Organic Herbal Cranberry Orange

This is another very generous sample from Sandy. Dodge really likes this one. I suspect she loves the hibiscus.

It’s pretty tart. I think I pick up the rosehips and hibiscus with hints of orange. This is the love child of lemonade and koolaid. The rooibos can’t compete with the above superpowers. It’s smooth and heavier feeling so perhaps the chamomile is trying to make a good showing.

I smelled the dry leaf and it was positively wonderful- very orange-y. I love orange in tea!

I made the mistake of looking at reviews of this tea, as it was brewing, but before I actually tasted it. Not because I would have liked it otherwise, but because I would not have even bothered brewing it. I have yet to find an herbal with hibiscus in it that I actually like. Something about that tartness just puts me off.

Even so, the purple/red hue of the tea would have quickly given the hibiscus away.

But as it was already brewed, I tried it. I can taste the cranberry and the orange. A nice combination of flavors.
Had it be sans hibiscus, I could really like this.

As it stands, it seems like a really good tea for those with a more amicable relationship to the hibiscus that I have. I will pass this tea on to my hubby, who rarely drinks tea, but when he does, favors the tart hibiscus-y kinds.

This smells amazing, dry. The beau picked it out to drink on our return from the Market and I acquiesced. Then I looked it up..uh oh. Rosehips? Hibiscus? Chamomile? Herm. This is one the 60+ teas (yes, sixty!) that I recieved in my box of wonder that I purchased from LiberTeas via TeaTrade. It’s been so warm the last few weeks that I’ve only been drinking tea at work, and none of these are there so this is the first one I’ve broken into.

Back to the tea. Ever since I read a tasting note on here (don’t remember whose) about squeezing steeped rosehips and having them ooze, just thinking about it makes me a little queasy. I already have a tenuous relationship with hibiscus and hate chamomile, but I am hoping the delicious sweet orange dry smell really translates in the taste.

The liquor is very red (hibiscus) and the steeped aroma is unusual. Tart and dry, with an oatmeal-ish edge, according to the beau. I’m fairly certain the odd scent I keep getting is the chamomile mixing with all the other powerful ingredients. There is no echo here of the dry aroma, this is a whole different beast.

First sips are a relief. The hibiscus isn’t overwhelming and the chamomile is there but not dominant. I don’t get any orange or cranberry though, which is a let down. As it cools, the chamomile takes over. Bleck. I appreciate the chance to try this one, but I think I will try to move the rest of my sample along to a friend. Either that or convince the beau to drink as he DOES get orange and doesn’t get chamomile.

This one is very similar to the Cranberry Orange Iced that I reviewed earlier this week, the main differences are that: 1) this is a loose leaf blend; and 2) the loose leaf blend (this) has rooibos in it in addition to the other ingredients. The bagged varieties do not list rooibos as one of their ingredients.

It’s hard to say if that really makes all that much difference, because right now, what I am tasting primarily is hibiscus, cranberry and orange. I don’t know that I taste much from the rooibos. Perhaps as I continue to sip it, the flavors will develop somewhat. Even so, and even though this is a hibiscus-y tea in taste and texture, I am finding it rather enjoyable. The cranberry and orange flavors really rescue it from what might otherwise be a too-much-hibiscus-in-it blend.

To say that this smells like potpourri is an understatement. This made me incredibly nervous. That, and Dylan mentioned that the other Davidson’s tea they have is actually being used as potpourri…

That said, I actually like this. It kind of tastes like unsweetened Kool Aid, which should probably be disgusting, but really just isn’t in this case.

Some other suggestions from Amazon comments (I believe) were to cut this with more hibiscus. That would be insane.

Next time I try this, I’m going to add a little sugar and put it over ice.

Don’t be put off by the really, really intense orange peel smell and that you really can’t taste the rooibos. This is still tasty.

Aw, gee, it’s awful! A super tart/bitter cup of all-encompacing blech.

I wasn’t too motivated to try this one in the first place because herbals, and especially chamomile aren’t really my thing. I don’t hate them, I just prefer tea. However, the whole point of the mystery swap was to force me into trying teas I might otherwise pass by and, cheetah_pita, you did an excellent job of picking them for me! haha.

Cranberry and orange, though, is a combination that I am fond of, so I thought that maybe they would help to make this tea good. Unfortunately, I can’t really notice flavors while I’m recovering from the tarty bitterness. By the time it passes, all I can taste is the chamomile.

backlogging…will review more soon…

Perfect herbal tea – full of amazing flavor, with intense red color. On re-steeping, new flavors open up.

Backlog! My partner and I had a pot of this yesterday (picked from the teas I recieved from LiberTEAS), and she was so amazed by the vivid colour. It reminded me a bit of fruit punch, haha! The tea itself was a bit tart, but extremely flavourful, which was to be expected from the extremely strong smell. I might have liked it better to taste the orange flavours more, but my partner insists that this should be one that I buy again – she loves it!