Scarlet

This isn’t near as tart as I thought it would be – thank goodness the hibiscus isn’t taking over this one! It is a bit tart but it is also quite juicy with a lovely blueberry taste. I’m thinking this would be great iced!

So much better than the last time I tried it. I used more of the “tea” and steeped for a good long time. (It’s not like you can oversteep fruit tisanes anyway, right?)

This time it has a strong fruit flavor along with an earthiness that is very appealing. I’m changing the rating a bit to reflect the goodness of today’s tasting.

I’m not going to give this tea a rating mainly because of user error. I tried following the steeping instructions and my gut told me that 2 tablespoons was too much, but I went with it anyway. Oh the tart horror! I’m partly mad at myself, but also the tart was just so overwhelming that it added to that anger. Did I just experience “hibiscus rage?” It’s like I was living the scene from Clue where the fabulous Madeline Kahn (as Mrs. White) goes on about her rage burning on the sides of her face. I tried adding sugar, but the tart kicked it out of the way. I finally had to toss the cup less than midway through. Perhaps iced would be better, but there’s not enough left to give it a try. If I were to give the tea a rating, then it’d be a big red one. GA

It was yet another gorgeously sunny and warm day in Atlanta, and I was going back through my tealog here to see what to try iced, and this was jumped out at me. I had just enough left in the pouch for an iced tea steep, so…here we are.

Wow. Just wow. Deep and fruity, fresh and full of flavor. And it seems like it would be an awesome base for any other tea concoctions, smoothies, sparklers, or cocktails. I’m not really doing it justice with this tasting note; get a sample pack and experience it for yourself.

Juicy and not too tart – I like it!

I was at a supermarket today in awe, standing in front of the bulk tea section and couldn’t resist picking up a couple samples. This one smelled like this amazing rich mixture of blueberries and cherries. Delicious… or so I thought. Went home, brewed it, tasted it, yuck. It has that tartness that I find unappealing in so many fruity teas. When buying it in bulk you don’t get a list of ingredients, but I’ll bet it has a small army of tiny hibiscus pieces waiting to launch an attack in every cup. It tasted better once it was cold and I could even enjoy the fruity flavor a little at that point, but not enough to brew another cup ever again. I’m starting to think I don’t like tart and hot at the same time. Well Scarlet, done and DONE.

I’ve tried this a couple of ways & here’s my conclusions:

It’s much better iced than hot. Also, it’s VERY strong and VERY tart. My first time drinking it, I did 1 cup of hot water to 1 tbsp of Scarlet, and it was overpoweringly tart. No amount of added honey or sugar could stop the tart. It was like drinking a liquid Warhead candy (anyone remember Warheads? No?).

The second time, I tried two teaspoons instead to one cup of boiling water, let steep, and then poured over a handful of ice after adding sugar. Much, much better. When cold, the tartness is staunched a little and you can really taste the fruitiness – more like a Sweet-Tart than a Warhead. I’m getting ready to make up a little pitcher of it this way, in fact.

Oh, and it’s good for a second steep. Haven’t tried third though.

Whoa!! JUICY!
It’s juicy in a similar way to Rishi’s Blueberry Rooibos. I really like it!! Seems like something even kids would enjoy. I’m going to try it iced sometime… I’ll let you know what happens!

Here’s a nearly 2 year old tea I found buried in the back of my cupboard. A happy discovery as I’m exploring more low caffeine options for the evenings.

I blended it with a little white silver needle since these fruity teas are usually too potent for me on their own. Served in a tulip shaped Turkish teacup which showed off its gorgeous scarlet red color. The tasting notes on the Rishi website were spot on. It tasted like tart cherry or pomegranate juice thanks to the hibiscus and berries. The cranberries in the mixture accentuate the tartness and blueberry is also prominent in there, especially upon resteep.

Not usually a fan of tart teas especially hibiscus but this was decent. A little sweetener would have enhanced this tea too.

I got this in a swap awhile back and just finished it off today. I really love this one, it’s super hibiscus-y, tart, and full of berry flavors (mostly blueberry I think.) I’d actually compare it to an unsweetened (or lightly sweetened) cranberry juice – though it doesn’t taste like cranberry, it has the same feel in my mouth and has a similar flavor palette.

Very sad to see this one go. I’m avoiding ordering tea until my collection dwindles a bit but if I ever stumble across it somewhere, I’ll definitely pick it up!