Organic Herbal Cranberry Orange

Hibiscus :(
Cranberry :)
Orange :)
Chamomile :(
These are the ingredients I can taste…and in that order. We are about 50/50 for liking the ingredients BUT I will say the Cranberry and Orange are quite nice. I think I would prefer this one iced…but then again I have found I can tolerate Hibiscus a tad more in a cold drink over a hot one. Not too shabby!

Herbal Cranberry Orange – Davidson’s – 2/11/2014

This is a very pretty blend but as I opened up the bag to spoon some into my Finium brew basket, I caught the definite scent of rooibos, which I hadn’t guessed was in this blend. Also hibiscus, which I’m not all that fond of. The tartness is too much sometimes. Most of the time. Such an awful filler ingredient.

I put a bit of sweetener in because that tends to tame the hibiscus a little bit. The dripping liquid from the brew basket looks red but I can’t tell because my cup is black on the inside and outside. I should really get a glass mug for work but I haven’t found one that’s 16-18oz that I like. Not that I’ve looked very hard.

Drinking this…definitely the tartness of the hibiscus right up front, scratchiness in the throat from the rooibos that I can feel but not exactly taste, and the slightly different tartness of the cranberry and every so slight bit of orange in the middle and the chamomile comes out right at the end of the sip and in the aftertaste. I could have identified the chamomile with my eyes closed because that flavour is so distinctive. Mostly this tastes like hibiscus-y fruit juice with a chamomile aftertaste. Not something I’ve ever looked for but it’s nice enough. I would drink it again if offered and I wouldn’t even make the yuck face.

You guys, I am so so so tired. My cold is making my brain fog and it’s taken me an hour to write this note. I’m getting minimal work done at work and there’s 5 hours left (I suppose to get more work done, we’ll see). I’m stuck with a mystery problem in my data file in a why will you do this when you won’t do this that’s almost exactly the same kind of problem. Frustrating.

This is my 500th tasting note.

TTBB #14

This is another very generous sample from Sandy. Dodge really likes this one. I suspect she loves the hibiscus.

It’s pretty tart. I think I pick up the rosehips and hibiscus with hints of orange. This is the love child of lemonade and koolaid. The rooibos can’t compete with the above superpowers. It’s smooth and heavier feeling so perhaps the chamomile is trying to make a good showing.

Tea #18 from the Here’s Hoping TTB

So this tea is made up mostly of things on my list of things I hate in tea, but surprisingly, I didn’t end up hating the tea. That’s a pretty high praise considering this gives you the double whammy of orange and hibiscus, my #2 and #3 on the I hate list. The hibiscus doesn’t completely take over, it adds a bit of tartness letting the cranberry and orange shine. I can taste a little bit of the chamomile and I really wish the flavor from it was a little stronger. I didn’t even know there was rooibos in this until I read the ingredients, I couldn’t taste it at all.

Personally, I think this smells better than it tastes, but that is only because I really don’t enjoy the ingredients. It did help with my sore throat, so I’m glad that I decided not to let my hate of all things orange prevent me from trying it.

Another from TeaboxB! A little worried about the hibiscus but it wasn’t too bad. It was kind of like juice… that tasted a bit like vitamins. But the cranberries and oranges were tasty. Not too much flavor from the chamomile. This one was supposed to have rooibos in it, but it has probably settled in the bottom of the pouch. I actually expected more tart/bitter especially as I added more than two teaspoons to the mug. Must be expectations from previous hibiscus attacks I’ve had. I definitely have never had two teas with chamomile in the same day! I don’t think I’ve had chamomile before today in about a year…or two. Not terrible anyway!

I smelled the dry leaf and it was positively wonderful- very orange-y. I love orange in tea!

I made the mistake of looking at reviews of this tea, as it was brewing, but before I actually tasted it. Not because I would have liked it otherwise, but because I would not have even bothered brewing it. I have yet to find an herbal with hibiscus in it that I actually like. Something about that tartness just puts me off.

Even so, the purple/red hue of the tea would have quickly given the hibiscus away.

But as it was already brewed, I tried it. I can taste the cranberry and the orange. A nice combination of flavors.
Had it be sans hibiscus, I could really like this.

As it stands, it seems like a really good tea for those with a more amicable relationship to the hibiscus that I have. I will pass this tea on to my hubby, who rarely drinks tea, but when he does, favors the tart hibiscus-y kinds.

This smells amazing, dry. The beau picked it out to drink on our return from the Market and I acquiesced. Then I looked it up..uh oh. Rosehips? Hibiscus? Chamomile? Herm. This is one the 60+ teas (yes, sixty!) that I recieved in my box of wonder that I purchased from LiberTeas via TeaTrade. It’s been so warm the last few weeks that I’ve only been drinking tea at work, and none of these are there so this is the first one I’ve broken into.

Back to the tea. Ever since I read a tasting note on here (don’t remember whose) about squeezing steeped rosehips and having them ooze, just thinking about it makes me a little queasy. I already have a tenuous relationship with hibiscus and hate chamomile, but I am hoping the delicious sweet orange dry smell really translates in the taste.

The liquor is very red (hibiscus) and the steeped aroma is unusual. Tart and dry, with an oatmeal-ish edge, according to the beau. I’m fairly certain the odd scent I keep getting is the chamomile mixing with all the other powerful ingredients. There is no echo here of the dry aroma, this is a whole different beast.

First sips are a relief. The hibiscus isn’t overwhelming and the chamomile is there but not dominant. I don’t get any orange or cranberry though, which is a let down. As it cools, the chamomile takes over. Bleck. I appreciate the chance to try this one, but I think I will try to move the rest of my sample along to a friend. Either that or convince the beau to drink as he DOES get orange and doesn’t get chamomile.

This one is very similar to the Cranberry Orange Iced that I reviewed earlier this week, the main differences are that: 1) this is a loose leaf blend; and 2) the loose leaf blend (this) has rooibos in it in addition to the other ingredients. The bagged varieties do not list rooibos as one of their ingredients.

It’s hard to say if that really makes all that much difference, because right now, what I am tasting primarily is hibiscus, cranberry and orange. I don’t know that I taste much from the rooibos. Perhaps as I continue to sip it, the flavors will develop somewhat. Even so, and even though this is a hibiscus-y tea in taste and texture, I am finding it rather enjoyable. The cranberry and orange flavors really rescue it from what might otherwise be a too-much-hibiscus-in-it blend.

To say that this smells like potpourri is an understatement. This made me incredibly nervous. That, and Dylan mentioned that the other Davidson’s tea they have is actually being used as potpourri…

That said, I actually like this. It kind of tastes like unsweetened Kool Aid, which should probably be disgusting, but really just isn’t in this case.

Some other suggestions from Amazon comments (I believe) were to cut this with more hibiscus. That would be insane.

Next time I try this, I’m going to add a little sugar and put it over ice.

Don’t be put off by the really, really intense orange peel smell and that you really can’t taste the rooibos. This is still tasty.

Hmm. Just… hmm. This tea was so promising. The scent is really something—an orange aroma so intense it almost smells spiced, and the rich berry scent of what I thought were cranberries… until I saw the hibiscus petals. Uh-oh. I was just not certain about this anymore, and it turned out, I was right. There is just something about hibiscus that takes over other fruit flavors. It wants to be the star of the show, and it has the capability. It isn’t a bad flavor, I just feel like I’ve tasted this tea before, having had other teas with dried fruit and hibiscus. It doesn’t seem to matter what the fruit is: the hibiscus overpowers it. And then I come here and learn that it ALSO has rosehips in it. Man, those cranberries never stood a chance. And the orange… I might be able to taste a little, every few sips. But no more than that. Oh, well.