Fruity Cherry Banana

I had a cold brew of this tonight since i’m not really able to drink much of anything with whatever the heck is going on with my mouth. Once i added some sweetner to this is was good, though the banana part was missing in this brew up of the tea.

Sipdown, 831. Another tea courtesy of Azzrian :)

Brewed this the same as Wild Watermelon; gave it 2 minutes in boiling water, then chilled it (without leaving the fruit pieces in, since it has hibiscus). Similar result – cardboardy, not great tea. There is a bit of cherry flavour to it, but it’s very minimal. The tartness is quite tolerable, but overall it’s just not great. I much prefer tisanes without hibiscus as a major ingredient.

I was a little worried about the hibiscus here after I steeped it. I didn’t steep it long (just five minutes) because of the hibiscus, but, the liquid still looks very hibiscus-y.

And yes, I taste the hibiscus too, but, it works in this blend. The banana is sweet, so is the cherry, and the hibiscus gives the cup a little bit of contrast. It’s not overly tart or sour. I like that I taste the fruit, I even taste hints of strawberry and apple and orange. It’s bit like fruit punch without tasting so sweet. A warm fruit punch.

This would probably be pretty good iced too.

Hibiscus! wow is it ever present. I think next time I need to make sure there is less in my spoon. But… other than that, I am really enjoying this cup!
The banana and cherry work together wonderfully. Unfortunately, it’s also a case of steeping longer to get the fruity flavour I want, or steeping for less time to minimize the sour hibby. That is, if picking it out doesn’t work. It isn’t exceptionally sour, as I can still taste the other aspects quite clearly.
Either way, this will be gone all too soon. Thank you Kally for screwing up and sending us free tea! :P

So, fruity cherry banana. Another sample from Sil, and part of my ongoing quest to find a fruit tea I can really love. The dry mix is pretty impressive – I can identify pieces of most of the things that are supposed to be there, including strawberry, banana, apple and orange, along with the seemingly ubiquitous hibiscus and rosehip. Cherry is notable by its absence, but possibly that’s just in the flavouring. It’s hard to say exactly what it smells like dry – generically fruity is the closest I can really get, and none of the flavours seem particularly dominant at this point.

Brewed, this is a different story. The liquor is a deep pink-red, and the scent is more decidedly of cherry and banana. There’s also a slight background nuttiness which is intriguing. After my first sip, I was concerned that this was going to be primarily a hibiscus tea. Initially, that’s the flavour that comes out most strongly. Fortunately, it’s quickly followed by really quite distinctive notes of cherry and banana. It’s curious, because it sounds like it shouldn’t work, but it definitely does! The cherry is quite tart, and marries well with the hibiscus and rosehip while tempering some of the sourness that those two ingredients on their own would contribute. The banana is sweet and creamy, and just seems to help bring the whole thing together. I know the taste is reminding me of something, but I can’t quite put my finger on what it is at the moment. Some dessert, probably! I’m really happy with this, though. For a hibiscus based fruit tea, it’s not half bad!

I received this generous offering from Kally Tea for helping them out. I was astonished that they sent me so much. It smells good, but the cherry was a little medicinal, like cherry cough medicine, but you got that delicious banana chip smell.
Once brewed the scent stayed, however it doesn’t taste medicinal like it smelt. It tastes like cherries & banana chips. So good! Even my daughter likes this one.