Cherry Cosmo

This is pretty tasty. Even with the hibiscus. At first I wasn’t sure if I liked it, but as I continue to sip, the taste is growing on me. And now I realize what it is that is intriguing me so much about this: It tastes like a cherry sour ball!

I have a terribly sore throat today. The kind of sore throat that keeps you up all night desperately trying to swallow. I need something soothing and I figured that Cherry Cosmo may be the ticket.

I actually kind of like this herbal blend. I’m always a fan of cherries and this tea defiantly delivers on that front. My only quibble is the slightly medicinal flavor that hits you after the first sip. To be fair, it does taste like the vodka you find in a cosmo. The problem for me is that I don’t care for vodka. Fortunately, the vodka taste fades pretty quickly and it’s all cherry loveliness for the finish. So, the flavor is accurate but not one I would gravitate to on a regular basis. All of this being said, this herbal has soothed my throat and made me a far happier camper.

Thank you kindly Tea Forte for the complimentary sample pack of your herbal blends. I LOVE to try new teas :)

Edit: This tea’s cherry flavor really develops as it cools off! I needed to drink it hot this morning to soothe my throat, but I half wish I’d saved it for iced tea later. Oh well…

First off thanks a bunch to tea forte for the samples! The cherry cosmo was however a disappointment, the tea smelled like cherry cough syrup with … plastic? And no this was after I poured it out of the bag. The taste was worse, it did hold up to its cherry cough syrup scent though. It was overly tart almost to the point of tasting carbonated. I did manage to finish the cup but not by much.

This was however the one that looked the least appetizing so here is hoping the rest are better. On a plus note the packaging was fantastic.

This was interesting. The dry leaves smelled like Jack Daniels and Cherry Coke, once wet immediately reminded me of Cherry Carmex, Neccos and Pine Sol. Steeps to a dark raspberry colored liquor. I had to add quite a bit of sweetener, as this was very prominently hibiscus and very tart. Tastes like hibiscus, cherry, alcohol and a bit of raspberry. I don’t think I like it hot, as I normally don’t like hot fruity teas. This is like hot fruit juice with alcohol. I’ll let it cool and try it iced.

Edit.
Tried this iced. It tasted like cherry lime Kool-aid..plus a funny taste I can’t place. Just wasn’t digging it.

I’m working my way through the sampler from Tea Forte. This was today’s pick. When I opened the package my first thought was holy cherries!! I’m not a really big cherry fan unless they happen to be floating in my Shirley Temple :) But this smelled pretty yummy, so I added the leaves to my trusty leaf holder thingy and waited for the tea to steep properly.

As it steeped the tea smelled a bit like cough meds. This did not make me want to drink it when it was done (even my husband took a sniff and asked why I was going to drink hot cough syrup?). But I was serving it over ice so maybe that would help. I added some sweetener to this which I hardly do anymore and it isn’t half bad. It isn’t a favorite either. I’m still getting the left over medicine flavor at the end which is grossing me out a little. But I will finish the glass.

Let me begin by saying this: I am not a cherry person. It is the flavouring/druit that I always pick last and accordingly I am “getting it out of the way”. This Single Steep had larger pieces of dried fruit, almost looks like just the skins of the berries. Dry, it smells a bit medicinal, not quite cough syrup but definitely well on its way. Definitely appetizing though.

I let it steep seven minutes (accidentally) and the result was a bright red liquor with a bizarre and slightly potpourri-esque smell. A hint of spice mixed in with a sweet fruit smell. There’s also a vitamin sort of a smell, if that makes sense. The taste is slightly tart, but otherwise very unassuming. The strength of the smell does not carry over into the taste (as is par for the course with Tea Forte teas). I don’t really get cherry taste, but I do get tart fruit. There is still a hunt of that vitamin aspect, which makes this seem more medicinal. I’m NOT getting cherry cough syrup though, so that is good!

Once again, this is something I could drink if offered but would not buy. A bit more cherry taste would do this a world of good. Mostly just tart red fruit punch-esque drink. Maybe it is the rosehips that give it the unexpected ‘vitamin’ quality. I definitely get the hibiscus, but otherwise have trouble identifying these flavours.

Bleghhhhhhh! Why do I ever try red fruit teas? I hate them so much. This one in particular is mostly hibiscus though, with a strong undercurrent of cherry. It tastes medicinal and like hot jell-o mix at the same time. I made myself drink most of my travel mug’s worth, and then dumped the last 1oz or so into a bush as I was walking, where hopefully it will grow something other than Cherry Cosmo tisane plants.

Steep Information:
Amount: 1 packet
Water: 12 ounces hot spigot water
Tool: kati loose tea system
Steep Time: a little over 5 minutes (http://steep.it)
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: alcohol, cherry, hibiscus
Steeped Tea Smell: hibiscus, cherry
Flavor: sweet fruit then tart
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: tart
Liquor: translucent dark purple-pink

It smells alcoholic! I found it a bit tart and would add sugar next time, but it was a fun cup of tea (not often you can drink at work!).

Rating: 2/4 leaves

Pictures: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2011/04/tea-forte-loose-leaf-herbal-tisane.html

As a child I used to cough into my pillow at night when I had a cold so that my dad wouldn’t hear and insist I take some of the probably long-expired prescription cold meds we had sitting in the medicine cabinet so I’m a bit leery of anything cherry. I do not take cough drops (unless they’re the Ludens ones that are basically just hard candy), I do not drink cough syrup unless I am feel-like-I’m-about-to-die desperate.

So I was super stoked to get this as part of Tea Forte’s generous sample offer. /sarcasm (re the flavor, not the generosity)

But one night last week, it spoke to me and I figured ‘what the hell’ and tried it.

Not bad.
It did smell like cough medicine so that freaked me out at first. But I didn’t hate it. Didn’t love it either, but it hit the spot that night although I had no problem not trying for a second steep like I normally would.

So I’m not rating this one, as it wouldn’t be fair. I don’t like cherry flavored anything. But my wife, who loves cherry, took a sip and seemed to like it, so there you go.

To me, it tastes like a flat cherry coke with too much cherry syrup. It does vaguely remind me of a cherry cosmo, or at least what I would imagine a cherry cosmo would taste like…

Wait! I figured it out. It tastes like a melted cherry coke icee. I feel much better now XD. Don’t you hate when a tea reminds you of something else, but you can’t quite put your finger on what?

But yeah, this isn’t one I’d restock.