Lime Jello Salad Green Tea

This tasting note has the distinction of being my 2500th tasting note! What that says to me is that I’ve been drinking a lot of tea, and not doing much else other than writing about it.

Anyway, when I opened the pouch of this, I was amazed by the aroma. There was always a jello salad at family holiday meals, it was usually a “7up salad” in which the jello was made using lemon-lime soda instead of cold water, and of course, there was always canned pineapple in there, and mini-marshmallows too. When I opened the package, I could smell that memory of 7up salad.

It tastes amazing too. I can taste the marshmallow, I can taste the lime and the pineapple, and it even has that jello sort of flavor to it. I am not sure how Frank managed to do this, but, it really is a remarkable tea… I shouldn’t be surprised because Frank is the best at what he does, but, this tea still surprises me. A little lemon-lime soda is all it is missing, which tells me that I should save some of this for the next time I have lemon-lime soda in the house, and steep it extra strong, and dilute with some lemon-lime soda. I’ll have a 7up salad in an iced tea glass!

52teas 12 Days of Christmas Sampler 2012 – Day 7

Time for tea! The dry leaf aroma is very LIME. The brewed tea aroma is unexpected: sweet, sugary, & citrus-y. First sip is lighter than I expected too. I probably could have used more leaf. It feels like the lime is punching me in the tonsil though. Wow, that is some strong lime!

The sugary sweetness is only in the aroma. The taste is much more lime green tea than sugary candy treat. This is an interesting tea. It’s probably suited well as an iced tea. Maybe I’ll use the rest of the sample that way if I can remember to do so.

I gave the cup to my fiancé to try. He took several sips and said, “I have no idea what it is, but I like it a lot. It tastes round, if I had to describe it as a shape.” Interesting description, my love. I wouldn’t have any idea what it is either. Well, if I hadn’t cheated and read the description. :P

It is yummy! But just not a flavor I think I’d want all the time. I like lime on salmon and in margaritas. That’s probably about it. It’s weird in tea. I prefer lemon tea. Hmm, now to come up with a rating. This is hard! I feel like I have to reserve judgment until I try it iced.

I waited for the cup to chill and it does taste different cold. More of the marshmallow root comes through now. It actually reminds me of the Rainbow Sherbet from last year. It’s still not going to be a favorite of mine though. When it came out, I debated whether or not to buy it. In the end, I’m glad I didn’t. But I’m happy for the chance to try it and gotta’ give props to Frank for creativity!!

EDIT: Uh oh, just found some slimy gunk in the bottom of my cup. Yuck. I don’t know what that is, but now I’m really freaked out. Did that come from the tea, or did I not clean the cup properly in between teas? Either way, yuck. I’ll leave the rating alone though because I’m not entirely sure this is the tea’s fault.

I have said this a hundred times already but I really do prefer fruity flavoured tea for the most part. There are noteworthy exceptions to this rule, but what it all comes down to is that these various cake-y blends don’t really appeal to me. I can’t really seem to find the ‘cake’ bits either so they just strike me as rather gimmicky and bizarre.

Jello falls in that same category, if I’m to be completely honest. However, I have learned from previous experience to just disregard the jello bit and focus on the lime bits. Which neatly makes this a fruity flavoured green tea and there you are!

Due to various activities before Christmas and then being away over Christmas we’ve been rather stuck on these for a while. I’ve opened the rest so I know what’s to come, but I’m not allowed to drink them out of order, so we’re still on it.

It smells sweet and tart at the same time, and once again the thoughts stray towards the sweetie shop. We’ve had one earlier that was very bubble gum-y, and this one has the same sort of quality. A bit more winegum-y, though. Which I suppose fits relatively well with the whole jello concept.

Sort of.

The flavour isn’t so much a sweetie as the aroma, though. I can clearly detect an ever so slightly astringent and rather vegetal green tea underneath the flavouring, and I have to say that while the aroma wasn’t really pressing any of my hopeful buttons, the flavour rather makes up for it.

It tastes like a green tea with flavouring, not flavour with tea. The flavouring is fairly mild here, a little bit tart and a little bit sweet, but above all fruity. To my vast surprise, I’m rather enjoying this.

I wasn’t sure about this tea when it first came out. Thanksgiving and then usually Christmas & Easter with my family involves this but with I think cool whip in it too, and most of the time it might be strawberry jello instead.
I always have to go get a separate bowl for it because I can’t have it touch anything else.

But now that my grandma’s in a nursing home, there was none of this on Sunday, even though I think my mom considered just jello since she has Easter shaped molds. But my grandma usually made it. Seeing her wasn’t as horrible as I expected but I still cried at least a dozen times. She for the most part seemed like herself since my brother and I were there, but at one point she was telling me about an Armenian festival that happened a few days ago at the nursing home. People were getting drunk and she didn’t like that there was liquid on the floor.
I seriously HAD to laugh at that because every other person in there is in a wheelchair and napping in it in the hallway. She was just so sassy about so many things, like how we need to bring pizza next time and if not we can sneak her to the car to eat it.

Anyway, this tea does taste like the jello salad I know and love from her. It really tastes just like jello but without the weird texture. It has the lime flavor, and it tastes like the pineapple bits are in there too. It gets more of the marshmallow flavor as it cools off too, which is excellent. I’m going to have to make it iced once it’s back in the 80s.

Nostalgia in a cup probably doesn’t get better than this.

Another sip down! I woke up this morning very excited for tea, any tea, and this was the first one that I came across. Our indoor cat got outside late on Monday night, so we spent all day yesterday in the cold rain searching for her and putting fliers on every door/business in our area. Luckily our Greyhound found her last night just up the road from our house. Yesterday was a day with no tea and it was a sad day indeed. So this morning we decided to celebrate the return of our prodigal cat with some Lime Jello Salad.

The dry tea smells really sweet, just like a packet of dry jello mix. I didn’t see any dried pineapples in my pack, but there was a lot of white, fluffy marshmallow root. The flavor is exactly like lime jello, and adding a little sweetener brings out a small hint of the marshmallow. To me, the lime flavor is a little artificial, but lime jello tastes artificial also, so it really does live up to its name. My mom would always make me jello when I was sick as a child and she would let me drink a little of the warm jello before putting it in the fridge to set. This tea reminds me of that warm jello flavor!

-Dry blend has green tea leaves and fluffy marshmallow root.
-Dry leaves smell sugary sweet of lime jello. Tea liquor aroma is strongly of lemon-lime.
-Tea liquor is a clear medium green color.
-Citrusy lime flavor with a marshmallow lime jello finish.
-Best with sweetener.
-Good tea. Flavor is exactly like lime jello.

I completely understand that Jello is supposed to be a “fun food”, but I’m guilty of sucking the fun right out of it. For me to eat it, it must not have anything in it, or on it. No fruits mixed in, no ice cream, no whipped cream and especially no custard topping- yuck! AND it must be either : strawberry, red raspberry, cherry or purple grape flavor. If not I will scrunch up my face, shake my head “no”, stick out my tongue and refuse to even taste it. So it probably goes without saying that Jello salad is a definite “notta chance!”

YEP! I’m a Jello fun-sucking-snob.

When I tore open this morning’s 12 days of tea packet and saw LIME jello SALAD I automatically had a case of my scrunch-faced, head-shaking tongue sticky-outty protest.

(Aside: I must refuse to even look at Jello salad whenever it’s around because I didn’t know there were marshmallows in it)

I thought all hope was lost in me liking this tea. Both the dry leaf and the brewed tea smells exactly like lime jello, so much that I expected to see some of the jello powder mixed in with the leaves. I seriously expected to dislike this tea, so as I brought my cup to my lips for that initial sip, my face was prescrunched like the Grinch. But as the tea went through my lips and over my gums, my heart grew 3 sizes. “Huh! that’s pretty good!” I don’t think I’d buy a full 2 oz bag of this, but I will enjoy finishing what I have. If 52teas were to ever start selling smaller sample sizes, I would definitely buy that, which is saying a lot for a tea, I thought I’d have to choke down or feed to the drain.

This Jello snob was pleasantly surprised.

Day seven

So, you really like hot liquid jello. You like it so much that whenever you see someone making jello you wait until their backs are turned and sneak a few of the freshly prepared cups out of the fridge before they can “solidify”. Of course, you can’t be around at the beginning of every jello-making process; that’s what the microwave is for. Sadly, your loved ones have started to catch on. They don’t understand your preference of jello. They’ve begin to judge you, even openly scorn you.

Luckily, this tea exists. It tastes and smells exactly like lime jello with a touch of cream. Unlike jello, however, people actually admire you for drinking this cup of hot sugary liquid. They say tea is “sophisticated”, “health-conscious”, “adult-like”. They have no idea. None at all.

Ha… no.

I’ve never had lime jello with pineapple bits, like this tea, but strawberry jello with pear is one of the many staple desserts that makes an appearance at Christmas and Thanksgiving. My Grandma was usually the one who made everything up but she doesn’t bake and cook as much as she used to. This tea makes me feel all warm and nostalgic, and remember all the good times from childhood. Thank you for that.

Yet another tea with marshmallow root in this neat advent. This one definitely asks to be iced. I guess I should try that at least once.

mmmmm Figured i’d try this tonight because i can! actually i’m panicking a bit and just need something to keep my mind focused so new teas it is. I actually kind like this one. it really does remind me of lime jello salad, though i REALLY want to brew this cold now with a bit of sweetener.

Thanks to silvermage2000 for very generously sending me her packet of this tea!!

Oh wow, does this one ever smell potent, and exactly like lime jello! I’m not even a fan of lime jello, however that’s more of a texture than a flavor thing, so I’m definitely excited for this tea! And my excitement is justified – it tastes just like a creamy limey jello! Can’t really taste the green tea at all, but the flavouring here is amazing. I’m really enjoying the 52teas blends that use marshmallow root for creaminess. It seems to add something extra-delicious that I really can’t get enough of! Definitely regretting not ordering Graveyard Mist now.

I can definitely see why everyone’s a big fan of this one. I think this is one of the SBT teabags I’ve tried as well, and I have to say that it unfortunately definitely falls very short on the flavouring. However, I have an ample amount of this one, and will be enjoying it for quite a while! Yum!

Thanks again, silvermage2000!

First off, this really does smell like lime jello. Bang on. Secondly, I’ve prepared this tea in two ways today: hot and cold steeped.

Hot, this is like a soothing cup of citrus tea with a twist. Instead of traditional lemon, I think I’d like this whenever I’d be sick because it’s different. The marshmallow in this should also soothe sore throats. And speaking of the marshmallow, it adds a touch of gooey sweetness to the tart lime. The flavours complement the green tea marvelously.

Iced, this smells awesome. Seriously like lime jello with crushed pineapple. The flavour isn’t as intense as I’d expected, but it’s clearly lime jello. It’s not a pronounced marshmallow here but more like a delicate lime creamsicle. I initially bought this with the intention of drinking it iced, and I’m not disappointed.

Overall, very happy with this one. I’m surprised it hasn’t sold out, actually. It’s like a novelty tea that’s very practical, if that makes any sense.

SPOILER ALERT!

On the seventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me a mug full of … Lime Jello Salad tea.

This was another tea on my wishlist from 52 Teas so thank you Frank for including it in the pack. One of my favourite desserts is keylime pie so I was hoping this would be sweetly limey. I had a flash back just then of being called a limey when I was in Las Vegas earlier this year. Anyway enough with my memories, lets get to the tasting already.

This is my second cup of the day :) Upon opening the packet I was drawn in to the super strong fruity citrus fragrance. it’s divine! I couldn’t put my finger on the smell until I read that it contains pineapple and then it clicked into place, it does indeed smell more of pineapple than lime but the two are very similar. I wouldn’t have agreed before today that pineapple could be similar in any way to lime other than they are both fruits but Frank has somehow managed it. Like some sort of crazy willa wonka sweet. Crazy Frank tea perhaps would suffice?

Since it’s a green tea I shall brew this with warm water and for only a short steep. This is mostly what I was testing with my first cup.

The tea once brewed reminds me of citrus/fruit sherbet as it’s super fruity and super sweet in fragrance. Amazing!

Taste wise it’s still rather pineappley but again there is a definite citrus sour tang beneath the sweet fruit. It’s naturally sweet enough that it can easily be enjoyed without sugar and the green tea is not harsh/bitter in the slightest. It also has a tutti frutti vibe going on.

It’s a delicious combination that has added magic and whimsy into my lonely day. I hope you all enjoy your tea as much as I did. :) And if I don’t speak to anyone of you before the day then Merry Christmas to all.

I used 1 tablespoon of dry leaf for 375 ml of water.

There’s a bitter earthiness in the flavour. I am detecting lime flavour with marshmallow sweetness. The tanginess of the pineapple is present.
There is a cloying stevia-like sweetness in the middle of the sip.

As the tea is allowed to cool, I’m starting to taste the roasted flavour from the green tea.

Lingering aftertaste is a very authentic lime jello flavour.

As the tea cools further, the roasted green tea is becoming present in the aroma and balancing nicely with the lime jello scent. The cloying sweetness is faded.

I may have have infused this tea for too long. I should maybe try to infuse closer to 2 minutes next time.

Lime jello salad tea? How fun! I love the flavours involved here too. Lime and pineapple and marshmallow sounds good to me.

The scent when I opened the package was intoxicating – really strong and sweet and bright. Couldn’t wait to try it. I’m guessing this would shine as an iced tea, but I felt like a hot tea and it was still quite good. The sweet candy-like lime jello flavour was spot on, with a nice pineapple in the background an a faint creaminess from the marshmallow. I steeped for 2.5 mins, but I’m thinking it could probably handle 3. The rest of my sample will be flash-chilled so I get to try it iced. I’d happily drink this one again!

Twelves Teas of X-mas #7 (the last tea I can recall blogging about was #5 so I think I might be missing one somewhere in there). Somehow Frank has managed to make this tea taste not like lime, but actual, bona fide lime jello. I’m not sure if I can describe what the jello part tastes like but there’s clearly something more there than just the tang from the lime. The marshmallow works perfectly with the other flavour and don’t seem out of place like they do in other blends.

I’m noticing a theme of green-teas-with-marshmallow in this sampler, BTW. :P

Yum. I got this on a whim with my first ever 52Teas order and I’m quite pleased with it. My newfound love of marshmallow root compelled me to add this to my cart.

The lime taste is really lime jello to perfection. I love the addition of marshmallow root, just because I love marshmallow root haha. It’s really a lovely tea.

I can’t say I’ve ever even heard of lime jello salad, much less tried it, but I’m enjoying the tea regardless.

Update: The second steep of this is still quite tasty. I’m very happy with this tea.

Steep Information:
Amount: 3 tsp
Water: 500ml at 175°F
Tool: Breville One-Touch Tea Maker BTM800XL
Steep Time: 2 minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: chemical horror
Steeped Tea Smell: just like hot lime jello (from when you are making it and dissolving the powder)
Flavor: lime, vegetal
Body: Light
Aftertaste: sweet
Liquor: translucent yellow green

not lime jello (need sugar?) but a nice lime green

Post-Steep Additives:
sugar
LIME jello salad (fruity)
sweet

Like it
Rating: 3/4 leaves

Blog: http://amazonv.teatra.de/2013/03/06/52teas-loose-leaf-green-tea-lime-jello-salad/

Backlogging

I love lime. Like I really really love lime. Some of my favorite teas have been Franks lemon lime cheesecake honeybush and Numi’s super tart Desert Lime tisane.

So while I don’t eat jello(gelatin and all) I was happy to see this tea. That and the fact that Frank does amazing things with marshmallow and I’m now convinced that he needs to offer a marshmallow sampler along with a cheesecake sampler.

So back to this tea. It smelled delicious and I was able to identify lime by my blind sniff of it before I checked the label. It’s really not tart at all but still very limey. I didn’t read the description before I drank it and wasn’t able to identify the pineapple but I can definitely see it there in retrospect. There is a general fruitiness about it. But oh the marshmallow. So very good!

Probably going to be a pouch for me. Frank you’re killing me this month. I’m already dipping into next’s months tea budget and will probably have to go beyond that and spend some christmas money. I’ve been trying to have less coffee outside of the house in an attempt to convince my husband that all the money I’m saving by carrying a tumbler of tea everywhere should go back into being spent on tea.

A great green tea. Smooth, sweet, has that authentic lime “jello” taste with marshmallows, yet still tasting the tea.
I don’t do gelatin, so this is a nice flashback from when I was younger

the most memorable review of this tea goes to CrowKettle.
you should do yourself the favor
http://steepster.com/CrowKettle/posts/145604

I’ve never had lime Jello before, but I’ve had many a lime Lifesaver and this tea tastes exactly like one (after I added a squirt of agave). I’m getting from this the same thing I’ve been getting from Frank’s other blends – a nice, full flavour. Because of it being the holidays and money being tight, I can only order a couple of the 12 Days teas and this tea will probably be one of them.