For my birthday this year my boss got me one of those glass water bottles for cold steeping with the strainer in the top, and while I still tend to make a lot of mason jars of iced tea that I strain and keep in the fridge, this is a nice alternative for something that brews a little quicker. The only real problem I have with it is the condensation on the bottom is very bad, so I have to remember to always have a coaster handy…
This was another unopened, and now expired, bag of tea from an ancient Tealyra order. I wanted a fruity hibiscus iced tea and it’s a nice red color, so hopefully it’ll deliver. I am getting pear, and it is a nice, juicy flavor, but not as strong as other pear teas I’ve had. It does have that tangy fruity hibiscus flavor, but it isn’t as tart or as fruit punchy as I’m used to in hibi-fruit iced teas, I think because the cinnamon in the blend is acting as a sweetener. I don’t really taste a distinct cinnamon flavor brewing this as a cold brew, so I may need to try this one as a warm cuppa as well, to see if it presents more as a cinnamon-baked pear or cinnamon-baked apple flavor. It is getting the job done as an iced hibiscus tea with a strong fruit flavor, though, which is what I was craving in this warm weather, and I don’t think I’ve ever had a pear one before.
Flavors: Cinnamon, Fruity, Hibiscus, Pear, Sweet, Tangy
This is the second review in as many minutes that I have a pear tea compared to bubblegum! Interesting! I have a pear tea that smells like banana candy, so I can see the connection.
There’s a flavouring calling “Juicy Fruit Flavouring” (think like the gum in the yellow wrapper!) that’s in a lot of bubblegum products – it’s very similar in composition to some types of pear flavouring (especially sweeter or, well, “juicy” ripe pear flavours) which is why our brains kind of do that weird mistaking it for bubblegum thing. Not unlike how almond/cherry are often mixed up because there’s so much overlap in the compounds that make up those tastes.
Ashmanra—Banana candy tea might be a good one to try. I like that artificial banana flavor; which I know is hated by a lot.
Roswell Strange—Juicy Fruit! You narrowed the type of gum down by a lot. I haven’t had Juicy Fruit since my early teenager years, so it has been quite a long time. Very interesting fact that I’ll keep in mind whenever trying pear teas!
Disliked* I need to retire the word “hated.”