Hibiscus Berry

Another tea I got “free” by paying shipping only on this and many other items.
Ya know … this was darn good!
I was expecting that typical hibiscus TART – nope – masterfully blended with the sweet berries for the perfect balance. I may have to make this a stash iced tea for summer!
Oops actually this was a Fab.com purchase not the free just pay shipping place.

I guess I never wrote a note for this. It is from a teabox at some point in the past! I guess the company has folded. I wouldn’t trust the accuracy on noticing whatever flavors were originally here, but I don’t taste any hibiscus or berry at all at this point. What has inspired me to write a note today is the wonderful guayusa base. It’s flavorful, it’s quality, and somehow still seems fresh! I guess I forgot how much I like guayusa. It seems an underappreciated form of caffeine! And a nice change of flavor, if I ever get tired of black tea (not like that would happen in any universe.)

I don’t know why I went through almost the entire canister of this tea without it really standing out to me. Aroma-wise, I find it to have a nice floral aroma with a fruity undertone. Definitely starting off like my style of tea.

As I’m down to the last four infusers (sachets) of it, I decided to use two to make a single serving cold brew and two to make two cups of warm tea.

Hot Tea Review:

I steeped this tea for 7 minutes at 190 degrees and I really enjoyed the flavor. The taste was tart and sweet, leaning more towards the tart side.

One of the things I really liked about the hot steep of this tea is how there was a duality of flavor. It was tart then sweet and fruity then floral (which was reversed from the aroma I picked up on). That was the most enjoyable part of this brew, for me.
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Cold Tea Review:

I used two sachets for the cup and was disappointed by the flavor. It did not live up to its hot tea brew. I didn’t catch the variety of flavors. Instead, it fell sort of flat. It wasn’t horrible, but it was very plain. I ended up adding some sweetener and lemon to add a bit of sweetness to it.

Either way, I’m happy to have re-happened across this little gem in my cupboard while working my way through my stockpile. While I have some teas of this variety that I like more, it’s always nice to have a back-up or alternative whenever the others are unavailable or become mundane. If I do buy it again I’ll stick to serving it warm.

Yesterday evening I stopped by ‘Traveling Tea’ shop in Maplewood before I started playing. This is the same place where I get the much adored & coveted pumpkin ginger tea that Sil & I love SO MUCH. I talked to Kateri (the owner) about getting more of that this fall, even offering to roast as many pumpkins as she needs to guarantee an ample supply for the winter. Here’s her blog – http://www.traveling-tea.com

So while we were chatting, she offered me samples of various things, including a Vanilla Oolong that was nice, & this cold drink. She actually opened a fresh bottle to offer me a little taste, and it was tasty, so I bought the rest of the bottle from her. Unlike some overly tart hibiscus drinks, this one has just enough of that herb to lift the flavor up. I haven’t drank much guayusa, so I don’t really have much to say about it, but this was a pleasant cold drink to enjoy while I was playing my first set, kind of light, kind of sweet, & gratefully cold!