LOOP

This was the last of LOOP’s sparkling iced tea drinks that I tried, and by the time I got to this one I did not have high hopes. I love so many of LOOP’s non-tea products so this taste exploration had really been a bit of a let down. However…

This one was a winner!

It had just enough sweetness to feel less sharp/shrill as the past two I had tried, and the fruit note was authentic tasting without being either flat/stale (like the strawberry) or really sour/tart (like the lemon). Plus, the balance with the peach and black tea was great! The briskness worked with the sweeter fruit notes, and nothing was masked like sometimes happens with tea RTDs with fruit juices.

I would buy this one again!

This was markedly better than the Strawberry Hibiscus LOOP drink I tried a few weeks ago, but there was still something kind of “off” about it. The black tea was a little bit harsh for an RTD and the finish was metallic and chemical-y. As I said with the Strawberry Hibiscus, for a stevia sweetened beverage this is also shockingly not very sweet at all. Also, to clarify, when I say the finish was chemical-y in taste it was not in the way that stevia typically reads. Very different vibes.

The lemon may have been the best part, though it was sharp and quite taste. Very much a “lemon juice” and not a “lemonade” if that makes any sense. In makes sense for a company like LOOP though, because they focus so much on actual fruit juices.

But yeah – not quite for me.

So a few months ago DAVIDsTEA partnered with LOOP to make a sparkling iced tea made with our Earl Grey blend. I wrote a tasting note here on Steepster for it when it launched and overall I really liked the drink! LOOP is a Canadian company mostly known for their juices made using upcycled fruits.

Well, in addition to our partnership RTD they also released three other sparkling iced teas that incorporate different fruits and the other day while grocery shopping I finally saw all three so I of course had to pick them up to taste test. I’m gonna be honest, though. As a first foray into their other flavours, this was a hard flavour to get into.

Firstly, despite having stevia in it, it is very unsweet. I don’t usually mind a less than sweet beverage, but the hibiscus used in this is so sharp tasting while also having this weird and borderline savory undertone to it. There’s something about the strawberry that felt a little off too. Dehydrated strawberry used in tea blends typically have very little flavour and are mostly used for visual effect. What flavour they do have is very flat and lifeless tasting. Usually that’s not a problem in LLT because you’re using a small amount or have other ingredients incorporated to balance the taste. This sort of tasted like a really concentrated version of that dull, stale strawberry taste though. Combine that with the really shrill hibiscus? Yeaaahhh no.

It’s surprising because, in addition to the Grapefruit Earl Grey from this line, I’ve tried a lot of LOOPs other juice products and they’re so much nicer than this was. Hopefully the other two in the collection are a more pleasant experience. I guess I’ll know shortly.