Tropical Sunshine Herbal

Backlog:

A nice medley of flavors in this blend. It’s sweet, fruity, tart with warm spice notes. I love the way these different flavors taste together. Spice from the cinnamon and cardamom accent the earthy, nutty rooibos while the citrus notes add a bright flavor to the cup. The cranberry adds a tart note while the apple and papaya add a really lovely sweetness.

Really good.

Here’s my full-length review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2014/08/11/tropical-sunshine-herbal-blend-from-simple-loose-leaf/

Very pretty and colorful dry leaf. And it has such a powerful citrus nose – there are lots of chunks of lemon and lime! I thought that the tea itself would likewise be as strong, but, strangely, it wasn’t. I let the leaves steep 8 minutes when I hot-brewed. The rooibos at least tastes good, and citrus always works well with rooibos. But even though I can taste the citrus it’s underwhelming. Cold-brewed (2 tsp, 16 oz, 18 hours), it’s even weaker. Kind of medicine-like too (the flavors, not the rooibos). I prefer this one hot-brewed. A nice relaxing late-night tea.

Tropical Sunshine Herbal is a blend of Cardamon, Red Peppercorn, Lemongrass, Organic South African Rooibos, Cornflowers, Cinnamon Chips, Orange Peel, Cranberries, Apples, Papaya Flavor, and Grapefruit Flavor, quite the list! It blends the aroma of tropical fruit, citrus, spices, tart, and woodiness in a really interesting blend. The strongest notes were wood, citrus, and pepper, usually I would not think to put them together but the aroma really works.

You might notice I am not using my usual steeping basket for this tea, that is because Simple Loose Leaf was nice enough to include a pair of Muslin Cotton Teabags, which is awesome. I love these things, they work like a steeping basket allowing the leaves to expand and properly steep, but since they keep all those annoying little leaf bits out of my cup of tea. I especially recommend using these with herbal teas because they tend to have smaller bits. They are also a reusable and eco-friendly alternative to teabags, so extra points in my book, but enough about bags…how about more tea? The brewed aroma of this tea wakes you up! Those bright citrus notes, warm spices, and sharp woody notes blend together for a sunshine filled cup of happiness. This combination of smells really rocks my socks off, especially with the added notes of tropical fruit.

And now for the real test, how does this unusual blend of ingredients taste? Interesting (or eeeeeenteresting as I said out loud on first sip) certainly in a good way. The mouth feel is a bit dry, typical of rooibos, but the slightly tart notes and slightly sour notes of citrus cause a salivary response so the dryness transitions to smoothness. Oh yes, I said tart, but it is the tartness of dried cranberries (which I love) and not the tartness of say, hibiscus (which I loathe) and it is mild with a sweet finish. The spice, citrus, sweet fruit, and honey rooibos notes blend together in perfect harmony.

For photos and blog: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2014/07/simple-loose-leaf-july-subscription-box.html

From the July Simple Loose leaf selection club!

This herbal was interesting – very colourful dry leaf, lots of refreshing citrus and lemongrass flavor, but with a medium warm spice finish. I made this iced, and the spice made my mouth feel warm, like being in the summer sun! Another way of thinking of this herbal is it’s a tropical citrus chai.

Full review on my blog, The Oolong Owl http://oolongowl.com/july-simple-loose-leaf/

The description of this tea says Tropical Sunshine Herbal is an explosion of flavor and I can’t think of a more apt description for a tea. The citrus flavors do seem to explode on your tongue every time you take a sip. The first thing I notice about this blend is the combination of lemongrass, orange peel, and grapefruit. They give this herbal tisane an strong citrus flavor that contrasts perfectly with the spicy additions of cardamom, red peppercorn, and cinnamon chips. The addition of these spicy ingredients may feel odd at first, but when combined with the citrus flavors and slight sweetness from the apples and papaya flavoring we’re left with an incredibly well balanced blend that just screams summer.

You can read the rest of the review on my blog:
http://www.notstarvingyet.com/index/2014/7/15/tuesday-tea-july-selection-club-simple-loose-leaf.html

Method: 1.5 tsp, 8 oz, 208 degrees, 7 minutes, Forlife Brew In Mug strainer

Dry Leaf & Brewing Aroma: Smells strongly of citrus. Very pleasant.

Flavor: I let this go beyond the 3-5 minutes of recommended time because Cameron B stated there wasn’t much citrus flavor after 5 minutes. I thought that maybe more time would equal more citrus.

On the plus side, this looks like liquid sunshine in the mug. Very pretty. But I do wish the flavors were more pronounced. I added a little rock sugar, which brought them to the forefront a bit. So to sum up: use lots of tea, steep for a long time, and add a little sugar! The result was quite nice. I think I may let this go to 10 minutes next time, just to see what happens.

Backlog from last night! I went to start reviewing another tea and realized I still had the notes from this one and hadn’t written it up. Oops. This is from Simple Loose Leaf’s July selection. Looks like rooibos with dried lemongrass, citrus peel, and the odd red peppercorn. It smells quite citrusy, which is good for me. It’s obviously grapefruit, but there are some other citrus scents and a touch of spice. Brewed 5 minutes!

The brew smelled similar to the dry, but with less punch. I was actually surprised that the grapefruit is not very strong in the taste. I mostly get lemongrass with a citrus accompaniment. It’s a little bit herbaceous from the lemongrass, and there is definitely a peppery note. The spice is there but subtle, just a background flourish.

Overall, I liked this as a caffeine-free night option. The rooibos taste was not strong, and it did not taste medicinal like some rooibos can. Although I don’t really get “tropical” from this… Odd name choice.

I was concerned that this tea would be a bit strong for my tastes but I was very wrong. This herbal blend is sweet, tangy, and spicy all at the same time. It keeps you on your toes and is extremely refreshing. It’s a wonderful pick for an iced tea. The rooibos remains mellow in the background, allowing the various spices and additional flavors to shine through. I brewed mine a bit strong and thought it really helped bring out the full-bodied flavor in this tea. It’s well balanced and smooth, reminding you why Simple Loose Leaf is a tea vendor you can trust.

This was the sample in my June SLL box. I wanted to try this before placing my July order, after reading all of my options.

this is really citrusy, which for me was a good thing. Lemony, grapefruity, tasty. I like it a lot. I honestly wasn’t expecting to, but I thought I’d give it a chance. Now I can’t decide what I’m going to order next month.