Hello precious teacups! Are you cold? I’m cold. I’m always cold, but I’m really cold now because it is winter where I am and so brutal outside that I half expect to see an AT-AT Walker wander past my window. Inside, though, inside is where the tea is and that will warm you up with much less work than a less-than-lively tauntaun.
The saving grace of weather like this is that it’s the perfect time to enjoy a good cuppa. I brewed this particular blend for 5 minutes using boiling water. It brews up the vibrant red you would expect from something containing hibiscus. The flavor is tart and juicy and overwhelmingly hibiscus and cranberry. I like this but I’m not picking up on any of the other ingredients.
I did get three solid steeps out of this tea. I abandoned the third cup and it was cold by the time I got back to it. Turns out this blend isn’t bad hot but it is miles better as an iced tea! It is a fantastic berry explosion in my mouth, much more nuanced than the hot brew. I might have known this if I had paid attention to the website categorizing this as a summer tea!
This blend makes an excellent base for a modified version of Lu Ann’s tea-infused hot chocolate recipe . I brewed the tea like normal, stirred in three heaping teaspoons of Cadbury Drinking Chocolate, added almond milk (maybe a shotglass’s worth, I was eyeballing it), and topped it off with vegan marshmallows. So good! The chocolate and sweetness tone down the hibiscus, allowing the cranberry, raspberry, peach, and strawberry notes to come out by turns.
So the lesson here is a) read instructions and b) don’t be afraid to experiment! This is a delicious herbal berry blend but I would have written it off as a hibiscus-heavy cup of boring if I had only had it as a plain cup of hot brew. Stay warm out there!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Fruit Tisane
Where to Buy: Siplicious
Description
This award winning “All-Canadian”, berry-delicious infusion is packed full of native berries bursting with the flavors of our True North Strong and Free.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
