Every year Davids Tea releases a Cocktail Collection with teas designed to be mixed with spirits in summertime party drinks. I love the idea of these teas! If you are like me and don’t drink spirits these teas are equally as fun made with sparkling water or simply served over ice.
One of the teas being offered this summer is Apero Spritz, a fruit infusion featuring bitter orange rind. The smell of this tea is amazing, the vibrant orange and passionfruit really stand out. I steeped this at 212 degrees for 5 minutes and served it over ice. It steeps up a beautiful deep reddish-orange color, talk about a pretty tea for a party! The first sip is faintly familiar to me, similar to a passionfruit juice drink I have had in the past. This tea is sweet and tropical tasting, the passionfruit is very rich and flavorful. The back end of the taste has a lovely bitterness, much like the bitterness one encounters when drinking grapefruit juice. I would not steep this longer than 5 minutes as I feel that the bitterness could become magnified with longer steep times.
Davids Tea released a You Tube video showing how to make several mixed drinks with this tea. They all look good but this tea is equally tasty prepared simply as an iced tea.
Overall I love this tea! I think that the bitter note really adds a unique depth making this tea stand out from the normal summer tropical teas soon to be released in a few months.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Fruit
Where to Buy: Davids Tea
Description
What to do when you’re lounging in the late afternoon sun? Sip this refreshing apéritif-inspired fruit infusion – a sweet and vibrant sunset-coloured blend with grown-up notes of bitter orange rind. It’s light, juicy and will leave you feeling bubbly all over. For an elegant treat, serve it chilled in champagne flutes with a delicious assortment of cheese and fresh fruits. Cheers!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Bonita Peach Rooibos Herbal Tea from The Spice & Tea Exchange. . . .
I bought this tea because it allegedly contained strawberry flavoring in addition to peach. Strawberry peach? OH MY GAWD RIGHT? Unfortunately, I can’t really taste strawberry. The peach flavor is Batman, with orange/citrus notes as Robin.* The strawberry is, I guess, Alfred, back at the mansion? Poor Alfred never goes anywhere.
* (Robin is not as large or important as Batman, but still factors in the plot.)
Despite strawberry’s mysterious absence, I still tend to reach for this as an iced choice on days I’m trying to avoid soda/caffeine. It’s very sweet. The peach/orange, as previously mentioned, are the main players. The green rooibos adds a light, woodsy, sweet background. There’s something slightly astringent about the mix, but I don’t mind that.
There’s nothing about this blend that I’d clamor for you to try. I probably won’t re-buy it. However, it’s a solid, dependable workhorse for decaf iced tea, and I appreciate its presence in my cupboard.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Rooibos/Herbal
Where to Buy: The Spice & Tea Exchange
Description
Green rooibos redbush plant is flavored with summer fruits and flowers, to produce a refreshing caffeine-free blend. Delicious served either hot or iced.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Pineapple Orange Cooler from Steeped Tea. . . .
There’s something about a fruity tea that just can’t be beat in the summertime. When this bright blend popped up in my sample stash, I knew it was going to the be the perfect leaf to cold brew this summer.
Almost immediately in the water, this one turns bright orange– though I can’t confirm, I’m sure it’s from hibiscus.
Brewed cold, this one turns into the perfect summer treat– fruity, a little tart, citrusy. I can’t detect specifically orange or pineapple (and it’s surprisingly pink for its namesake), but it is definitely fruity, sweet, and delicious. If you were making iced tea for a little one, this would be the perfect caffeine- free choice.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Steeped Tea
Description
Ingredients: Apple pieces, Rosehip, Orange pieces, Hibiscus petals, Natural flavors.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Dragonfruit Fusion Teabags from Simpson and Vail.. . . .
June was National Iced Tea Month so I thought a few Iced Tea attempts were surely in order! To kick things off I brewed some Dragonfuit Fusion Tea Bags from Simpson & Vail.
As many of you know Hibiscus scares me and Rosehips are creeping on that list as well. When I saw how intensely pinkish-red this was after brewing I ASSUMED it was going to be that dreaded tarty-sour Hibiscus I was so frightened of. BUT…I don’t know how S&V did it but it worked well here! It wasn’t overly tart or overly sweet. Perhaps it was the Green Rooibos base that helped even it out?
Ingredients include Organic green rooibos, organic rosehips, organic hibiscus, organic orange peel, organic lemon peel and natural flavors. I will say that I could taste the citrusy peels mentioned in the list of ingredients and that seemed to really contribute to the overall flavor of this tea!
The rebel that I am – I sipped a half of a cup of this tea hot before icing and it was pretty good hot, too!
I have a very large thermo container that I will be traveling with a lot this summer and I can see myself keeping iced teas in there very soon! I’m looking forward to Iced Tea Season. Are you?
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal/Tisane
Where to Buy: Simpson & Vail
Description
Perfect for lazy summer days, this organic herbal blend brews to a ruby red color with a tropical fruit taste. Caffeine free and bursting with flavor, this “tea” will be enjoyed by young and old alike. Add a little sweetener or seltzer to brighten up the taste!
Ingredients: Organic green rooibos, organic rosehips, organic hibiscus, organic orange peel, organic lemon peel and natural flavors.
To brew:
Put teabag in a gallon container. Pour boiling water over the teabag to cover, steep for 5 minutes then remove the bag. Add cold water to fill the container and stir. Refrigerate. Serve over ice as is or with your choice of sweetener.
Iced tea in the refrigerator may turn cloudy. If this should occur, pour a little boiling water into the tea after removal from the refrigerator.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Limoncello from The NecessiTeas. . . .
Lemon is not my favorite flavor. I find that it is very overpowering and oftentimes all lemon teas end up tasting the same because of it. But when I read the description on the package of this Limoncello green rooibos blend by The NecessiTEAs, I was instantly interested. Lemon meringue mingled with vanilla and brown sugar…I mean, that sounds really good! So I put my opinions of lemon flavored teas aside and decided to try it out!
The smell of the loose leaf was definite lemon cream. It actually smelled like it would taste really good. I steeped this for about 7 minutes and added a little agave even though it probably didn’t quite need it. The taste was pretty spot on in relation to the smell of the dry leaf. Very creamy, which was in part due to lemongrass which tends to lend a creamy flavor to teas. The lemon and vanilla/brown sugar flavors were definitely reminiscent of a lemon meringue pie. I think the green rooibos was in the background and did not lend the usual woody flavor to the tea, which I was thankful for.
Overall this was a really nice dessert blend. I enjoyed this one much more than lemon teas I have tried in the past. So, whether you are a fan of lemon or not, this would be a fabulous blend to try out. Especially if you enjoy lemon meringue pie! Next time I probably would have skipped the agave, because it over-sweetened the cup just a bit. So make sure you try a sip before adding a sweetener. This is definitely a perfect after-dinner tea to enjoy.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green Rooibos
Where to Buy: The NecessiTeas
Description
The Italian dessert drink has made its way into a tea. Imagine lemon meringue teasing your taste buds, while sweetly melting in your mouth with a blend of vanilla and brown sugars. The lemony brightness shines through with lemongrass and a sprinkling of golden marigold petals, all topping a green rooibos tea.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
