Berry Poppins

I made up a pitcher of this yesterday and it was so delicious! Wonderfully rich berry flavours without the usual tartness from my other teas (I realize now that tartness is hibiscus. Damn you, hibiscus). Next step is to try it hot, but I’m already planning on picking up more when I’m next at DAVIDsTEA.

ETA: Now I see that this tea does have hibiscus. Somehow the berries overpower it. I don’t know. FOOD SCIENCE IS MAGICAL.

Worse tea in the spring collection

This is one of the Teas from the spring collection that I wasn’t super hyped about and when I smelled the dry leaf I wasn’t impressed – yeah, I got blackberry but the smell was really mild, and there was something artificial to it; but it’s probably received the best reviews here on Steepster thus far, so I was feeling a little better about it.

I went with a cold brew for my first taste; I’ve seen some cold brew reviews that were positive, and this seems suited to that style of preparation. First few sips were good; while it’s an usual pairing, I do like the blackberry and apple notes in this. They’re by far the most dominant flavour, and the hibiscus doesn’t seem to be contributing much overall. Plus, it really makes this stand out from other berry tisanes.

The rose was pretty prominent to me as well, and people who are anti-floral fans probably would be turned away quickly by it, but I thought it added depth to the flavour. It finishes with a very creamy aftertaste. Blackberries and cream, for sure. It’s reminding me of another tea, and it took me most of the 25 oz. brew to place which tea, but I finally did! RiverTea’s Infinite Good Feeling! Both have rose and a really creamy component, though IGF was Raspberry – not blackberry. I like the RiverTea blend a lot better – but it’s nice having something a little similar to it.

Unfortunately, the way that cream flavour builds up the more you drink it is kind of unpleasant. It starts to leave a weird taste on your tongue, and by the time I had finished off the 25 oz. I was reminded super strongly of chalky, chewable childrens Vitamins. YUCK! But it didn’t even start to happen until at least two thirds of the way through my brew – so I think this would be fine in smaller portions.

Landlord’s daughter is in town visiting, and is downstairs in the shared laundry room right now (which is right outside our living room; there’s just a door that separates us). His GF just shouted down at Mariah (the daughter) to stop messing around with the bathroom. The bathroom there is ours; it’s not shared, though it’s next to the laundry. I kinda want to find out what the fuck they were doing (if I had to guess, she was going through the cabinets) but I don’t want to just pop out right after she was scolded either. I’m like 90% sure they don’t know I’m home – and even if they do, I imagine they don’t know I can hear through the door.

But seriously Mariah; fuck off! She’s seventeen, and such a spoiled brat.

This one had a weird flavour profile to me – apple and blackberry? It was good, just… unexpected. But that’s okay, as it’s nice to have a tea once in a while that doesn’t remind me of anything else. I had this one hot first, and I liked it, but I think I’m more excited to try it iced. Crossing fingers!

The first time I tried it, it was hot. I thought it smelled wonderful. The first sip was delicious, but then I got this weird aftertaste that was so disgusting I couldn’t finish it! A few days later, I thought I’d give it another chance, cold steeped this time… And I loved it! No aftertaste, just berry beliciousness. I’d recommend it cold only.

This tasty little treat accompanied me while I relaxed post-shower tonight.

I wish this tea came in a perfume – it’s so delicious.

I had this as a cold brew last night at work and I ended up sharing it with a friend. It was actually better than I anticipated. It is certainly a berry tea. The flavor was a sort of enteric sweet berry flavor with the underlying apple taste that so many herbals have. It was pretty nice and though I’m not 100% sold on it just yet, I’m glad I have more to play around with.

I tried this in-store and got 3 (three, doh) perfect spoons (12g) to try out as a cold brew.

It’s definitely berry. Very very berry. To me, it tastes more like raspberry but the sales person said blackberry. Whatever, still berry.

I do like the Grandma’s Fruit Garden I can get from some local store (the name escapes me and I’m too lazy to look it up) better as a berry cold brew. It’s less candy.

So I won’t be buying a bunch of this tea. I mean, it’s nice for what it is, but it is candy berry. And I think I prefer to drink things that make me think I’m rolling in a field in the summer time rather than sitting in front of berry Jello when I’m feeling sick.

Oh, olfactory senses, thank you for being right about this tea in the store. This tastes just as good as it smells. Creamy berry all the way. Not too tart or jacked up with artificial flavours or sweeteners. BPAL used to make a perfume called Gollettes, which smelled like stawberry funnel cakes. This tastes like the smell of that, which is awesome.

I cold brewed this, by the way, and will gladly do that with the rest. And then purchase even more! It’s always nice to experience a berry blend that doesn’t taste like five others you’ve tried before, you know? After a while, many of them start to taste/smell the same, but this one is unique.

Off-topic question and advice: how much would you pay for a chenille reclining sofa that has always been used for half a year, has no damage or stains, is from a pet- and smoke-free environment, and was originally purchased for $1000? Thanks in advance!

Now that i’ve had this at home a couple times, i realise what was familiar about it – it has that same after taste, under taste that apple cider had. And while it doesn’t make me dislike the tea immediately, i know that if i had this in a larger quantity it would get old fast. Ignoring that, this has got a relatively nice berry taste and isn’t half bad. It just doesn’t have the longevity that other teas have.

Final Count: 124