Sheri's Blend

Backlogging.

For the fourth tea of Christmas, Frank gave to us Sheri’s Blend.

I opened the sample packet and smelled sweet, fruity – maybe peach, candy. Sheri’s Blend has the pretty autumn colors of orange brown rooibos, dark yellow flower petals, and dark brown chunks of apricot. This is one of Frank’s rooibos/honeybush blends I wanted to try.

Steeping, Sheri’s Blend smells nicely of stone fruits and sweetness. The liquid is a medium orangey brown. The first sips have more of an apricot feel than taste. As it cools some, the juiciness of the fruit comes out more. The cinnamon is like a faint dusting. This tea is lovely but more muted than Frank’s other blends. It would make a good companion for reading on a cold evening.

I tried a second steep and it was mostly apricot fruity warm water. I am finding I don’t mind drinking these though, even if they aren’t nearly as flavorful as the first mug.

I’m rating this tisane a 76, which is in the middle of my good range (70-80).

2nd steep: 12 min.

So this was the tea of the day that I ended up spilling a goodly portion on the floor. Yup, little bits of rooibos everywhere. I had just enough for a pot, and have decided to go ahead and brew it up now since I haven’t had it yet.

So I love rooibos blends, and have been eyeing this tea for a while, but haven’t ordered it yet. I’ve been dedicating my tea budget to Frank’s limited edition teas, telling myself that this blend will still be there when I’m ready for it. That and the label makes me kinda snicker.

Cinnamon, apricots, rooibos. It’s lovely. I only brewed for 5 minutes, and while it has a solid fruity-spicy flavor, I think this is one I’d brew for 10 minutes to get a really full-bodied brew (will probably do a second steep). The apricot blends wonderfully with the rooibos (and I maintain that apricot was meant to be blended with rooibos), and the cinnamon is very gentle and slightly in the background (or else it ended up on my kitchen floor).

Nom! Definitely glad this one is permanent!!

I’m really enjoying today’s tea of the day sample. The apricot and cinnamon are so rich and flavorful they really cover up the rooibos flavor I don’t enjoy. This cup is very warming, maybe the addition of the cinnamon is what makes it more warming. I enjoy 52teas apricot flavoring, as I’ve experienced it in apricot fusion, and it doesn’t fail me in flavor here. I must get more of this tea. This sampler has been a great way to taste teas I may not have purchased on my own.

I ordered this along with the Strawberry Zabaglione which arrived yesterday, thinking it would make a really yummy iced tea. But I decided to try it hot first…

The apricot flavor works really well with rooibos. I can taste only slight hints of the woodsy tones usually associated with rooibos – and none of the funky artificial-sweetener taste that I get with rooibos. The flavor is just very smooth and sweet – like an apricot.

The cinnamon is a sweeter cinnamon taste, not real spicy or hot.

This really tastes like “summer” to me… and I definitely look forward to enjoying it iced! In fact, I think I’ll brew some up tonight so that it will be nice and chilled tomorrow.

The rooibos is strong in this one. Perhaps I oversteep my rooiboses. In any case, I found the apricot to be mild. The flavor seems artificial and chemical-y. Like lip balm. This is the second 52teas to taste like lip balm to me. Am I the only one? I barely taste the cinnamon. Overall, a bit disappointing. I think I’ll steep the remainder of my sample for less time and see if it’s better.

Now I’m in the mood for a good Japanese green.

Thanks for letting me try this Uniquity! That’s another 52teas flavor crossed off my list.

This is SO bomb. I love you rooibos. You never get bitter. At first, I wasn’t sure about your flava, but you pair nicely with everything! And guess what, you’ve never turned bitter on me!

This sample came with the iced teas I purchased. Strong and syrupy. Sweet and lightly spiced.

LiberTEAS sent me this one a while back and I finally had the opportunity to try it for the first time tonight. I have always LOVED Apricots and that is the reason I have been wanting to try this. I was really hoping the cinnamon wasn’t going to ruin the apricot flavor and I was a little worried about the marigolds…making it bitter…but…

The Apricot was PERFECT…the Cinnamon with the Apricots was JUST RIGHT and paired nicely and the marigold flowers didn’t harm it at all…just enough to be a HINT of floral…

Lovely lovely lovely…very nice flavored Rooibos!!!

Thank you LiberTEAS for letting me try this one. This blend is smooth and I think the flavors all blend together very well. I added a splash of milk to mine and I think it made it even smoother and brought out the sweetness.

This tea is really good! The Apricot and cinnamon blend so well together! I am not a big fan of rooibos but I found I really enjoy this tea and will probably order more of this. (Which is nice because had it not been in this sampler I most likely wouldn’t have purchased a whole pouch of it)

This tastes soo…pretty!!!

It’s a warm, sweet fruity flavor—very soft with just pinch of spice. Beautifully perfumed with apricot. I’m suprised I like this so much because I usually prefer the “bolder” blends.

But this tastes so peaceful and inviting and lovely—like sitting in a cozy, Victorian parlor, warm against the snow flurries outside. There’s this feeling of “nostalgia”. Very wistful.

What a surprisingly beautiful blend! :)

What a yummy treat. The peach actually tastes juicy and the roobios is not overwhelming. I can see myself purchasing this one. Good stuff!

This tea is one that I won from the contest that Jessica held. I have been curious about this tea as 52teas seems to do every tea nicely and my husband and I love to share a huge pot of caffeine free tea each evening. I was pleasantly surprised that this tea is nicely balanced without the rooibos taking over. I think this tea really shines at cooler temps and would be amazing iced.
Thanks again*Jessica* for holding this giveaway! I’m looking forward to sampling the rest of the teas.

Dec. 17
I’m drinking more Rooibos and honeybush than I ever have. This blend really works well. I can taste as well as smell the apricot and cinnamon in this tea. The tea is slightly sweet and very mild. I really liked it.

Why have I not been able to write positive review lately? Have I lost my tea mojo?

I tried this tea shortly after I received it, but didn’t like it so I put in the back of my cupboard as a “maybe I did something wrong so I’ll have to try again” tea. Tonight I felt like a rooibos before bed and thought now’s as good a time as any to give it another go.

Dry, the tea smells like soap to me. Overpoweringly floral and kind of off-putting.

Steeped, it smells wood and soap. Still not very appealing. I started by drinking it hot with no additives. Guess what it tasted like to me? Yup, soap. And a teaspoon of sugar didn’t make it any better. It’s cold now, and marginally more tolerable but I can’t finish this mug. :(

I have loved every other tea I’ve had from 52teas, so it’s definitely just a matter of personal taste. Plus, there is only 1 review that rates this under 70, so it’s well received by others. I don’t feel right giving this a rating given the circumstances.

I will be giving this away, so let me know if you want it.

Sadly, this one did not blow me away. I made some of this for my breakfast tea…It tasted better than it smelled dry (I wasn’t getting any apricot smell…I didn’t really smell much at all, really. It wasn’t like rooibos or apricot or cinnamon, but weird). Steeped, I got some of that apricot flavour, but didn’t find it to be very strong. I didn’t get any cinnamon, so it was just a decent and drinkable but mildly disappointing cup of apricot-ish rooibos.

This is just so good! It has a really nice balance of flavors and makes for a very warming cup. This is the kind of tea I could make for non-tea drinkers to attempt to get them hooked. :)

I don’t think I put enough tea in my infuser! I don’t have much of this and I wanted to get what little I have to last a few cups. This is the first 52teas I’ve tried! I really would love to try them all. But like I said, I didn’t put much tea in the infuser, so I don’t think I gave it a fair chance. The rooibos steeped is more of an orange color instead of a red, so that’s the first hint. I don’t taste much of an apricot flavor here, but there is another flavor I can’t place. It’s a sweet silky flavor that lingers. I hope I can try others from 52teas in the future!

Thanks Ellen! (I think, I can’t quite remember, so sorry if it is wrong)

Dry, this smells nice and spicy. As soon as I add water, the cinnamon becomes much more pronounced and the brew smells sweet and like raisins. It tastes very pleasant. The cinnamon is the most prominent flavour and the apricot just adds a nice fruity, sweet note. This is a very full-bodied brew and as it cools down I get an almost chewy raisin taste.

Alright – so this is my first exposure to 52teas – I was positively drooling over the coconut cheesecake blend, so I decided to order that and the Valenteas as well to try a few others I was curious about. This is one of them.
First off, this is REALLY true to taste. I get the apricots, and I get the cinnamon and I can’t believe how spot on they are.
BUT, I don’t know that I really like it, either. Maybe it’s that I don’t like rooibos? It seems like there’s an aftertaste that just kind of ruins the experience for me. Vaguely like… licorice?
I don’t know. I definitely give it a moderate rating for it’s accuracy, though; it’s just not necessarily to my tastes.

This has got to be the best tea I have ever tried as an iced latte. This is the one I always order when Zoomdweebie’s was still open. It’s just wonderful :).