When I typed the name of this tea into the Steepster search bar, only one tea came up – something called ‘Lemongrass Peppermint Tropical Punch’ by the same company. Like many of these advent calendar blends, I suspect that they’ve renamed it for this ‘organic’ version and that it’s essentially the same tea, particularly as peppermint features heavily in the ingredients list of this blend.
This is a very average tea, but because my expectations were so low after the other teas in the calendar, I was pleasantly surprised by this one. It’s essentially a fruity lemongrass tisane, though since the only fruit in here is apple (which is definitely recognisable as apple and can’t pass as something more exotic) it is beyond me why they decided to label it ‘tropical’, making me expect something like mango or papaya. Maybe it’s the addition of hibiscus which inspired the name, but all this really does is add a characteristic metallic hint to the end of the sip so I almost wish it wasn’t included. Despite being high on the ingredients list – 2nd after lemongrass – peppermint is barely discernable until the end of the sip, and it’s definitely more earthy than minty here. Chamomile is also listed in the ingredients, but isn’t noticeable at all. As it cools, the hibiscus becomes more noticeable, so it’s definitely best drank hot if you’re not a hibby fan.
Overall, I wouldn’t buy this, but it’s better than most of the advent calendar teas have been, and fine as an accompaniment for the Cajun chicken flatbread I’m having for lunch.
“I feel like a lot of these English Tea Shop advent blends are just a mish-mash of ingredients, most of which get lost in the mix” – that’s the exact same conclusion I came to, too!