Queen of Tarts (Organic)

Not horrible, but too Kool Aid for me.

Well, if you don’t like hibiscus then you certainly won’t enjoy this one. I personally have some mixed feelings about this tea.

I enjoyed the tartness of the hibiscus as well as the citrusy lemonade-like quality to this one. It makes a fantastic tea pop. I felt like the hibiscus almost hid the taste of guayusa completely. I don’t particularly love or hate the taste of guayusa, so I’ll consider that a positive quality.

However, the extreme tartness of this tea means that it’s not something I could ever see myself drinking in the morning, which is when I normally consume the more caffeinated varieties. It’ll have to be stashed away for those times when I need a late afternoon pick-me-up. Also, as someone with a variety of health issues and allergies that sometimes lead to my mouth and tongue being swollen and sore (not to mention chronic stomach trouble), such an acidic tea does me no favours. While I normally drink lots of tea on days when I feel crappy, I find I can only consume this one when I’m already feeling my best. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a nice treat on those days, but it won’t make my regular tea rotation.

Went to davids tea yesterday not expecting to buy anything other than a cup of iced tea (I must be nuts because every time I walk into davids tea I end up buying at least 1 new tea). The two associates working yesterday suggested this tea. I have contemplated trying it for months since I love guayusa but haven’t been keen on hibiscus before so I wasn’t sure I would like it. I bought a small bag to try. It is SO good iced!!! Haven’t tried it hot yet but I love it iced. Will definitely be getting more!

Too tart for my taste. It’s alright with a bit of agave though.

Thank you, VariaTEA, for letting me try this :)

I don’t know what this was supposed to be like but all I got from it was hibiscus. And it was not a completely unpleasant experience. I do not loathe hibiscus even though I do avoid it. And since I have been avoiding it for quite a while, I don’t remember when I had a tea heavily loaded with hibbo last time. When I was drinking it, I was reminded of a time when i was a far less discerning tea drinker and was having all these “supposedly fruit flavored” teas that were just hibiscus teas.

But yeah, refreshing as such memories might be, hibiscus tartness got boring very quick. I didn’t find any other tasting notes that I was perhaps supposed to find in there… Oh well. Me and hibby are even now for the next year or so ;D

The Queen of Tarts
She had lots of heart
So I decided to make her into an iced tea.

Steeped it strong,
Thought I couldn’t go wrong,
Yet the tea seemed to blow me away.

But it wasn’t the way
I hoped it would
It puckered my lips,
Squinted my eyes
In the end I had to share it… give it away.

Okay, so my poetry could use some work. But holy moly… this is a crazy tea. It lives up to its name. It is tart. Too tart. It’s far too much for me. I made it as an iced tea and let my mom and my husband both try it… They loved it, I hated it. Hibiscus is centre stage here, and that’s all I can taste. Bleck.

Anyways, I ended up giving my tin to my mom as she said she’d drink it down no problem. Bye tea!!

Scheherazade’s Super Sipdown (Long) Weekend #6

Second cup of the morning. I’m not the greatest fan of Guayusa, but I do find it helps to give me a bit of a boost on a morning, and I can tolerate it in a flavoured blend. This one is pretty good. The hibiscus hides most of the earthiness, although a little still pokes through. The berries and cream flavour is the thing I really love about this one. If only it were a black base, I think it might have been love. As it stands, I like it, but it probably wouldn’t be one I’d particularly seek out.

I need to adjust my rating on this one, I think – I don’t think I enjoy it as much as I did in the past, sigh. Very, very tart – and I only have about half the normal amount of leaves in that I would normally put in my timolimo. It tastes like raspberries, which I appreciate, but it’s almost to the point now where I’m puckering up my face as I drink it! I think this one is far better enjoyed iced, so I may have to put this in my iced tea stash after today. >_>

I was told that this tea may be on its way out, so I went and stocked up with a tin. Having my first made-at-home cuppa today! Made in my libre tea glass, which allows me to really appreciate the maroon colour that it steeps to. It’s a wonderful tart with just a hint of sweet.

Though I will admit, this tea makes me grin a lot because it reminds me of Bahorel from Les Miserables. Bold, high energy, and with scarlet opinions. …or something like that.

Meh. Having only tried black and herbal before, I decided experiment with this and Honey Bee (a mate tea). Having heard about guayusa’s jitter-free energy, increased focus, and a bunch of other health benefits, I wanted to see what all the hype was about.

I brewed a pot of this with my Mom and Dad this morning. Unfortunately, I cannot tell you about its effect on my energy, because I only had a small cup. The tea was flowery and fruity, not the best to go with breakfast in my opinion. The tea just tasted like hot water and Hibiscus. I couldn’t taste the Guayusa. Was I supposed to?