162 Tasting Notes
So, the name of this tea comes from the artificial flavouring added to it. Wonderful (/sarcasm). But since it comes in the assorted pack I got, I might as well drink it.
I get absolutely no distinctive banana or pineapple flavour from this. None at all. And it’s BRIGHT PINK when steeped from the hibiscus, which doesn’t help my mind think “PINEAPPLE, DAMMIT!” That being said, this was a pleasant tea to drink. I would rename the tea and either put real candied pineapple pieces in it or just come up with some kind of lemongrassy-name for it. It wasn’t difficult to finish the 8 bags purchased, nor was it difficult to convince my family to try it. Everyone liked it, but all came to the same conclusion: no pineapple, no banana, just a hint of a “something tropical aftertaste”. Steeped, it smells strangely like banana medicine (you know, the yellow antibiotic liquid prescribed for ear infections for kids…was my favourite beverage back in the 80s…)
I LOVE THIS. I’m upset my box of 8 tea bags is now gone. It reminds me a lot of a chai with all of the spices in it, but I love the orange and apple undertones that you don’t usually get in a chai. The only thing missing (for me) to really turn this into a Holiday tea would be a hint of cranberry. Sounds good in my mind; there might be a reason why it’s left out since it might not actually be very good in execution… :)
If I find this again at Winner’s or Homesense, I will definitely buy more.
OK, I should preface this by saying that I like double-salted black licorice but that’s about it. Normally I’m not a fan of anything even remotely like it.
Buuuttt…I kinda like this. My dad fights me for it whenever I take it out of the cupboard (since there are only 8 bags in the assorted package I bought, I’ll let him have the other 7) since he loves it so much. I’m not a ginger fan but the star anise balanced out the ginger nicely. And, of course, the required mint leaves…yum. I don’t know if I’d buy this again, but I certainly won’t throw it out. Not bad for a bagged tea.
OK, I had a hard time coming up with “candy cane” when I was tasting this. To me, candy cane flavour is just…crunchy peppermint. No vanilla, orange peel or strawberry stuff. So tasting this in combination…I had a hard time. It’s not that it wasn’t GOOD. It just wasn’t candy cane-y. I’d drink it again, though!
I didn’t get much other than ginger and mint in this tea, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. I don’t usually like ginger, but when mixed with an overwhelming mint and perhaps a dash of cinnamon (if I thought about it I could taste it…) it wasn’t so bad. And since mint is my favourite, I liked it.
Day 25 of my do-it-yourself scavenger hunt advent calendar!
Well, it’s official. These last few days of December are the worst days of the year because I don’t have any new tea to discover :( Boo.
I got an extra-large bag of this tea to try, since I had expressed how much I was in love with this tea prior to it even being re-released this Holiday season. I had originally tried it in the official David’s Tea advent calendar the first year it existed and remembered how awesome it was. I love tea, I love candy canes, I can’t see how I WOULDN’T love those two things together. This tea, at the time, didn’t disappoint. But since many of their teas change during a re-release, I was hesitant to buy a kilogram of it in case I didn’t like it anymore. The 20g bag purchased by my dad was just enough to remind me if I liked it enough now, and to tide me over until I could get to the store to purchase a bunch myself.
And, let me tell you…I am not disappointed. It is sweeter than I remember, but maybe that’s because I haven’t had a black tea with candy bits in it that I’ve liked in a long time. I don’t ever add sweetener of any kind to teas, so candy pieces that add their own sweetness usually don’t sit well with me. But as soon as they’re candy canes…whole different story. Yum, yum, yum. I love the black tea leaves with peppermint leaves (reminds me a bit of Moroccan Mint tea with Chinese gunpowder green tea and mint leaves), and the candy cane candy pieces make it so festive. This is probably one of Santa’s best kept secrets.
Verdict: Will go buy a bunch this weekend before it’s gone for another year!
Day 24 of my do-it-yourself scavenger hunt advent calendar!
When my dad was making the advent calendar, he didn’t know that this was one of the teas not on my list of “teas I like, or teas I would like to try” for a reason. I had this tea, and ended up giving it away because I disliked it so much. I almost enjoyed the first few cups, but as my 50g bag was slowly disappearing, I liked it less and less. Thankfully, I only have 3 more cups to choke down (my dad tried this as a sample in-store and really liked it, so this might actually be the only cup I have to choke down).
Part of my distain for this tea definitely stems from the coconut they put in it. Why on earth does a salted caramel tea need coconut in it?! This makes no sense. Other than to make it taste fake-creamier. Just put more caramel pieces in it! Problem solved. I still don’t get any sea salt flavour, but the caramel flavour is more obvious than I remember it being. And it almost tastes in this cup like I’m getting some caramel flavour from the actual toffee pieces, not just from the artificial caramel flavour they add to the leaves. I get more of a “coconut black tea” taste than anything else. And I hate coconut. Bumped the rating down to be the same as my dislike for coffee cake.
Verdict: I don’t hate it, but I certainly don’t like it enough to buy it again.
Day 21 of my do-it-yourself scavenger hunt advent calendar!
I had tried this as a sample in-store and liked it, so I put this on my list of “teas I wanted to try at home before buying a lot of it”. I’m glad I put this one on my list, but am disappointed I didn’t just go out and buy a bunch. I had no idea what I was missing out on!
The smell is very “Earl Grey”, but with…something missing. And I think what I was missing from the smell was the “burns the back of your throat” smell that some black teas have. That astringent-ness that I really don’t like in “plain” black teas that aren’t high-quality (and even those high-quality black teas that I forget about while steeping and end up going straight down the drain). I brewed this with caution, and ended up with something that wasn’t quite flavourful enough. So the leaves went back in for another couple minutes and it was perfect. A green/white version of Earl Grey, but with creaminess from the yogurt pieces and a bit of a “sour bitterness” from the lemon peel (and by lemon peel I mean gigantic chunks of dried lemon, flesh and all). I definitely love this tea.
Verdict: would definitely buy.
Day 20 of my do-it-yourself scavenger hunt advent calendar!
I already have Pink Flamingo in a tin in my desk at school, but to also have it at home (even just 2 cups worth) makes it taste different. Heh.
I still really like this one. Definitely not one of my favourites, but I like it a lot. Partially because it’s pink, but mostly because it tastes like a summer’s day. A bit fruity, a bit tart, a bit lemony, a bit grassy, a bit awesome. I’ve tried it iced once and wasn’t a fan, which is weird because I would have thought it was better cold. Alas, I’ll just drink it hot :)
Verdict: have already bought 2x
