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There is something just off about this tea.

Conceptually, I like the idea of a cucumber, mint and lime tea. Its sounds refreshing. The initial taste is strongly of cucumber, however after that there is this very odd flavor. I think it might be whatever was used for the mint flavor, it is bitter and weird. It really throws off the taste of the tea.

The tea is definitely tastier iced than hot. Mostly because cucumber is a bit of an odd flavor to have hot. Sadly the off putting secondary flavor is very strong whether hot or iced.

This tea really shines iced. Caramel Apple deliciousness….

I am nearing the end of 50 grams of this tea. It has taken me a while to get through it, primarily because it is mediocre when hot. It is an artificial apple tasting tea, but a nice artificial apple flavor. It drinks well, but nothing i would ever reach for.

However, when iced, a whole other flavor profile arises. The tea base itself becomes much more prominent with deep caramel richness, and a hint of apple.

How can such a delicious tea go so wrong?
Everything in this tea I like conceptually. Even kombucha.
However, all the components are so disparate, that it taste’s like a mess.

The most prominent flavors are over ripe strawberry, ginger and stinky kombucha. The result is undrinkable (hot or iced).

There are not many cups of tea I will dump out. This is the 3rd time i have done so (attempted 3 different brewing conditions)

Stinky rancid pineapple….

I generally love Davids Tea’s oolongs. They are rich and flavorful. I also love pineapple. This taste’s like pineapple that is so beyond ripe it is one the edge of rancid.
Making it one of the worst pineapple teas I have ever encountered.

A slap in the face with fake cloying mango, with hints of what was almost a decent tea.
This tea does capture the taste of mangos, with hints of that fruity body. the tea base is rich, and gives the tea a nice body and depth. However the most prominent flavor is fake stinky mango.

I wanted tea, with some mango. This is fake mango, with some tea…..

This tea is delicious. It smells and tastes strongly of maple, of the good maple flavor, that is strong and almost smoky. The gemincha is also prominent in the brewed tea, resulting in a rich, complex and toasty flavor.

The marshmallow is just the barest hint that comes out a little when the tea is cooler, a tiny hint of sweetness.

I thought I was going to love this tea. It sounds magical, chocolate and hazelnut, purported to taste like nutella….

Sadly, it is not so delicious. It smells both good and not… It smells like chocolate, but there is something off to the smell.

Everytime I drink it, there is something that completely turns me off.

Yesterday I figured out what it was, I re-read the ingredients list and discovered my nemisis, black tea.

It gives the whole thing this sickly sweet offputting flavor.

Sadly, even without the black tea, I don’t think it would be very good.
It completely lacks the flavor of hazelnuts, or really and nut taste or mouth feel.
The chocolate is weak, and not strong enough to redeem the tea’s other qualities.

The stuff isn’t undrinkable, and honestly it is the most drinkable black tea I’ve ever had, but I would never buy another cup…

Since I reviewed Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble, I decided I had to drink Parfait and compare directly.

parfait is super bright red a gorgeous color really. The smell both dry and steeped is very odd, fruity, bit with a sour tang. It’s the yogurt. I find the yogurt smell offputting, it smells almost over ripe…
Luckily, the taste, well this cup wasn’t overwhelmed by it.

I’ve found this blend to be fairly inconsistent. I have it where there was a lot of yogurt bits, enough to see white flecks on the top of the tea.

Luckily this time I can not see any, however I can still taste the plain yougurt flavor, which leaves this weird aftertaste….

Ignoring that, the tea is very tart, tasting mostly of hibiscus, with a sourness that I can’t tell if it is meant to be strawberry or rhubarb…

Sweetened with Stevia
First, the tartness is greatly reduced (obviously!). The tea doesn’t taste specifically like strawberry or rhubarb though….
It now just tastes like sweetened hibiscus.

This tea is always a big disappointment for me. It doesn’t taste like strawberry or rhubarb.

Coconut oolong and coconut grove are nearly identical! And sadly, as with all teas I like, both are discontinued!

Both are seriously delicious.

Coconut oolong starts of with a strong taste of toasted coconut, it tastes wonderfully like some sort of coconut cereal. It’s rich and satisfying.
The oolong is pretty much hidden in the first steep… it’s all coconut.
However, and the reason I like coconut oolong slightly more than coconut grove, the oolong re-steeps beautifully.
Each further steep shows off more of the softly sweet, beautiful oolong, and the coconut gently fades to just a gentle note.
Grove is similar, but the white tea loses impact more quickly, and is not as strongly flavored.

I really would recommend this tea to anyone who really like toasted coconut, and oolong. Yum!

So this is a loooong discontinued tea… It makes since David’s has a similar tea ‘Strawberry rhubard Parfait’, but sadly it is a far inferior tea.

So my bag of strawberry rhubarb crumble is far older than I like to keep a tea… But it is so good I just can’t bring myself to drink it….

Is anyone else like that? The more delicious the tea, the more reluctant you are to drink it? I have maybe 2 more cups left, then that’s it, it’s gone forever….
Tragic :(

Review
All the Melodrama above is for a good reason, this is a delicious tea. It’s a gorgeous red, and deliciously tart.
It tastes precisely of rhubarb and when sweetened the strawberry comes out.
The white tea gives it an added richness, and for a fruity tea surprisingly the flavors really suit being hot.
It reminds of a hot strawberry rhubarb pie, without the crust.

The reason I love this tea, and dislike the extant Strawberry rhubarb parfait, is this tea does not taste at all artificial. It’s fruity and sweet, and tart, but not fake.
The parfait tastes fake and artificial.

So all in all, I am going to have drink the rest of this soon…. but I will do it sadly, since I know it is discontinued