A friend of mine was kind enough to share a sample of Hotcups’ Death by Cocoa tea with me. Prior to receiving this sample, I had not heard of this company. Then, as part of an Instagram challenge to post 365 days of tea, I featured this sample in one of my posts and tagged the company. Hotcups then reached out to me and was kind enough to share even more samples of their offerings. They sent me seven teas to try including this one, Fruit Thirsty Crow.
Fruit Thirsty Crow is a mix of currants, hibiscus petals, rosehip peel, elderberries, blueberries, cornflower petals, black currants, raspberry pieces.
I divided the sample in half and prepared a cold brew with one half and a hot cup with the other. For the cold brew, I let the tea sit in water in the fridge for approximately 24 hours. For the hot cup, I steeped it in boiling water for 4 minutes. Unfortunately life got in the way and the “hot” tea was mostly a cooled tea by the time I tried it. So, this is actually a review of a cold brew and a cooled tea.
The cooled tea tastes a little bit like bubblegum to me. Granted, not fresh, just-put-in-your-mouth gum. Instead, this is like gum that you have been chewing long enough that the flavor is slightly fading and the actual gum flavor is coming through, but not so long that it’s no longer fruity. As much as I feel like that explanation can be off-putting, its just the best way I can explain this. It’s actually an enjoyable enough cup with a hibiscus/berry flavor at the front that tapers off to that gum/wax flavor at the end of the sip.
The cold brew is better than the hot tea because that gum element is gone. It is sweeter than the cooled tea and has more berry flavor. This is more like Swedish Berry gummies in their prime than gum that’s losing it’s flavor.
Is it the best fruit infusion I have ever had? No. But it’s a nice enough tea if you like more of a berry focus.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Fruit Tisane
Where to Buy: Hotcups
Description
Ingredients: Currants, hibiscus petals, rosehip peel, elderberries, blueberries, cornflower petals, black currants, raspberry pieces.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Blueberry Zinger Fruit Tisane from Tea & All It’s Splendor
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Fruit & Herbal Tisane
Where to Buy: Tea & All It’s Splendor
Tea Description:
Blueberries, meet apple, ginger and lemongrass. These fruits and herbs along with a small bouquet of other herbals are blended together to make a caffeine free blend, that will have you wishing blueberry season was here.
The blackberry leaf mixed with dried blueberries and apples provide a bold, naturally sweet blueberry flavour that reminds us of pie. The verbena, lemon grass and ginger give us the “zing”, making this the best herbal blend we’ve tried this year.
Learn more about subscribing to Postal Teas here.
Taster’s Review:
I didn’t look at the ingredient list before I brewed this Blueberry Zinger Fruit Tisane from Tea & All It’s Splendor, but based on the name of it I figured that it had hibiscus in it. So when I measured 1 1/2 bamboo scoops of the tisane into the basket of my Kati Tumbler, I was a little surprised to not see hibiscus in the blend. It was a pleasant surprise, to be sure and I could hear a little voice in my head say, “just because you don’t see the hibiscus doesn’t mean it’s not there.”
I poured 12 ounces of 195°F into the tumbler and let the tea steep for just six minutes, thinking that there had to be hibiscus in the blend. But when I lifted up the strainer basket and saw that the tisane was a golden amber color and not a ruby color – there wasn’t even a hint of pink hue to the liquid! It was then that I thought, “Huh! Maybe, just maybe someone knows how to make a tisane without hibiscus in it!”
Then I went to the Tea & All It’s Splendor website to check out the ingredient list:
Apple and ginger pieces, blackberry leaves, blueberries, heather blossoms, melissa and verbena leaves, lemongrass, natural flavouring, blue cornflower blossoms.
Did you see that? Or perhaps, do you NOT see that! Because I’m looking at an ingredient list for a fruit and herbal tisane that doesn’t have hibiscus in it.
Oh joyful day – I knew it could be done! Other tea blenders out there, take note – you CAN make a fruit and herbal tisane without hibiscus. It can be done!
This is really quite a tasty tisane. I think that the name might be a tad misleading, only because I’m tasting more apple, ginger and lemony notes than I am blueberry. But don’t let that deter you from trying this blend because it’s really good – and I DO taste the blueberry.
As I said in the previous paragraph, the apple, lemon and ginger are the three strongest notes that I taste. The apple tastes sweet and is a nice contrast to the zesty ginger flavor. The lemon-y note is not particularly tart, but I do get a hint of tartness here and there. These three flavors come through right at the start of the sip.
Just before mid-sip, I taste a flavor that I’ll describe as herbaceous. It isn’t a distinct herbal flavor. It just tastes lightly herb-y. Just after mid-sip, I notice the blueberry starting to come through and by the finish, I do taste a clear blueberry note. It’s a sweet blueberry note and I like that this tastes authentic. I’m not getting a fake berry flavor.
I’m very pleased with this tisane. I’m very happy that there isn’t any hibiscus in this – and perhaps most surprising about the lack of hibiscus is that in just about every berry fruit/herbal tisane like this, hibiscus is used because hibiscus has a tart flavor that is often mistaken for a berry taste. I’m so happy that Tea & All It’s Splendor didn’t take the ‘easy way out’ with this blend and add hibiscus to it. And I’m even happier that Postal Teas decided to include it in this month’s box!
Blueberry Cream Cheese Danish Green Tea from 52Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
This week’s tea is a revisiting of our very popular (and just re-blended (again)) Blueberry Cream Cheese Danish, this time with a green tea base. We used premium Young Hyson and Chunmee green teas with freeze-dried blueberries and organic flavors to make this delicious tea.
Learn more about this blend here.
Taster’s Review:
I loved 52Teas’ Black Tea version of Blueberry Cream Cheese Danish tea, so, I was pretty sure I’d also enjoy this version with the green tea base from 52Teas. And I am enjoying it!
The first thing I noticed when I opened the pouch (aside from the delicious aroma of blueberries!) is that there are not as many big, plump, freeze-dried blueberries in my pouch this time around. That was one thing that blew me away about the black tea blend … so many blueberries in the blend. Of course, I realize that the freeze-dried fruit additions to teas like this do relatively little to the flavor of the actual brewed tea, I still found myself missing the blueberries.
But, the blueberry flavor is NOT missing in the tea! This is deliciously blueberry! The blueberry is the very first flavor that I notice when I take a sip, and the blueberry flavor remains throughout the sip and the aftertaste has that tart, tingly berry taste. There is no mistaking the blueberry in this tea.
The green tea base offers a lighter, more refreshing background flavor for this blend. I must admit that it has been a while since I’ve tasted the aforementioned Blueberry Cream Cheese Danish black tea blend, but it was a very memorable tea. The black tea gave the tea a good, robust background … here, I notice that the tea tastes crisp and fresh. This is a better tea for the afternoon … while I think that the black tea would be a good choice for a morning tea because it is a heartier tea.
The flavors of the “pastry” and the cream cheese take a little while to reveal themselves. I’m not sure if this is because my first few sips were when the tea was still quite warm and now the tea has cooled slightly (It’s still hot, but no longer piping hot), or if it’s because the flavors just needed a few sips to develop on my palate. Now that I’ve consumed about 1/3rd of the cup, I can taste a light, buttery pastry and a tangy cream cheese as well as the sweet-tart blueberries.
This is a really tasty dessert tea. I do think I preferred the black tea base over this green tea base, but I am still really enjoying this. It satisfies the sweet tooth, and it’s a lot less caloric and fattening than an actual blueberry cream cheese danish – which I would ordinarily turn away from because I don’t need all that. I like that 52Teas gives us tasty alternatives to the sweets that I crave, and this is definitely a crave-able sort of tea!
Blueberry Jam Organic from David’s Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: David’s Tea
Tea Description:
Blueberries might just be the greatest fruit around – after all, they’re the star ingredient of North America’s favourite muffin. And hundreds of years before moms were making them into jams, jellies and cakes, blueberries were called “star berries” and revered for their healing powers. Another little known fact about blueberries is that they make for one great cup of tea – when you blend them with black tea, elderberries, cornflowers and stevia, it’s the perfect companion to your morning toast. (MK Kosher)
Organic: black tea, blueberries, elderberries, pink cornflower petals, stevia. With organic and natural flavouring*.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Blueberry Jam Organic from David’s Tea sure does not give me the blues! In fact it is exactly what I was craving today.
So I wanted something super dessert like, something really sweet, something fruity, something that would replace the fact I am not eating many “goodies” these days. This was my selection.
I could not resist all those blueberries, the sweet yummy smell of fruity goodness. This is the best next thing to having jam on my toast which I crave every morning but am not allowing myself to have right now. Lately I have been having juicy plump blueberries either in my matcha (they take the place of boba) or just on their own.
This tea from Davids Tea is so good and sweet and I don’t have to add any sugar to it, although I am tempted to just to see how dessert like I can get this tea. I am going to be a good girl though and appreciate the sweet juicy blueberry flavor on its own.
Also I love that this is made with organic ingredients! Oh and did you know how good blueberries are for you? If I could only have one berry in my life I would have to select blueberries as they just have such wonderful health properties and they are so very good!
Blueberry Fruit Tea from Teavivre
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Fruit/Herbal Tisane
Where to Buy: Teavivre
Product Description:
Ingredients: Roselle, Black Currant, Blueberries, Grapes
TeaVivre’s Fruit Tea’s make great, low calorie, caffeine-free, refreshing drinks for anytime of the day. Made only from carefully matched flower petals, dried fruit and berries, they all have high levels of vitamins and minerals and – most importantly – taste and smell great! They are all fantastic to drink either hot or iced. All our fruit teas are made without any added sugar, and so naturally have a very slight sour taste. If you’d like a slightly sweeter drink, simply add a small amount of sugar or, better yet, a small amount of honey.
Learn more about this tisane here.
Taster’s Review:
I’m usually a little hesitant to try a “fruit tea” because I worry about too much hibiscus. But… a quick glance at the ingredients … no hibiscus? Cool! But wait! What’s that … roselle? After a quick check on Wikipedia, I’ve learned that roselle is a species of hibiscus.
This worried me a bit, because… well, as I’ve mentioned more than once, I don’t really care for hibiscus.
But… this is really quite good. In fact, I really wasn’t prepared to like this quite as much as I do. The roselle has some similarities to the hibiscus I’m more accustomed to: most specifically, I taste a distinct hibiscus-y flavor and it’s trademark tartness. But what I’m not getting from the roselle is that syrup-y thickness that I would normally experience with hibiscus. This tastes and feels lighter and cleaner. It doesn’t feel sticky and thick. Nice!
In fact, this tisane is remarkably light for a fruit tea. It is really quite refreshing.
The blueberry tastes sweet and there is some tartness to it that is accented by the tart from the roselle. I also taste the black currant, and it gives the overall cup a fruit wine-like taste (in fact, I’m thinking that this might be nice brewed with some mulling spices for a mulled wine – but without the wine! – drink. Yum!)
This is one of the better fruit teas that I’ve tasted in a very long time. Oh, sure, I’ve enjoyed many of the other fruit teas that I have had. But this one stands out among the others. This … is what other fruit teas should aspire to be!