Pineapple Kona Pop

I tried the blended sample in the store but I’m not a blueberry fan so I ordered a package of this on a whim when I placed my last order figuring with the free shipping and coupon code I had it was cheaper to order more tea, and, therefore try new teas than to just go get refills of my stand bys. It was like God wanted me to order more tea….right? Can’t say no to that!

When I got the package I opened this and felt like I was smacked in the face with the Hawaiian islands…in a good way, of course. Holy pineapple Batman! But I had reservations about making this iced as I cold brew and have always found that to be a bit weak (and difficult to add sugar to).

Earlier this week I got home from work where I had been freezing all day and decided I wanted some tea. Normally I’d go for something dessert-y but this spoke to me so I decided to give it a try. Since it’s an herbal I wasn’t too particular about steeping time. I added some brown sugar splenda since I figured pineapple upside down cake uses it and that tastes pretty darn yummy.

And ya know what? This was pretty darn yummy too! I’m not going to drink it and think I’m eating pineapple upside down cake (unless I am actually eating pineapple upside down cake while I drink it…now there’s an idea…) but this is good. Tart, but the brown sugar works well with it and brings out some of the other flavors (although I couldn’t pinpoint them – I’m drinking tea not taking the palatte challenge on Hell’s Kitchen). Great as it cools too but I prefer it warm right now. Will have to order more of this for when I don’t feel like my standard rooibos dessert tea at night. Very relaxing too.

I’ve since consumed two pots of this evenings after work. Yum!

First smell of the dry leaves and the pineapple pops! right up in your face. You can smell some apple and floral notes underneath but if I kept my nose in the dry leaves much longer I’d probably get a headache from the overwhelming pineapple. I used 1 1/2 teaspoons as directed per 8 ounces at 212 degrees for 5 minutes. Steeps to a beautiful golden colored liquid that smells like pineapple apple cider with light floral notes. First sip and it hits my tongue with a sharp tang, but as it rolls to the back of my mouth I notice how naturally sweet it is. It makes my mouth water the more I drink it, but I’m not liking it. It’s just kind of missing something for me, I can’t taste much other than pineapple. As I near the end of the cup the tartness is starting to becoming annoying to me. I am going to have to add some sweetener. I would have purchased their Blueberry Bliss to mix with it, as that’s what I’d tried in the store, but they were out at the time I ordered this. This tea seems to either need to be mixed with something else or sweetened to make it enjoyable; it can’t really stand well on it’s own.

Edit
I just added a spoonful of raw honey and poured over ice as it’s cooled down by now. Completely different. The tart pineapple is toned down and it’s actually pretty refreshing. It’s sweet and smooth. I can taste more of the other ingredients now. I’ll be drinking this iced only. The hot version about turned me off completely, I was about to pour it down the drain. Interesting how much it changed as an iced with a bit of honey.

I’m confused on how to rate this tea, as I couldn’t stand the hot version’s cloying tartness, but the iced version with sweetener is pretty nice.

Sipdown. I’m sad to see this one go, actually. It’s bright and fruity. Not really a night tea but it was easy to reach! The pineapple is right there at the front, but it’s not too overpowering – the mallow and apple do a lot to tone down the citrus flavors. Very good iced with a touch of sugar.

Tried this sample in store with the blueberry bliss rooibos. The flavour reminds me of fruit juice. It might be better cold, with less sugar.

My son tried some of this at the local Tevana and begged me to buy some. After Teavana’s standard sales procedure (see the end of this review) we acquired some and took it home. Made hot, It was disappointing in flavor and aroma, but I’ve since tried some cold steeped and found it to be really nice. Not sure where to put my slider, since temperature makes a large difference in my rating.

Now for the Tevana rant: Their standard sales BS consists of trying to sell you everything in the store in addition to what you go in to buy. A lot of stores offer an item or 2 when checking out, but Tevana is fairly aggressive about it. The clerk offered me no less than separate additional items to purchase. So many that I was tempted to ask him if he was behind on his quota…In addition, they consistently will over pour the tea. Now, to be fair, my local store has always told me that there was more, and would 2.5 oz instead of 2.0 be ok, but it does get old. I’m afraid I was a bit sharp with the salesman when he poured out 2.8 oz and asked if I was ok with that. He didn’t bother asking about the over pour on the 2 other teas I purchased that day, and simply made sure they were exactly what I ordered.

So as a part of my, ‘try the Teavana Tea of the Week’ challenge I have laid out for myself, I went in to get myself a cup on Pineapple Kona Pop a few days ago. I wrote down some notes to post here for everyone. It all sums up to whether or not you enjoy and like pineapple. If you like Pineapple, you will like this tea a lot. I am not generally fond of pineapple. Sometimes though, I do really enjoy it and just because I don’t USUALLY like a flavor does not mean that I will always dislike said flavor, hence going ahead and trying the PKP from Teavana this week.

I bought the drink cold and non-sweetened so as to not let anything other than the tea shine through. The pineapple is bursting on the first sip. Its very strong and sadly, due to the strength of it, I did not like it. However as herbal cold teas go, if you are a fan of the tropical pineapple, you will love this one. Alas, for me, it was not to my taste.

Dry this smells a lot like most Teavana blends – a little too sweet, a little fake fruity, but not too bad (especially compared to Youthberry) – and I’ll admit I was a little worried about how it would taste once steeped.

I tossed a few tsp of sugar in on top before steeping and it seems to have helped somewhat. Once brewed it yields a richly fragrant golden-yellow tea…it’s nice (in a dessert-tea sort of way) but nothing to write home about.

If you’re not a total fan of pineapple you should probably take a pass on this one…it smells and tastes strongly of dried pineapple layered in with some indistinguishably fruity elements.

I enjoy it hot, but I think it’d be better served iced…not sure how I would feel about restocking it once it runs out, but drinking it down certainly isn’t a chore. :)

For some reason, I really didn’t want to like this tea. Maybe it’s because it was one of the samples that they were peddling, perhaps it’s because of its almost juvenile name – either way, I had hoped I wouldn’t like it as much as I do.
But I really do like it. Although it’s on the sweeter side, this is a tea that I enjoy quite frequently. I love it iced, and it’s been that perfect little cup to kill the midday slump at work. I’ll brew it in my Bodum travel french press and then pour it over ice – it’s quite delicious!

I first tried this a few days before Christmas, when I wandered into a Teavana while doing some last minute shopping. I sampled it iced, blended with Blueberry Bliss (rooibos) and “about a cup of rock sugar”, according to the girl helping me.

Was it sweet? Absolutely. But I did really like the taste, and figured I’d make it at home with (much!) less sugar/sweetener. It and the Blueberry Bliss also both happened to be 30% off, so I asked for 50g of each, although I ended up with a bit more than that. Being my first time in a Teavana and not wise to their tactics, I said “sure!” when they overpoured my tea and asked if that was okay. I ended up with 58g of the Pineapple Kona Pop and 66g of Blueberry Bliss. Fine, whatever, no big deal – it was on sale at least!

Onto the tea itself – Pineapple Kona Pop is a gorgeous smelling herbal. Just opening the tin to look at it and smell it makes me happy. It is so colorful and the sweet pineapple fragrance almost makes me forget we have a gazillion inches of snow on the ground outside.

Brewed hot, it retains the pineapple taste, and is mild but very drinkable, especially with a tiny spoonful of honey. It is nice iced as well, although I think cold it really shines best when blended with other teas, such as the Blueberry Bliss (I tried these two iced on Christmas Eve and it was so nice, even without the truckload of rock sugar!). I think on its own it would be a nice light, refreshing drink for the summer – especially with some fruit thrown in.

I really do like this. Is it my favourite? Nah. But I will enjoy it as a little escape to pineapple paradise on chilly days, and as an amazing iced beverage if winter ever ends. I purchased some more during the 75% off Boxing Day sale, so I will have fun trying this out with other teas in the months to come!

Nice big citrus and pineapple punch to the mouth with sweet floral and prominent pineapple aftertaste that lingers very well! This tisane is just the right amount of sweet and I can see why Teavana blends this with other teas, it adds sweetness and a bright citrusy lift!

12 down – 488 to go!