Either me or my boyfriend purchased a little sample baggie of this from Central Market about a year ago. Stumbled upon it unexpectedly and brewed some up for the two of us in a coffee press. I am wary about hibiscus and blends with a lot of citrusy ingredients because it is really easy to overdo the tartness, so I was conservative in the amount of tea and the steep time. I am also wary of hibiscus due to so many negative experiences with Tazo Passion tea at work. The smell of hibiscus alone can turn me off quickly. Not to mention my former love of making raspberry passion tea lemonades to take home with me until I spilled it all over the car on the drive home… twice.
Annnnyway, this stuff brews up a beautiful (and expected) shade of hot pink. It smells fruity and tart. It tastes… like hibiscus. I’m getting a pretty interesting kool-aid taste, but not particularly lychee-y or pineapple-y. It’s definitely a slightly different, and pleasant, flavor. Very juicy and begging to be iced.
This is one of those teas that is just likable because it’s sweet and tangy and fruity. Even people who don’t drink tea will probably enjoy this one. I’m sure it would play nice with different lemonades/limeades or mixed in a fruit juice or a fruit punch too. Maybe a lemon-lime soda? Good for a summer picnic by the lake.
That being said, I can appreciate this tea, but it’s just not my thing.
I’ve been told (here!) that WF carries DoMatcha:)
My local Whole Foods carries loose Rishi teas and Shang Tea.
I prefer Whole Foods to World Market. My Whole Foods carries DoMatcha, as well as a wide selection of Tazo (which is a local company for me) and Republic of tea. They even have a few Two Leaves and a Bud selections as well as some from Tea Spot. And some good local companies (Townshend’s & The Jasmine Pearl are a couple that come to mind).
Sigh..oh for a Whole Foods that wasn’t 100 miles away….
I’m w/ a gmathis- WF and Trader Joes are 2 hrs away from me! (and Teavana, but from what people are sayin I don’t wanna go there anyway lol)
Ohhh, I forgot about the Rishi teas. And Two Leaves and a Bud had some good ones. I’m still not sold on Matcha, I am not ready for it yet.
Gmathis and Cofftea, I’m driving 54 miles each way to visit whole foods…the Pineapple Lychee being empty is worth the trip. And I need something fun to do on my 3 days off this week (well one of the 3 days).
WF here has more of a variety than WM does, but WM has those exclusives with Republic of Tea and Zhena’s that I love. I can recommend Zhena’s Vanilla Mandarin and Rainforest Berry rooibos (I think that’s the name…), both are WM exclusives and yummy!