Elderberry Blackberry

I was restocking the wonderful glazed lemon loaf, and there was a discount for buying two Tazo teas, so I grabbed this one for my work stash. It’s less tart and fruity than I expected. The first time I tried it, it was almost like licorice and Kool aid. I had it cold, and it was pretty muted and boring. The second time, I did get some authentic berry flavors, but it wasn’t super delicious. The third time, it was too medicinal and not that great. I’ve had it a bunch more times now, and I can say that it’s drinkable and different from other fruity blends, but I don’t like it that much.

This is one of the four Target-exclusive Forager Edition herbals from Tazo, the one based on the Northeast US. So far, I have really enjoyed the Midwest “Wild Apple Sarsaparilla” and the Rockies “Juniper Mint Honey.” I figured this one would easily also be a hit for me, since I’m one of the few people I know that loves tart, tangy, hibiscus-heavy fruity teas, which is what I was expecting to get from a tea called “Elderberry Blackberry.” Sadly, it wasn’t.

I do taste a strong dark berry flavor, but it just doesn’t have that juicy/tart element I want and expect from berries like elderberry or blackberry. Instead I get this rather awful pervasive background note that tastes flowery, soapy, and baby powder-y… pretty much how chamomile tastes to me. And then I looked at the pouch and see chamomile is an ingredient. It doesn’t have that particular hay/herbaceous/apple/honey chamomile flavor, but the things about that particular flower that always taste “off” to my tongue are present. I guess it is sweetening up the berry notes, but the result is that “chalky/powdery” fruit flavor that Cameron often describes.

Honestly, I need way more hibiscus and way less chamomile for this blend to work for me. I imagine for everyone else out there, though, the choice to make this more chamomile and less hibiscus is welcome. I wish I had some of my plain hibi stash to add to my cup, but sadly I’m out…

Drunk as a plain hot cup, I just find this rather yuck. But I’m going to continue to try to brew it in other ways and see if I can’t find a way to make this work for me, at least to use up the box. I definitely would not get more of this, while I’d happily restock “Wild Apple Sarsaparilla” or “Juniper Mint Honey.”