Cranberry Singapore Sling Rooibos Tea

Today was both a good and a bad day for tea.

Bad because I learned I am not the only one who enjoys tea in my house – my dogs like tea so much that they somehow managed to unzip my backpack, tear through a box, and then proceed to eat multiple different teas. They demolished the bag of Cookie Dough tea I brought home specifically for a friend and then started working on some Laoshan Black and Vicky’s Sponge Cake that Cavocorax sent me. Luckily, the other teas were unharmed and the Laoshan Black and Vicky’s Sponge Cake could be sort of repackaged and salvaged (I am debating about drinking these because the dogs really ripped through the packages to the tea but I figure it is made in boiling water so any germs should be destroyed, right?!?).

However, I can get passed all of this because I now own 100 g of PISTACHIO CREAM!! I decided I was going to get a friend of mine a perfect mug and some teas for Christmas because she does not usually drink teas at home but she is always very interested in what teas I am drinking each day and when we are together she likes to have tea with me (I am still not sure if she does this for my benefit or hers). I planned on getting her only about 50 g of tea but then I got to DAVIDs and my excitement set in and I just could not decide which teas she should have. I ended up getting her about 30 g of Glitter & Gold (we call it Sparkly Tea and it is one I know she enjoyed and one she is quite entertained by), and then smaller amounts of Gold Rush, Movie Night, Lime Gelato, Vanilla Orchid, Jessie’s Tea, Vanilla Orchid, Creme Caramel Rooibos, and Cocoa Canela. I also got very excited while talking to the salesgirl and ended up having to write down a few different websites for her to check out because she said all the teas I was mentioning sounded amazing. Anyways, in the midst of my gift buying I thought I might as well ask if they had any Pistachio Cream lying around even though I didn’t see any anywhere in the store. The salesgirl ended up telling me she had some as part of the 2/$5 deal and that is when I told her that we would forever be best friends. When she pulled out the 4 bags they had left I told her that I loved her because now I am reunited with my beloved Pistachio Cream. As a bonus, they also had Cocoa Canela in stock too so I was able to pick up some more of that as well.

Anyways, after returning home from to DAVIDs to have to clean up the mess my dogs made, I headed over a friend to share my teas. She ended up trying a few different ones, included Pistachio Cream since she listened to my rave about it for so long, and as a bonus she let me try this tea that she had from Teavana. Usually I am not a huge fan of Teavana but this smelled pretty good and I am always excited to try something new. In the end, I was happy I tried it out because this is not a bad cup of tea. I have never had a Singapore Sling so I don’t know how this compares to that but I do know it tasted like a Cherry hard candy but without being medicinal. It was sweet and all around pleasant so not a bad way to end the night. Would I buy this tea? Probably not but I would not say no to another cup either.

So I swung by the mall on Wednesday when I was out and about to get a cup of this iced. I’m not much of a rooibos fan no matter how heavily flavored, but when I heard about the juniper berries I had to try it. I decided to let Michelle put in a teaspoon of sugar because one it’s going to be tart and two it’s supposed to be a cocktail. At first I’m unimpressed, tart, hibiscus, but then I close my eyes, breath in and picture the cocktail, yeah okay, I get it. I talk to Michelle about the different notes in it, I say gum, she says a candy from her childhood, I think old fashioned candy. I let her get back to work and muse about it on the way home. Cranberry, yes, orange yes, gin yes, some sort of spice? cinammon? maybe. licorice? not quite clove? perhaps. The word horehound keeps popping up, I’ve seen the old fashioned candies, but I don’t believe I’ve ever tasted them. Horehound is apparently in the mint family and bittersweet, again not sure if I’ve had it, but it reminds me of something. There is cherry, vanilla and carob pieces as well as cinnamon flavoring and “lemon crispies”… okay and I’m sure the roobios comes into play as well, though they don’t say if it is red or green and I didn’t get at the tea but the base seems dark. So anywho, interesting tea, want it to be fizzy iced, probably won’t try it hot. Now I want a gin tea.

You guys, I love sales. I got this on sale for a dollar an ounce during Teavana’s Heavenly Sale. You guys, cough syrup. That’s what I don’t love, especially in my freaking tea! This is so gross. I guess I know now why this was on sale.

Singapore Sling! One of my favourite Greek movies. snickers (Seriously, if you like grindhouse at all, check that one out.)

Okay. Rooibos. Berries. Vanilla. Where have I seen this before…

Oh yeah, in Sevenberry Sangria and Opus Rouge! I feel at this point like Teavana just re-blends many of the same basic concepts over and over to see which versions sell best, which is simply not exciting. I’d really like to see this company try a little harder for something different.

That said, it’s not bad at all. Cranberry, cherry and pineapple are riding out front, so it theoretically lives up to its name in that regard…although I have to admit that I’ve never actually had a Singapore Sling, so I’m just guessing here. But yeah. This is my Teavana training speaking, but I bet this would blend nicely with Pineapple Kona Pop… I’ll have to try that.

Supposedly there’s orange in here, but it’s not speaking to me much. There’s maaaaybe citrus of some kind at the back, or maybe I’m imagining things.

It passes the “do I want to put it down long enough to ice it,” test though, because the answer is “no,” although I’m doing it anyway. I’ll update if anything about it stands out when chilled.

One of the better ones, for sure.

Chilled Update: …More pineapple, maybe? I might just be reaching, I think it’s pretty much exactly the same iced. Huh!

I stopped by the store today, looking to try something iced.
Let me tell you I smelt a lot of nasty smelling teas. YUCK! This one was off putting in scent. But I tried it anyways because I love cranberry & I love Singapore slings.

This is freakin nasty! So much cough medicine taste!

This one tastes more like a cup of juice than a cup of tea. I got it iced, and it was really nice! I didn’t find it too tart, but the girl steeped it for a minute less than what it is supposed to be. I found the vanilla really complemented it and served to accent the flavours rather than overpower them.

This is a pretty stereotypical Teavana tea, but more on the drinkable scale. Straight its tart, as it should be with that many cranberries in it. I’m not one for tart drinks so I added a half teaspoon of sugar and that made it actually fairly enjoyable. I won’t be stocking up on it, but if a friend offered it to me I wouldn’t say no.

This one is deceivingly good on the first sip….until the cough syrupy after taste kicks in.

Let me reenact my tasting of this:
“OOoooooohhhhh……EEEEEWWWWWWWWWW!”

Had this one cold, don’t even want to try it hot. Blech.

This tea pretty much tastes like a cocktail. It has a sort of ‘fizzy’ note along with a Cranberry/Pineapple flavor. It’s not bad.

I’m drinking this one hot today. It’s supposed to be summer, but it’s raining. I digress.

This is a nice tart tea which brightens up nicely with a little bit of raw sugar. Not too much hibiscus, which I know is a big turn off for a lot of people. The cranberry comes out nicely with a bit of pineapple and a hint of vanilla.

I’m going to try this iced if the weather warms up…maybe with some gin in it. ;)