Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black & Green Teas
Where to Buy: Harney & Sons
Tea Description:
Breathe in the sweet aroma of Caribe, a light fusion of green and black teas enhanced by tropical flavors. The exotic tea mellifluously fuses hibiscus, guava, coconut and strawberry, accented with marigolds and cornflowers. The first sip tastes of green tea, trailed by an impressive array of fruit and floral surprises, revealing endless tropical notes tucked into each sip. A favorite for many, Caribe is an inventive and exotic blend softened into a serene escape.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I really, really need to start checking up on teas before I try them blindly without knowing a little bit about them. Case and point: this Caribe blend from Harney & Sons, which is a blend of black and green teas. I thought it was a straight black tea blend with no green tea … so I brewed it as such, using boiling water.
Fortunately, this tea is pretty forgiving, because I didn’t get a scorched green tea leaf taste in my cup – no bitterness, no foul or off taste. Just deliciousness.
I noticed the hints of green tea and guava right off the bat, with a earthy black tea that provided a solid background of flavor. After a couple of sips, the strawberry notes really came through nicely, and this became a tea that was mostly about the strawberry! Nothing wrong with that, I love strawberries!
But that doesn’t mean I couldn’t taste the tea. The black tea is … quite obviously … the strongest tea note of this cup, but the green tea is certainly noticeable. I find myself wondering how this tea might have tasted with a slightly lower brewing temperature … if I would taste more green tea flavor, how the strawberry and guava would present themselves … but of course, I only had enough for one pot of tea, and so, I’m left to wonder. (Fortunately, if curiosity gets the better of me, Harney does offer this in generous loose leaf sample packages for just $2.00!)
The coconut is not a well-defined flavor, I notice more of its texture than its taste here, providing a slick coconut texture that is supple and slightly creamy. And I’m glad to say that the hibiscus does not have a strong presence in this cup either … it does offer a slight tartness to the overall cup, but this seems to accent the berry notes quite nicely. The floral notes are faint to this cup as well, but, the flower petals certainly do add charm and color to the dry leaf.
Overall, not a bad cup of tea. I enjoyed the combination of flavors, and the way they presented themselves. If you do get around to trying this one, and have a chance to brew it at a slightly lower temperature, do let me know how it fairs! I’m interested to know!
Groovy Guava from Simpson & Vail
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Simpson & Vail
Product Description:
A wonderful afternoon tea! This fabulous blend of delicious fruits is melded with colorful herbs and our delicate White Monkey tea. The pale ecru cup emits a scrumptious fruity taste that is certain to please.
Contains: Green tea, Orange Blossoms, Raspberry pieces, Cornflower petals and flavorings.
Taster’s Review:
Delicious!
This tea really is fabulous! From the very first moment when I opened the package I fell in love with this tea. Well, actually, I think I fell in love with it before that – because I love the name too. The fragrance of the tea is exotic and captivating, smelling a bit like a tropical paradise … or at least, what I would imagine a tropical paradise to smell like!
This luscious aroma translates to the flavor to a T (tea?) It is nectar-like and sweet, like a tropical smoothie, only thinner. There are hints of tartness throughout the sip, but they really reveal themselves in the finish. The aftertaste is sweet yet tart, complete with that tart-y tingle on the tongue.
The flavor of the green tea almost gets lost in this blend. Almost, but not quite. I can taste the light, crisp flavor of the green tea. One thing this mild green tea lacks, though, is the grassy/vegetative taste that so often accompanies a green tea … making this tea a perfect choice for those who generally find that grassy taste off-putting. The flavor is very smooth, mellow and fruity … but it doesn’t taste like a tropical fruit punch. It has that sweet, fresh flavor of green tea but without the grassy tones.
This tea wins big points with me. It’s awesome iced, but also very good served hot too … and with winter around the corner, it would be nice to keep this tea on hand for those times when you’d like to take a little tropical getaway, even if it is just in your head … and teacup!
