Wild Raspberry Hibiscus

I think I expected this to be a little more tart and juicy raspberry, but honestly for a tea bag cut it was still pretty flavourful and definitely evocative of its name. Nothing fancy/high quality, but nothing to turn your nose up at either – especially for the cost and convenience.

I really like this blend. The tart hibiscus and berries help me wake up in the morning. I exclusively cold brew this one, I don’t love hibiscus hot.

I like the raspberry flavor but this has some weird citrusy, almost spicy aftertaste that I’m not a fan of.

This is tea 2/50 I bought in a Stash Assortment. Unfortunately, it is weak too after brewing in my large mug (14oz). It is slightly tart and a tiny bit fruity. I want to be knock to the ground with flavor. This is not that tea. L likes it.

Steeped 2 bags for 3 minutes and poured over ice, per instructions. Smells like a Juicefuls candy – sweet and almost pucker-y with anticipation. i liked it more than the cranberry tea, but it still didn’t taste that great. It tasted like a flower, maybe potpourri? Tasted 09.2018

Another step back into the world of teabags. This tea explodes with color the moment the bag hits the water – there is that much hibiscus in it. The end result after 4 minutes brewing is a deeply purple tea. I would recommend not getting this one on clothes, it may be hard to remove the stain. Anyway, I tried to drink this without sweetener, but the tartness was just too much for me. It was borderline SOUR. So 1.5 splendas later and it is actually quite tasty. You still get that bitey tartness but without the overwhelming sour note. I can definitely taste the hibiscus and the raspberry. The background citrus notes are refreshing and give a fresh feel to the mouth when sipping. I am happy to say I really do NOT taste the licorice at all. If it is there, the sweetener took care of it. All in all, a very tasty fruity tea. Just be sure to add sweetener or you will probably scrunch up your nose at the sourness of it.

May Flowers! I discovered one teabag of this in my cupboard, gifted to me from a volunteer at the library sometime ago. Since I just sampled a bagged raspberry-flavored hibiscus tea last night and found it quite enjoyable (especially when I don’t really drink bagged teas much anymore), I figured I’d give it a go while that comparison was still fresh in my mind. Since I only had the one teabag, though, I did a hot steep.

I’ll admit, with the exception of Stash’s Apple Cinnamon Chamomile (I know, a tea with chamomile in it, of all things!), I’m just not really a fan of Stash’s hibiscus. I don’t know what it is. I’m a huge hibiscus fan (unlike the majority of the reviews I find on Steepster… seriously, I feel like such a black sheep on this site considering how I like things like hibiscus and licorice root!) but there is something kind of bland-tasting whenever I try a hibi-hip heavy Stash tea… it just never seems to have that nice, fruit punchy appeal. This one is no exception. It feels a bit too watery, and I’m getting way too much lemongrass citrus, so neither the hibiscus nor the raspberry is really coming through for me here. I can appreciate that maybe the raspberry isn’t as strong as Celestial Seasonings tends to go with its fruit flavorings, but it seems a little too drowned out here… or maybe it’s just the citrus notes are hiding it? In any event, I think the lemongrass was an odd fit here. Celestial Seasonings definitely had the nicer hibiscus raspberry tea of the two, in my opinion, both because the hibiscus just tasted nicer, and the raspberry flavor was more pronounced. And it wasn’t so citrusy.

It is a fruity tea that is slightly tart and with a subtle sweetness. It makes a wonderful iced tea and pairs well with honey instead of sugar but whatever you do, do not add milk or cream. I tried this once and my milk curdled from the acidness of the raspberries.

This was incredibly sweet and tart. Unfortunately, it’s not the kind of flavor that I liked. I might try to drink this again iced, though.

This was one of the first herbal teas I ever tried many years ago and still love it to this day. Super flavourful and sweet with a bit of tartness. I’m a big fan of raspberry and hibiscus teas and this one will always be my go to!