puckering nightmare and the guayusa is more prevalent. It’s sparklier and fruitier. Looks like the natural fruit flavours added to this blend are given a fairer chance now. Upping the rating!

gmathis

(I can just see the old Lewis Carroll illustrations with Alice all out of proportion and the pot that says DRINK ME.)

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77
6105 tasting notes

(DavidsTea 2022: 39)

Whew. Forgot that this was basically straight hibiscus. It delivered, and I think the stevia cut the tart just slightly so it wasn’t quite so in-your-face. Can’t really complain; this tea is what it intends to be – tart!

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77
75 tasting notes

Now for some positivity. It was yesterday morning when I tried this tea for the first time. Lord they were not kidding when they said it was tart! I totally get the visual of the “Queen of Tarts” that they were intending from the blood red hue of the elixir. But gosh it is a tea that has to be drunk slow to adjust to all the flavor notes.

I have not tried it hot yet but if I keep optimistic it probably is a little more nicer on the taste buds. I can say this though the energy provided by the tea made for a refreshing end to the day. So that’s probably one of its winning details. Cheers.

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289 tasting notes

Dry Leaf Nose: Fruity and sweet. An interesting complexity is brought in by the guayusa and boosted by the aroma of the hibiscus flowers.

Liquor: Dark red liquor with a fruity aroma.

Flavour: A red fruit profile with some very interesting, earthy overtones brought in by the guayusa. The hibiscus keeps the blend lively and lingering.

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 5 min, 0 sec

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69
237 tasting notes

So this was the best vacation ever…then I got home.
On last Monday I went numb all on one side no other symptoms. Went to the emergency room and they did a CT scan. The doctor comes out and tells me “You appear to have a mass in your brain” it is hard to even type that without collapsing . I then had to wait 12 hours to see the top Neurosurgeon …12 hours of hell it was like torture waiting and imagining the worst ..they finally came down and they are pretty sure it is a cyst but it is pressing on my brain stem. There are three types it can be but next step is an MRI..to say I’m terrified and depressed is a giant understatement so please forgive the quality of my reviews right now…goodbye drama onto the tea!

After such stress I needed some DT pronto. Picked this up for 3 reasons 1: the name because I sure am a tart 2: it is a mate 3: I could get just 8 trams and it smelled nice. I am worried about it becoming Pink Flamingo but we’ll see.

In the pouch or smells subdued kind of reminiscent of a whiff of earthy Campinos?!

Taste time! And hopefully a good damn burst of energy I am preparing my bedroom for a new kitten and there is much work to be done.

Yummy! Like Tazo Passion tea NOT Pink Flamingo! I only steeped for 5. It is lovely! Sadly not quite Paradise Found (which is being phased out cry) but I am enjoying it more then I thought! It is also the most gorgeous color.

Perfect for: icing,a morning kick,late nights with studying turning into more sexy activities,the beginning of Fall and still being able to dress Tarty for a little while longer without a jacket.

Final thoughts: Tarty in the best way. Everyone should try it at least once ! I’d stick to 5 minutes for those of us not fond of straight Hibiscus.

Preparation
Boiling
TeaLady441

OMG, I’m sorry to hear about all of that. I hope they get the MRI right away and they find it’s the easiest one to deal with. I had to spend some time at the BC Cancer Agency in Vancouver if it turns out you have to go there I can tell you that my experiences there were generally positive. For what it is.

Going out for tea is the best reaction ever. I’m happy you weren’t disappointed. And new kitten! :O

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72
165 tasting notes

I tried this one iced for the first time yesterday. This is definitely a well-named tea…TART for sure!! I did enjoy it though. It’s really different from the other teas they have and I can’t think of one to even compare it to. Even though I enjoyed it, I can’t say that I “Loved it” or that I will be stocking up on it. I would love to try it warm too just to compare the taste and level of tartness. Overall I would say that it was a nice, and very sour little tea that I enjoyed but that I am in no rush to buy more.

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