Fig Rose

The rose and the fig are there, in the scent, but a sip reveals them to be weak. And just beneath the surface, lurks hibiscus. Because if it’s a Teavana tea it probably has hibiscus, and if it’s a Teavana herbal tea, it definitely has hibiscus. But that aside, the lack of intensity and complexity in the flavors is disappointing, which is why I’m going to conduct an experiment with my next tasting.

I recently read an article by Gitte Lasby, titled “Teavana’s dirty secret: Why the tea you brew doesn’t taste like the store samples.” Her experience with Teavana was reminiscent of my constant disappointment with Teavana teas, which stems from the significant gap between their smell and their taste. They always seem to promise more than they can deliver. So, I’ve decided that when a tea fails to impress, as is in the case with this Fig Rose, I will use the tea to water proportion reportedly used at the stores (3 tsp to 1 c. water). It’s partly as an experiment, but also to be able to enjoy the rest of a tea I’ve already paid for. I will update on first experiment.

This has a nice buttery flavor with the fruity notes. I wouldn’t say that it tastes that much like figs, but it doesn’t taste too much like apple either. I prefer this over other fruit teas that I’ve tried. I would probably consider buying it, but not anytime soon. I tried this in a TTB.

One of my favorite hot teas. Heavy on fig and blackberry notes, it’s very soothing and warm for winter.

I haven’t had this one forever, and I had a vague recollection of what it tasted like, but when I opened the bag, it smelled completely different from how I remembered it. All honeyed figs. So we shall see how it tastes.

I started off steeping about a teaspoon and a half of this in boiling water for 5 minutes and meh, nothing much there. So I threw in the rest of my bag (probably at about 3tsp total now), and I’m just going to steep it until it tastes like something.

Meh. I dunno. Now it tastes a lot stronger, but I’m not really feeling it. Lots of hibiscus tart, with some pineapple, fig, nuttiness which I think is also fig (seems to be a flavour that is in fig teas, but that I don’t ever experience when eating figs), and maybe a hint of floral? I added some sugar to take the edge off the hibiscus, but it’s mostly just made the whole thing sweet and sour.

Not into it, wouldn’t buy again. I’m glad this package is done.

Aww man! I’m kinda sad about how much I like this because it means now I have to buy some hahaha. I drank this cup down waaaaay too fast. It was so delicious hot! Sweet with just a bit of tang to keep it from feeling heavy. I get this caramellyness (pretend for a moment that “caramellyness” is, in fact, a legitimate word) from the fig and a softness (I guess we’ll also have to pretend that “soft” is a flavor) from the rose that I just can’t get enough of right now. This feels like the kind of tea to drink whilst watching sweet romance movies that make your heart melt. I love it, and I don’t even care if I’m the only one. Thank you times a million to carol who for letting me try this one out :)

Of all the Teavana teas I’ve tried so far, I think this is my least favorite. It looks pretty in the bag with all of the fruit bits and the rosebuds but the scent is heavy and quite artificial. The taste matches the scent: the fig completely overwhelms the rose and any other flavors that are supposed to be in here. It’s like drinking artificially flavored fig juice. Not a fan!

This tasting note is for a tea I tried last night… but guys… MY ELECTRIC TEA KETTLE FINALLY BROKE!! I was expecting it. I’m very proud it has lasted this long. I’m not sure how many times it was used, as I’m not the first owner, but I’ve been using it about 2 or 3 times a day for nine years so that is 9×3×365 = 9,855 times I have hit the boil switch at least. Poor little tea kettle. I have adored this kettle… it’s a sad day. I am definitely getting another Bodum kettle and I really don’t expect the next one to last this long, even if it is a Bodum! I think I will have to sell some tea to pay for it though!

Even though I’m not a huge Teavana fan, I’ve heard this one mentioned a few times. I love the idea of fig teas, so I had to try it. A one cup sample works for me! Of course the flavor here is neither fig nor rose. Sheesh. It isn’t terrible… the flavor is more like a buttered kettle corn… with something fruity. I expected worse actually. Though there is hibiscus in the ingredients, at least in my sample it just adds enough tanginess to the cup rather than turning it into a deep red cup of undrinkableness. Maybe the fruity flavor could be interpreted as fig? But it seems like it would be the apple that is mentioned in the ingredients. Not bad, but it’s odd to get popcorn flavor in a fruit/rose tea.

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this, but I must say I prefer it a lot more cold steeped. The tartness goes away, the rose gets to come through a hair more (though I still wish it were stronger), and it tastes like less sweet juice. Which sometimes is exactly what I like. The almond flavor is present and keeps things interesting, but doesn’t stop it from being weird to drink cold.

I didn’t know what to expect, but I was happy with what I got. It was well-rounded on the palate and neither too tart nor too sweet. I had this around Christmas and it felt right with the season. I received it in a gift set, but wouldn’t be able to buy again as my better-half is allergic to nuts. I would recommend it, though. It was great hot, seems like it would be nice iced, and would blend well with other teas.

Definitely fruity. Reminds me of teavana chocolate banana foster but fruity instead. for some reason I feel all teavana teas like this taste like sweet water after several sips. Maybe its just me?