Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Yunomi
Tea Description:
Hibiscus tea bags are made with high quality roselle (a kind of Hibiscus) grown in the tropical region. Enjoy hot or as iced tea.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Hello tea friends, I do hope you are all well.
Recently I received an order from Yunomi of which they were kind to include this tisane as a free gift. While admittedly hibiscus is not something I would usually order it is nice to try something different. Plus I feel tisanes are something I should drink more of, going caffeine free every now and then sounds like a good idea.
They do offer this as two versions on their website: loose leaf and teabag. This is the teabag version.
The bags are a good quality thin polystyrene (very typical Japanese tea bag design). They are white and a little bit see through with 1/5 filled with small, chopped petals. As I sniff the bag I am met with a dry, sweet, tangy and herbal scent. Very hibiscus strong and herbal but also not overly thick.
Steeping: Popping one bag into boiling water for three minutes.
Colour is deep, deep red. Scent is floral, sweet yet sour and overall rather soft.
Flavour is stronger than the smell though it’s not as thick as I expected (or feared). The hibiscus is sweet with sour after tones and a touch of dryness, this leads to a herbal after taste. The sourness is actually rather minimal considering, likening this to sherbet. ie. More sweet than sour.
Half way down my mug I’m finding this to remain consistent with the first sip. The dryness is not increasing and nor is the herbal tang that tisanes tend to have.
Overall I thought this was nice, more pleasant tasting than I had imagined being generally a non hibiscus fan. This was of fair quality and strength which complimented the hibiscus. A simple tisane but a nice companion on this warm night.
Fruit Fusion Green Tea from Nature’s Tea Leaf
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green Tea
Where to Buy: Nature’s Tea Leaf
Tea Description:
Fruit Fusion Green Tea is a harmonious fusion of Eastern and Western flavors. This tea has a tart, fresh aroma with a zesty and fruity flavor that cools and refreshes your body. Our Fruit Fusion Green Tea combines a quality Sencha green tea with genuine dried pieces of Rosehip, Hibiscus (a Chinese flower and natural source of many vitamins including C, A, and D), and orange peel. The Sencha tea leaves are loose, green tea leaves with a flat, smooth, and narrow body. When infused, the tea has a sweet and sour aroma. A refreshing drink that can be enjoyed hot or cold.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I had my doubts about this tea. After all, I’m not fond of hibiscus, and I have often let that be known here on this blog. It seems like it’s in nearly every tisane out there … why, oh why does it need to also be added to Camellia Sinensis? I mean, yeah, I get it … I know it’s loaded with vitamins and offers a realistic berry-like taste when it’s infused. But it also can be rather tart and when left to brew too long, it becomes syrupy. Fortunately, since it has been blended with a green tea here, that isn’t a problem, as I rarely brew my green teas for longer than 2 minutes. But the tartness. I’m doubtful, but I’ve got my fingers crossed. Here’s hoping!
OK, so this is pretty darned good! The hibiscus did not go all “hibiscus-y” on me and turn this into a syrupy, tarty tasting tea. I taste the lovely, sweet flavor of the Sencha, which is slightly creamy, almost buttery, and smooth. I taste the bright, vibrant flavor of the orange, and I do taste the hibiscus. It tastes tart and tangy, but, it doesn’t overwhelm it.
It’s got kind of a sweet-and-sour kind of thing going on, and I like the contrast. The sip starts off sweet, with a bright, citrus-y tone and sweet green tea taste. Toward mid-sip, the flavor shifts to a slightly tart taste, which develops and becomes more tart toward the tail and then carries through to the aftertaste.
It’s a very lively, enjoyable tea. Especially nice as it cools – would make a great iced tea!
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!