Citrus Sunburst

One tasting note for now!
A sample from Tiesta Tea!  Thank you!   A lovely, bright summer herbal.  Though the dreaded hibiscus is here, it is a tame beast, not obnoxious in this golden hued mug.  I really couldn’t even guess the hibiscus is here.  So now that that’s out of the way, I can say this is an acceptable herbal!  This isn’t overtly sour citrus as the name suggests, mainly a nice balance of fruits.  Fruity and refreshing, especially on hot summer nights.
Steep #1  // 1 1/2 teaspoons for full mug // 19 minutes after boiling  // 2 minute steep
Steep #2  // just boiled //  3 minute steep
2020 Sipdowns: 66 (Teavivre – Mango Time + 1 sample of Teavivre – Lychee Black)

First day back at work after a head cold. Still recovering. Feel lightheaded and congested. Dry office air is exacerbating sinus irritation and coughing.
Planning to down copious amounts of these Immunity teas; my timing on ordering this dry flight sampler pack of them could not have been more perfect.
This is the perfect citrusy, juicy, anti-inflammatory, Vitamin-C loaded brew.
Down the hatch!

This came as part of a Tea Sparrow subscription box and has been sitting on my shelf for a while. Decided to try it hot even though the ingredients seem like it would be a great iced tea.

I’m usually not a fan of herbal teas because in my experience, they tend to have a lot of herby-tasting things. The ingredients on this looked safe though – mostly fruits.

The smell of this is really fruity and sweet, like strawberry/grape jello. Then, of course, my brain tells me to expect juicy sweetness, but was met with an initial sip of tartness. I let it cool a bit and decided to give it another try before getting the sugar, and surprisingly the tartness is gone. There’s even a bit of sweetness. It’s definitely very citrusy, and I can imagine this would be excellent as an iced tea, slightly sweetened. Guess I will save the rest for warmer weather, which unfortunately is at least a good 8 months from now.

1st tea from Lewis & Clarke TTB.

Mild aroma. The flavor is a bit stronger than the aroma, but what stands out is the mouth-feel: it is rich and full. Also a long finish. The flavors are fruity; vaguely citrus, but I can’t really identify individual components.

I have to confess that I find it hard to get excited about most tisanes, and this one is no exception. It is nice enough but nothing to get excited about.

Lewis & Clarke TTB

This one is in Tea Sparrow packaging. I’m always interested in fruit teas, even if they almost always end up being disappointing with either too much apple or too much hibiscus. This one has chunks of papaya, mango, and apple, and it has the hugest pieces of hibiscus that I have ever seen (I avoided them mostly). The dry scent reminds me of a specific fruit gum that I can’t think of right now, and it’s quite tart.

Uh oh… Even though I tried to avoid the hibiscus chunks, my tea brewed up that trademark fuchsia color and it smells quite tart. Here goes nothing… :P Whoa buddy, this is super tart! To its credit, it does taste very citrusy, which is good. But it’s also quite strong on the hibiscus tartness, and I’ve not been adding any sweetener to my teas. I can see this one being very tasty and refreshing as an iced tea, but it’s just too tart for me to drink it hot. Ah well…

I brewed this as my first iced tea. I used 1tbsp and 8oz of cold water for 8 hours in the fridge. It turned out tasting very naturally sweet and bold. Obviously very fruity, but perhaps with some subtle floral tones as well. I really liked the diversity of the overall taste – it was smooth enough to be a relaxing drink, yet bright enough to be a mid-day drink. Very refreshing and crisp.

The only reason I did not score this tea higher is because I did not enjoy it as much when it was brewed hot. Definitely recommend trying it iced.