True Blueberry

I don’t know…I can’t find much to complain about with these bagged herbal tisanes! I think they taste very pleasant and after a day of doing, doing, doing I like to throw the teabag in and some honey and forget about it! This blueberry one tastes very natural – almost like the blueberries in a muffin or pancake. I am not finding it tart at all. Just a little sweet treat before I get into bed to read Julia Child’s My Life in France (so hysterically funny!! So beautiful. A philosophy on not only how to cook but how to live).

Enjoying a simple cup to warm the soul this evening. Warm the body works too. It just started snowing and with the high wind gusts went from 45F last night to 13F with windchill tonight. Not looking forward to those negative windchills!

Happy Holidays everyone!

Whenever I get a new hobby or interest, my dad always likes to support me in it. Usually it comes in the form of things he digs out of the trash (destroyed books, moldy hats, broken antiques, etc), but he does do it out of love, and he’s pretty much my only family member who ever takes an interest in my interests. And this time, he bought me something! A fruit tea sampler pack from Celestial Seasonings, in honor of my newfound interest in tea.

The smell of this one immediately reminded me of blueberry pancakes. I wanted to try it most, because blueberries are my most favorite of berries and berry flavoring. I made this first cup hot, added a little sugar, let the teabags sit in for a bit over the suggested time. It ended up tasting quite a bit like a blueberry syrup or jam – really thick kind of flavor, with not much tartness to it (though it increases as it sits, it seems). I think it’s probably going to make a pretty decent iced tea.

EDIT: Went ahead and added ice to the half cup that was left, as the thickness of it was getting a bit too much. Fairly refreshing that way! Though the tartness that came in near the end is now more pronounced.

Just what I’m looking for in a fruit tea…fruit flavor and not hibiscus! Not tart, not artificial or chemical, just blueberries. Well done.

I’m going to be reducing the amount of caffinated tea I’m drinking, so herbals it is! My husband picked out a tea kettle for me today. It’s cute!
This actually tastes almost exactly like Adagio’s Berry blues tea. I really liked it. It mainly tastes like tart, fresh berries with some hibiscus. Pretty great for me!

Backlogging.

On Wednesday night, I tried another tea from the Celestial Seasoning sampler Barbara gave me. I went for the True Blueberry this time. There were four bags instead of the three there were supposed to be in the sample packet. This isn’t the first time this has happened to me in a Celestial Seasoning sampler. I even got five bags once.

Since these fruit herbals have steeped quite strong at their recommended four to six minute, I steeped this one at only 3 minutes. I had hoped to maybe get another steep out of the bag but I didn’t – too watery. The blueberry flavor was light, smooth, and only a little tart at the end. It was easy to drink. I do think I’ll try steeping this longer next time.

Easy peasy iced tea while I’m away from home. Even as I branch out to more and more loose tea I still go back to these for something simple that I know I can’t mess up.
True Blueberry is true to it’s name. I don’t pick up a huge amount of the hibiscus or other ingredients, and it’s not too tart.

Mmm…certainly liking this little blue wonder this evening. :) I needed a decaffeinated soother tonight, and this is doing it for me!

Part of the sampler box from CS. I brewed for 10 minutes.

It’s not strongly hibiscus, despite it’s being listed as the first ingredient. I’m getting a definite blueberry taste, with just a hint of the rosehips and hibiscus. Definitely lives up to its name. Very warm and comforting.

I’m not sure I’ll run out and buy it immediately (especially considering the current state of my tea cabinet), but I wouldn’t hesitate to pick this one up again.

Another tea that needs no work, I seem to like that. This smells like it is the juice of blueberries in your mug! The taste is not that far off, it taste like blueberries juiced but a little watered down. Quite enjoyed it!

After a dismal experienve with the Celestial Seasonings Apple Cinnamon only an hour ago I was nervous to try this tea – Thankfully it’s delicious! Far sweeter than I expected, it honestly tastes like sweet ripe blueberries. The colour is even authentically blueberry…not that it should matter.

Smells, looks and tastes good. So happy!

Update – By the end of the cup the tartness had come out a bit – I truly enjoyed that as well. Sometimes an inconsistent cup gives the variety of flavours you need.

Got a sample box and opened the True Blueberry pouch today. At this hour I need to drink something caffeine free.

It smells like blueberries. And It tastes like blueberry, and other fruits and berries. I add a little sugar to this tea to help bring out the berry flavor even more.

I think I saw on the packet something about being new and improved with more berry taste, and it has been improved. I remember trying this same tea years ago and not liking it because it didn’t taste like blueberries. Good going Celestial Seasonings.

From http://www.crazyteachick.com:

I’m a huge fan of Celestial Seasonings and their always-wonderful tea. Huge fan. I was recently in Target (my second home) when I noticed the company’s Fruit Tea Sampler. Upon examination, I realized that the sampler contained a few teas I hadn’t tried before. Gasp.

I recently reviewed one of the other teas in the sampler, the Raspberry Zinger. I love it muchly, and trust me, the True Blueberry is just as good. It doesn’t taste sugary, but it has a SLIGHT sweetness to it that makes it almost like dessert, or reminiscent of a blueberry yogurt flavor. As an herbal tea, it’s caffeine-free, and the ingredients are “hibiscus, rosehips, orange peel, natural blueberry flavor with other natural flavors (contains soy lecithin), blackberry leaves, wild blueberries and blueberry leaves”. The word blueberry is mentioned three times just in the ingredient list, so that’s a good thing, right?

Wild blueberries (that just sounds exotic) are used in the tea, and it’s no secret how good blueberries are for your body. There’s almost an grape-like flavor to these blueberries. I’ve tried the tea cold and it’s great that way, but it’s even better hot, like a warm slice of blueberry pie. Just pour boiling (or almost-boiling) water over a bag and steep for around 4-5 minutes.

Anyway, it’s hard to express in words what truly should be expressed through taste, so try this tea, and try it soon!

If there’s one thing I can say for sure about Celestial Seasonings’ fruit teas, it’s that they’re easy. Hot, iced, cold brewed; teabag out after a few minutes or a few days; they’re impossible to ruin. With that comes a simple and sometimes dull taste, yes, but it’s not a bad deal overall. I got a variety box and I’m tempted to pick up a full box of the blueberry… because sometimes you just want blueberries, you know?

Since I was pretty sure I was going to love this just from the smell, I immediately made a three cup pot when I got home from shopping this evening. The smell of fresh, hot blueberry muffins filled the kitchen when I poured the first cup.

The taste in the first two cups was not as intense as I thought it would be. It was very berry, but not blue berry. Then I added some honey to the second cup, and the blueberry flavor just popped for me. I could taste the honey as well, but instead of masking the flavor of the blueberries it seemed to bring it out.

The last cup was the same. I’m so happy I picked this up this evening.

It’s ok. I’m using up what I have, and not buying more.

This is a teabag. I mostly smell the blueberry. I steeped it up. The taste a sweet slighty tart blueberry and the other ingredients do not make this too tart. I thought this was good.

I was very excited to try this one. It was a gift, and usually I’m not very in to herbal teas. But this one was very good. There was a strong essence of fresh blueberries upon opening the box. A tiny bit of tartness, and a little sweetness make this cup very balanced. This is the best herbal tea I have had yet.

My friend Caitlin, my roommate Laura, and I had a makeshift tea party at dinner tonight. Caitlin and I had this tea. We had it hot and plain.

It was pretty good. It was a little sweeter than I am used to with just a hint of tart punch at the back of your throat. I normally don’t really like blueberries, but this was pretty good. I have a hunch that it would make an awesome summer iced tea.

I don’t know how I feel about this. It’s almost like drinking hot juice, the kind of taste that you have to be in the right mood for. The lack of caffeine certainly helps make that decision. ;-)