Hibiscus Tea Squeeze

I’m still working through the remainder of a two ounce pouch of Steven Smith Teamaker’s No. 17 Darjeeling, Steinthal FTGOP1, 2nd Flush and a one ounce pouch of Floating Leaves’ Nantou Four Seasons-Spring 2016 (both are very good, by the way), so I have not had time to start work on any new teas. I should have a new review or two up by the weekend. En lieu of a new black tea or oolong, I picked up a bottle of this fruit and flower blend at a local gas station after lunch today. I had tried this stuff before, but it had been a couple of years.

On the nose, I did not pick up much. It just smelled like hibiscus, lemon, and cane sugar. In the mouth, this blend struck an awkward balance between sweet and tart. The expected cranberry-like floral tartness of the hibiscus blossoms was presented clearly, but the lemon and cane sugar notes muddled them toward the finish.

This is not the sort of thing I would go out of my way to pick up regularly, but I suppose it could have been worse. I’m not huge on hibiscus, but I think this would have been better without the lemonade. Ultimately, this was not horrible for a commercial bottled hibiscus blend, but it was also far from satisfying for me. I doubt I’ll purchase this again if I have any other options.

P.S. I found out a former college classmate of mine worked for Argo Tea for some time. Maybe the dude still works there. We were not exactly close and lost touch years ago, so I’m not exactly certain about his current status with the company. Oh well.

Too sweet, and I don’t think the lemonade goes very well with the tea…should be more subtle.