Fig Rose

Haha, I actually I added a Teavana tea to the database! I got an email today about this new tea and knew that I wanted to try it. I mean, fig and rose are some of my favorites, plus this is supposed to have almond notes. But I didn’t want to buy some right out because I certainly don’t trust Teavana enough for that.

Then I ended up in a mall (I left my computer power cable in my previous hotel, f%#&^$, so I had to get a new one for the rest of my trip) so I decided to get a cup of this to go to try it out. I have to give props to the workers at the Teavana in Provo, UT, because they were awesome and not pushy at all. A real pleasure to shop there. In fact I might go back to pick up some of this tea because I know I won’t feel pressured.

So if you couldn’t guess from that statement, I really dig this tea. It impressed me way more than I thought it would! I was worreid about the pineapple bits being too pineappley, but they just added a pleasant fruitiness. Sooo figgy, it was lush and delicious. Not super rosy, but it was still floral in a way that I call “dark florals,” which comes from very lush rose. I asked for it to be made without sweeteners, but it was still slightly sweet as well as tart. The hibiscus worked well here (biggest surprise) and wasn’t too tart. I didn’t get any distinct almond flavor, but the whole thing was such an amalgamation that I’m sure it was contributing. The aroma kept reminding me of something but I couldn’t place it for the longest time; then I settled on a rich, red wine. Mmm.

My response to this tea was “Damn you, Teavana!” I don’t love that I love this tea since I have a longstanding mistrust of Teavana. I also tried the Citrus Lavender Sage while I was waiting for my tea and really liked that one too. I need some herbals for the evenings because I have almost tapped out my stash, so these two might have to join.

I wanted to get this tea but I was waiting for someone to give me the card so I could get 30% off. Clearly 50% off is a better deal. I picked up 4 oz since after looking at it, it definitely looked like it’d be a heavier tea as a lot of fruit based tisanes tend to be.

At first I didn’t see myself drinking this hot ever, and I realized when I got home it was pretty funny I turned down even smelling Berry Almond Amaretto for its almond notes when this one has them too. And then I made it and I realize I definitely need to try it hot.

This isn’t as floral as I was hoping it would be :( It’s also way sweeter. It tastes a lot like cake, for me this is a definite product of the caramel flavoring. The fig flavor is decent, and the hibiscus isn’t too tart. I jut wish there was just a bit more rose, because it smells much more floral than it tastes.

So! I was on vacation at a cottage in Georgian Bay this weekend (GORGEOUS!) and had opted only to bring some teabags, as brewing tea when you want to go out and play doesn’t really work super well. However, it turns out that the owners had picked up some Teavana loose leaf on sale, and so I got to try a few new teas! Perhaps not under the best brewing conditions, but oh well.

I think this one was the first one I brewed myself – just poured hot water into a cup with some tea at the bottom, and left it in there while I drank it. I do recall there being hibiscus, but the tartness really worked for me. However, I really don’t recall tasting any fig or rose. I’d definitely like to try this one again, as it was better than expected, and I think under more controlled conditions, I might get some better flavours.

i love figs, i love rose in tea… when i was at teavana today i was given a coupon for an iced tea… just one dollar. sure! it had been a long, errand filled day. i could do with a tea. and this was the one i chose.

something was wrong. and i said so. ‘i taste a cake type base (but not the yummy kind)’. the sales people were surprised and scurried to read the tin. ‘well, the figs are coated in rice flour so they hold their shape, but it’s only a little.’ well some things may be small in amount but large in effect!

the balance was off and i kept feeling as though i were eating a tart fruit stir fry over rice. i am heartbroken on behalf of the figs!

this is a first real failure on teavana’s behalf for me.

I’m not a big Teavana tea drinker and I much prefer shopping online instead of in store. That being said, I saw that there was a sale going on and took a peek at some of the available teas. Usually after dinner, I crave fruity and tart teas. I have quite a few herbal blends (mostly rooibos and sweet or creamy desserty ones), but not ones that are fruit-based. The scent of this tea right out of this bag was of mostly alcohol. It was a very strong, almost alarming smell, but the fruits came through a bit more and covered it up a little.

After the tea has steeped, I wouldn’t say that I smell a whole lot of fig or rose, but mostly strawberry! It is a cakey kind of strawberry — almost like a strawberry shortcake? It reminds me of something from my childhood that I just can’t put my finger on.. but it’s pleasant and sweet, a bit nursery-like.

Sipping… huh, I thought that this would have more defined flavors, but it really just seems like a mess of dried fruit leaning toward the strawberryesque. I do taste the more generalized sweet and tart characters than anything specific, but it’s okay with me. The finish is sweet and faintly reminds me of powdered sugar. There isn’t enough of it to push it into the dessert realm.. it’s really just a whisper.

I don’t know if I would purchase this again, but I will finish what I have. I think this will be a decent choice to have in my collection.

Sipdown! This one is actually really good! It is very fig and nut flavored. I couldn’t taste any rose in this one, but maybe the batch wasn’t well mixed? I’m sad that I didn’t get more, but it turns out that the ingredients are pretty heavy because it’s mainly fruit pieces. So although it was 2oz, I felt like I got a lot less cups out of it. I’d recommend this one to mix with other teas.

Right out of the bag, this smells really alcoholic, but it’s a sweet type. My first thought was, Manischewitz – super sweet, kosher wine. Not like I’d reject a glass of it, but I was really really hoping this wouldn’t taste like it!

I really like figs. I didn’t care much for them growing up, but as an adult, I’ve eaten dried figs as a tasty super sweet snack. Oh my goodness, the deliciousness.

Anyway, my mug is cooling right now, but I took a small taste right before I took out the ""leaves"". It’s quite good and it’s sweet on its own so I didn’t add sweetener, though as it cools it’s getting a little bitter so I think I might add some next time.

I used 2 perfect teaspoons in my 16oz steeping mug

This is another tea that I would not have purchased on my own, without a specific request for it. Fig fruit on its own, to me does not have a strong flavour. Bland is how I would refer to fig. That being said, I really LOVE Fig Newtons – maybe because of the added pastry/cookie type component (and sugar).

As good Teavana employee’s do, they wafted the aroma to me, and I thought ‘Whoosh!!! That is very aromatic!’ I also thought to self, I will forward most of this to the requestor of this blend.

I kept a little bit, because I wanted to try it despite the aroma to me was not appealing. The aroma of this tea has nothing to do with taste. I’m not drinking a fig newton cookie, but I am definitely drinking a (sweet) flavoured fig tea, with a bite acid from the apple pieces. Really, surprisingly good!! I wish I had kept more of this sample!!

The dry aroma is a more than a little off-putting to me. But the brewed aroma is not as strong, and the flavour delicious!!

Back log from yesterday. This wasn’t bad and it was pink so that was pretty cool. Also, after reading through other tasting notes on this, I determined that the taste I was getting but couldn’t quite place could be some type of nut. It was very enjoyable and what made this tea for me.

I completely did not mean to drop off the face of the earth for so long… but it kind of happened. :( It started when I went on multiple back-to-back trips during the Christmas holidays (two of them were planned, one of them was not!), and it got a bit out of control. I’ve missed y’all…

Anyway, I finally got to go visit my hubby up in CHILLY Great Lakes, Illinois, and while we were there, we ended up in a Teavana, and saw that this tea was part of the Heavenly Sale. So it came home in my suitcase. :) I wish that was the end of the story, but it isn’t. My suitcase was delayed on the way home and did not make it to me for another FIVE DAYS. I was overjoyed to see it when it was finally delivered to me, but not so overjoyed, upon opening it, to find that the brand new tin of this tea that we had JUST BOUGHT (see above), which had been COMPLETELY FULL (I think it was somewhere in the neighborhood of 12 or so ounces of tea?), had spilled all over my luggage. There was only about a tenth of the original content left in the tin. I salvaged what I could… but the rest just had to go. I did manage to get the majority of the tea back into the tin, no worse for wear. Lucky I didn’t pay full price for it!

Now, on to the review. I’m not getting as much fig as I’d like, and since I’m a really big fan of the fig, that’s kind of disappointing. It is a yummy herbal tea, though. The caramel notes come through quite well, and the floral notes are pleasant, though I can definitely detect the presence of hibiscus, singing just loudly enough and slightly off-key…