Rainbow Sherbet

You guessed it, another from last year’s 12 Teas of Christmas. Dry leaf is overwhelmingly citrus, though it turns funky once steeped. I get dry old flowers, like potpourri. THis smell is really off-putting, I’m working up the guts to try it. It may also be slightly oversteeped for the bitter black tea base. Whoops.

Luckily this tastes way different than it smells. There is a sweetness reminiscent of candy and an aftertaste that really does spell out the lime, orange and raspberry of sorbet. It’s more like I had some a while ago and then had a sip of tea, but it’s there. The black base is a bit too bold but I think that is probably my fault with the slight over-steeping. With a bit of sugar this could be really good but I dont like sweetening my teas so I think I shall just leave it as is. Passable but not my fave. Interesting tea though!

EDIT to add: This is getting really bitter. I wish I had done this one in a T-Sac. Definitely not my favourite. Bitter blegh!

Ok, so I know I just said the last tea was potent in dry form, but woah, this one! The aroma here is so pungent and tangy… but in an amazingly delicious sherbetty way! Can’t even wait to get started! This tea also came to me by way of the very generous silvermage2000!

So I wasn’t watching the timer particularly carefully today, and this tea got an additional 30 seconds more than I intended. It shows in the form of unpleasant bitterness; next time I’ll definitely lower the infusion time. However, in spite of the bitterness, I can still taste the medley of tangy fruity sherbet flavours! It tastes kind of like a fruity sour candy, as well, grounded by a strong black base.

I’ll have to try this one again to see if I can manage to avoid bitterness, but I must say that this is another tea that really needs to be resurrected so all of us newbies can pick some up to try! Yum!

Yes, I’ve had this one before too, also during The Great Unlogged Period. It’s from the 2011 Xmas sampler.

This tastes exactly like hot rainbow sherbet in a cup with some black tea underneath that comes out more as the cup cools. This was my first tea of the day yesterday.

SIPDOWN!

Thanks to kittenna for sharing some of this. The dry smell of this tea is pretty spot on to how i remember rainbow sherbet. However, after brewing it, it tastes more like a swampy mixture of randomw fruity citrusy flavours. Not something i’m a fan of, and even the addition of s bit of sugar didn’t help much. While i’m glad to have tried it, that’s as far as i need to go with this.

One day late on this tea from the 12 days of Christmas…

This tea is wow… Yep… This tea is wow… I find no other way to accurately put it. Most definitely Sherbet. 100% of the way. So much so that my brother smelled, sipped, looked puzzled and asked how Frank does it! His exact question was: “Does this actually has Sherbet melted in it?” I was very tempted to just say yes, I can’t imagine how else black tea could be urged to taste so similar to Sherbet…

When I opened and sniffed and looked at the leaves I smelled fruity and vaguely familiar. I looked at the label and I knew that the familiarity I was getting was because it was reminding me of Sherbet! I haven’t had Sherbet in years (I have never seen it in Ecuador…) and it was neat to me that the memory of the taste/smell was so familiar still. The pieces of berry and orange peal made the tea leaves just as fun to look at as real sherbet. So colorful!

I was weary of what I would think of HOT sherbet. I was pretty sure that this would end up being a tea that needed to be iced. As I brewed it and the smell spread through the kitchen, I couldn’t help getting excited about it. It smelled more and more just like Sherbet.

As with all teas that taste like something sweet, I decided to go ahead and add sugar. Stirred until it all dissolved, crossed my fingers and sipped… and… success! Sherbet in tea form has been a great idea! Even hot it is delicious! I get orange, berry and lime taste (if I think about each of the flavors separately) and a smooth vanilla finish with a dash of astringency to remind you it is a black tea. The aftertaste is pure “I just had a mouthful of sherbet!” Wow… I haven’t tried it iced yet, but I am sure that it will be just as good.

Rarely a tea comes along that even non tea lovers are surprised by it in a good way. This is one of those few occasions!

I used ~1.25 tablespoons of dry leaf for 375 ml of water.

The brewed tea smells sweet. The mixture of fruity smells reminds me of the smell of ‘Nerds’ candy, perhaps. The fruity scents are a little bit strong for my liking, they have a sharp edge to it. I can also detect a buttery undertone in the aroma which seems to be coming from the black tea scent.

The black tea flavour is the first taste that I detect on the sip. Very nice to have it up front. The black tea does carry a buttery quality to and has an astringency which borders on bitter. The fruity tastes come though closer to the middle of the sip. I’m getting a raspberry-lime taste. I can’t fully detect the orange taste but I think that it must be contributing to the citrus quality that I’m getting from the lime taste. The end of the sip is a lemony-black tea taste which leads into a black tea aftertaste. The fruit flavours in this one taste very much like the ones used in candy. I’m being reminded of those ‘Rocket’ frozen treats with cherry, lemon and blue-raspberry flavours. I really enjoy the black tea taste I’m getting from this flavoured tea.

Bitterness comes through more as the tea cools.

Thanks to Kittenna for this sample!

So far there hasn’t been any rooibos or anything else that I knew from the outset I wouldn’t care for. The box is far from over, however, so I’m not counting my chickens yet. Merely pointing it out, because when I saw this label and before I read the text on it, I had a bit of a worry. I do remember this one coming out, but I was remembering it as a rooibos or honeybush thing. I’m pleased to find it was not.

The aroma is very orange-y and we have agreed that we can tell where the sherbet is coming from. It sort of smells fizzy, but then the flavour disappoints somewhat because it doesn’t taste fizzy. Admittedly, if it did, it would be weird, but it’s just sort of missing that fizz.

I can taste orange primarily and underneath that, raspberry. It seems like citrus is just a very dominant flavour for me and if something involves citrus, it’s hard for other flavours to live up to that forcefulness.

This blend reminds me to of two things, both of them also from 52teas.

First it reminds me of that Cherry Cola Vanilla thingie that was one of the first blends from 52teas that I tried. I love Cherry Cola, but my problem with that one was, as with this one, the lack of fizz. Try as I might, I couldn’t distract myself away from that.

Secondly, it reminds me of the Strawberry Orange Scone that I had recently, because the experience of the orange is the same as in this one. To me, those two blends are very similar and I’m having an almost identical reaction, although slightly in favour of the Strawberry Orange Scone, because that one isn’t labouring under the lack of fizz.

I like this, but it’s not one I’m disappointed I didn’t have more of.

Somehow I missed this one the other day. Opened it and put it in a small bag. But didn’t try it. But seeing that today’s tea is a coconut tea (allergic), I will back peddle and opted for this one instead. The dry leaf smells just like a carton of sherbet! Not usually my favorite dessert, but as a tea? Well that’s a horse of a different color. This smells super amazing as it steeps, like candy in my cup. The taste is just yummy! :) Yet another hit from Frank!

I have no idea how come I haven’t tried this yet… I just noticed the pouch sitting there, looking all alone, in my tea cabinet at home so I grabbed it to take to work today. (Yes, stuck at work today. Boo)

The medley of these flavors – lime, orange, raspberry – is outstanding! Of course we all expect no less from the wonderful Frank @52teas. But I will say this is my second favorite, falling to second place only Pancake Breakfast.

I added some sweetener to it (Sun Crystals) which really brings out the sweetness in the fruit flavors. I think I have have subconsciously worried that the Sherbet flavors wouldn’t taste good hot, but how wrong that perspective is! This is amazing. :)

I bet this would be delicious iced as well… Oh, and a final note, I’m letting it steep for the length of the cup, which is making the flavors stand out extremely well.

Frank, how do you do it?! :)

Backlog from Saturday.

I was intrigued by the idea of this tea almost from the moment I discovered 52 Teas and found out I really, really liked Frank’s blends. I have super strong memories of Rainbow Sherbet from when I was a kid, and it’s something I always loved and enjoyed. Sweet and yet sour at the same time, slightly fizzy and tangy. Wonderful. I never thought I’d be able to try this tea, but, thanks to a sample from Sil, I’ve finally got the chance!

Dry, this smells almost exactly like its namesake. Sweet, insanely fruity, and with a slight sour tang about it. I brewed this for 3.5 minutes, after which it smells similar, although slightly more tea-like. I guess that’s to be expected, though. It is, after all, tea.

It does taste remarkably like Rainbow Sherbet, though. Immediately upon taking a sip, there’s a fruity sweet-sour flavour that lingers on the tonuge, and then a powdery taste I can only describe as sherbet-like right at the back of the mouth. I think the taste is mostly citrussy — lemon, lime, orange — although it’s difficult to discern the individual flavours. It’s like the different colours all got mixed together to create the generic “Rainbow Sherbet” taste. It’s really, really nice though, and quite different from any other tea I’ve tried — 52 Teas or otherwise. A great, novel tea that I’m glad to have been able to try at last! Thank you to Sil for making this particular dream come true!

A note to friends with the 52Tea 12 Days of Christmas Sampler! I reccomend checking the bottom of the packages before you open from the top, I’ve had 3 that were slightly open on the bottom (including my one for Christmas day… I ended up dumping that one all over after I picked it up… Super sad about that. Whatever it is, it smells good! Anyways.). So yeah! I would check the bottom because sometimes it will open for you there, and I wouldn’t want you to do what I did. :(

This tea is AMAZING. Wow!

The dry smell is so true to the flavours (except to my workmates who thought it smelled like candles. Well.. maybe a rainbow sherbet candle? What KIND of candle? Bah. Anyways)

It smelled teeth achingly sweet – which is super exciting to me. If I’m going to do a dessert tea, I want a freakin treat. Man this does NOT disappoint! I get strawberry, orange and a lime tartness! I don’t know what else to say, it’s sherbet in a cup.

I tried with both milk and sugar, and a plan black cup. Both were delicious, and I would happily drink this plain, which is a rarity for my other 52teas black experiences. Cool huh?! I guess I’ll have to try this iced next… since I’m definitely purchasing this for my shelf :D

So, I officially have a new favorite iced tea. This stuff is just incredible! It is SO refreshing. If you haven’t ordered yours yet, there are only five left at this writing!

52teas 12 Days of Christmas Sampler 2011 – Day 4

This is probably the most spot on 52teas blend I’ve tried. The dry leaves smell so sugary and fruity that I can’t possibly wait to brew this!

All three flavors are distinctly present in both the dry leaf aroma and the brewed tea taste. I’m in love with the orange, and the raspberry is a nice compliment. My least favorite is the lime. It’s not that it’s badly flavored. I think limes are probably just my least favorite of these fruits.

Anyway, I added a little sweetener and skim milk and now I am definitely drinking rainbow sherbet!!! Incredible! Everyone needs to go buy a pouch of this because it’s a miracle Frank re-blended it for Christmas. You do not want to miss out on this one!

I am a little late getting to the 4th tea of Christmas – it’s been a long day.

When I opened the packet and asked the boyfriend if he wanted tea, I assumed that he for sure would not want to try this (see: he hates flavored anything). But he sniffed this and said “Whoa. WHOA.” which was amazing in and of itself. So I used the whole sample in 750 ml. water in the Breville at the below parameters, since that would be enough to allow both of us to try it hot and leave some for me to make iced.

The tea when hot is insane, in a very good way! It tastes just like sherbet – I get the raspberry and orange the most, with a hint of lime. The black tea was a little astringent without sweetener, but the astringence seemed to bring out the creaminess of the vanilla, so that ended up being a positive. And the aftertaste is the most impressive – it’s kind of a head trip because you feel like you’ve just taken a bite of sherbet but don’t have the accompanying cold sensation that goes with it.

I ended up adding a little bit of sugar to really make the sherbet stand out and take away from some of the astringent flavor, but really it works well sweetened or not. I’ve put the remainder in the refrigerator to see what happens when it becomes iced, but I will be seriously amazed if it manages to surpass the wonderfulness that it is hot.

This is some REALLY good stuff!

Backlog:

On the Fourth Day of Christmas, 52Teas sent this tea to me! This is definitely one of my favorites from the past year. It is amazing. Here is my article: http://sororiteasisters.com/2011/12/17/on-the-fourth-day-of-christmas-52teas-sent-to-me/

Got this from the 12 Days of X-mas sampler – I’m finally getting around to trying the teas from the days I missed. First of all the smell of this tea is just incredible, it really does smell exactly like the rainbow sherbet that as a kid I used to look forward to for dessert. This is the tea I smell whenever I open the sample box – although that might be because this was one of the pouches that spilled its guts as the pouch wasn’t sealed properly.

It’s noticeably missing the sweetness I’d normally associate with sherbet, so I’m going to try sweetening it next time to see if that makes a difference. I can clearly taste the orange and the lime but they aren’t so stong that they taste bitter or astringent – they’re part of a whole, and not meant to stand alone. The raspberry is a bit trickier, it could be a little bit stronger, but again I’ll see if adding sweetener brings it out more next time.

I really enjoyed this one Frank, you outdid yourself.

Yay I got my 52teas order today. Took a month which I will remember for next time.
This tea is great. I ordered 2 pkgs of it so I was really hoping I would enjoy it. My only complaint is there are no brewing directions on the package so I had to go with what I normally do for blacks for steeping times. The tea smells great in the package. The raspberry really came out brewed.
It was also a big hit at my mothers house with the kids. All of them kept stealing my travel mug to drink it. May have to make a pitcher for them for tomorrow since it will be so hot.

Rainbow Sherbet is my second tea of the day, also from the 12 Teas of Christmas. The dry leaf was mildly aromatic, definitely a fruity black, but kind of generically fruity black. I didn’t get the smack-you-in-the-face aromatic hit that other Steepsterites have from this tea. I never would have guessed without the insert that this was supposed to be Rainbow Sherbet (my nose, it seems, is almost as bad as my palate).

After brewing, it was a whole different story. The smell was so strong, and so spot on to what I remembered sherbet to smell like, it was almost like there was a container of sherbet in front of me. You know when it is just a little bit melty, and the scent intensifies? Like that. In case anyone wonders why I keep drinking flavored teas, even though I don’t really taste the nuances (or even necessarily the top notes), this would be why. I can still smell it, and so I get at least some sensory satisfaction from the tea drinking experience.

I tasted mostly black tea, with that generic fruitiness. The black tea base for 52 Teas isn’t exactly my favorite. It always seems a bit harsh and flat, especially now that I’ve gotten into some other black teas from the likes of Harney and Sons and Teavivre. The difference in taste is tangible, even to me.

Brewed with 500 ml of water at 95C in my Breville for three minutes.

I bought this awhile back. It took me a couple of times to get it tasting the way I wanted. So make sure to have plenty of leaf and a short steep time. Honestly even with sugar with it being really warm the flavors were faint but when I let it cool this started to get pretty good orange,some lime abit of raspberry and a hint of vanilla with the black tea. This is pretty good cool and the flavors are nice and natural and refreshing. I really need to ice this.

This is really good. It’s boldly flavored, refreshing, fruity, and sharp. The aftertaste is nicely creamy. I find myself craving another cup. I’m learning that I really enjoy lime flavoring in tea.

I made this one iced using 200°F water, steeping for 2.5 minutes, and storing in the refrigerator overnight. The tea is slightly astringent, but not at all bitter.