Luscious Watermelon

I absolutely can NOT drink this one hot. Something about hot watermelon is just too wrong and I can’t get past the idea of it.

Iced however, wow! The tin smells like pure watermelon, but the taste is something more. I don’t pick up the honeydew (which is good, I’m not a fan of the stuff), but like someone else said I taste banana?!

I like to steep it triple or quadruple strength, ice it, then use it (steeped goodies and all) to make slushies. Add a splash of vodka or red sourpuss for a more adult summery treat ;)

I’ve been in the mood for this one for a while, and since my friend gave me a watermelon tea, I had to try this one first in order to do a fair comparison. I pulled the cannister from the back of my cupboard and nervously opened it up. I hadn’t touched it for months through the winter so I was afraid of how well it would have lasted. Thankfully it smelled just as amazing as ever and so I blissfully brewed up some summer tea.

I love how this one tastes. It has that light sugary flavour of watermelon. You can tell there is a flavour, and sweetness, but trying to pin down what exactly you’re tasting is nigh on impossible, just like the fruit itself. I’m hopeful that this one is coming back this summer, because I don’t have as much left as I thought I had!

Had this iced in-store as well (we stopped in, got our tea, visited the rest of the mall, and stopped in again on the way out). Again, a little weak, but still tasty!

My wife said it smelled like banana, and oh, I wish she hadn’t. After that, it tasted good, yes, but all I could think of to describe the flavor is “banana”. There was some melon in there, yes, but it was more of a tropical smoothie to me. I need to try it again.

Before anything, I have to admit that I actually really dislike watermelon-flavored things. I have a truce with the fruit itself, but watermelon-flavored things always make me gag. But this is made with real watermelon pieces, so – I go into it with only moderate hope of liking it, but I go into it anyway! (and thank you so much for this sample, Meowkattack!)

Seeing carrots in the ingredients also admittedly made me a bit wary, as “luscious” calls to my mind things very sweet and fruity. The smell of the brewed tea, however, was much more mellow – I think I began smelling more of the strawberry leaves, maybe. But this isn’t too bad! It’s definitely more than just watermelon, though I can tell it’s at the forefront. This one doesn’t have the tart aftertaste that most of the other fruit teas I’ve drank had.

Added a bit of honey in and iced half the cup – a bit better that way, though still probably not something I’d buy on my own.

06/2012
summer in the city
http://instagram.com/p/MNqbaCIczk/

I got this iced a while ago while I happened to be around a DAVIDs (an all too rare occurrence these days I’m afraid!) It was super refreshing but I didn’t find it all that flavourful, but considering that it is based off of watermelon, which is also mostly water, I guess that is to be expected. Refreshing and fruity, it makes a great summer tea, but I am a little disappointed by the weakness.

Another yummy iced tea in my fridge. Yay!

You know what this reminds me of? In the Philippines, my aunt would take a cantaloupe, shred it into a pitcher of cold water and ice, and put a tiny bit of sugar. This iced tea has that wonderful melon taste with a watermelon kick. I can’t taste anything other than melon, which can be a good thing since the carrot didn’t really appeal to me.

The only thing I messed up on…I put a cup of simple syrup in without thinking about how sweet the tea would be on its own. I really must learn to taste the iced tea before sweetening it. And sweeten it I probably will because I have an incurable sweet tooth. Luckily, I have more of this (unlike my White Malibu which I’ve consigned to memory) so I can try it straight next time.

And can I just say that the Takeya iced tea maker is awesome!! I got it through a gift certificate to Davids Tea that my sister-in-law gave me for my birthday. It is one of my favourite tea making devices, along with my Steeper, also from Davids Tea.

So I wasn’t supposed to buy any more tea, as I’m moving house soon and I swear 90% of my stuff to be packed is tea tins. But as I strolled by this afternoon – Yessss! The David’s Tea $1 iced tea promo was on!! I got a travel mug of this iced and it was the perfect beach-side sipper. When highly chilled the tangy melon flavour really comes through and pops more. As the ice melts and it gets warmer, I taste a little more apple/juice flavour, and it’s still good but somehow tastes a wee bit more artificial. I guess one more tin can’t hurt…?

Cold steeped this over night in the fridge, my first iced tea attempt. And I am a very happy camper. This is delicious, light, and when summer gets to be really hot, I am going to crave this stuff. Wondering if I perhaps didn’t use enough tea, not too flavourful but definitely refreshing, like a lightly flavoured iced water. Some experimentation is in order.
Will be getting another package, unless another tea in the summer box set is even better (yay for birthday gifts!)

Has anyone frozen their iced tea to make popsicles?? Potential yum..

I was going to adjust the rating, but no I think it is spot on!
I recently had my first David’s Tea Sipdown (thanks TEB :D ) of a mix of this tea and the rest of my Swampwater. It was yummy, but I don’t think I’ll restock next summer if it shows up again.
But who knows, it’s a year from now. Maybe I will. haha!

i loved the smell! when i first bought it- i had expected, it to taste the same when steeped-it wasn’t the case. It has a beautiful pink ruby colour,when steeped- i can’t really taste the watermelon-i do taste the apple and strawberry, this tea is light on taste. i won’t be buying it again.

Hi there, it’s been a fucking while since i’ve drinked tea!

I’ve moved to another city and now I have a new job so I doesn’t having the time for this, but NOW! Let’s see what this tea has in his taste :)

Review : Well, really fruity in da mouth. It’s like taking a bite in a watermelon. Seriously the taste of this tea (iced) is simply impressive!

The taste is not “weak” like a lot’s of iced tea i’ve tried, it’s plain and satisfying.

This tea tastes like I’m eating a bowl of mostly mixed melons, heavy on the watermelon, with pops of apples and strawberries. As I commented on another person’s tealog (I believe their name is Bonnie?) With my first sip, I could have sworn I tasted and smelled a touch of banana, but alas there are no bananas listed in the ingredients. Perhaps it is just me who is going bananas? I’m enjoying this tea hot, but I can’t wait to try it cold…I think it’s gonna be hot day gold. I wish I found this at the beginning of summer, but still I’m stoked!

It’s really good

I tried this one iced and frankly, I was not expecting to like it (I’m not a fan of iced tea and even less of fruity tisanes/herbal teas)

It’s so fresh and sweet, really smells like watermelon… Even taste like a
juicy watermelon. So refreshing in the summer.

My two kids loved it (2 and 4 years old) even whitout any sugar in it.

yummmm! tried this one iced first off, because i can’t really imagine it showing off as much when it’s hot, and oooh it was good!
i sweetened it with some lemon simple syrup that i made, and it was really excellent. very juicy and light and refreshing!

I feel like the whole ‘’people giving this tea thumbs down’’ were probably out of the loop, or hoping for something else??? This is a sweet watermelon tea!
And it is that, fabulous. Iced, of course. Add some fresh mint leaves and ice and you’re set. Agave if you please. Ice pops if you’re adventurous. Alcohol if you’re rabunctious. This is a versatile summer tea for sure. And it kinda excuses the mess eating the real thing does.

I used 2 scoops of dry leaf for about 1 cup and then poured over ice until chilled.

Flavour is primarily watermelon all the way through the sip onto the after-taste. There is a slight tartness of apple on the finish but is balanced out with the sweetness of the melon flavour. The flavour has a round, juicy quality to it which seems to be sourced from the melon.

Cold brewed for 30 hours, this tea is very refreshing. The flavour has a thin quality to it but the melon taste is still on the forefront.

I busted this out last night because I was craving something fruity and couldn’t partake of the coffee that everyone else was drinking (stomach problems, you see).

I still have a full tin of this from the summer, I know it’ll probably come back this year, but you never know for sure! I definitely prefer this iced or fridge-brewed, but it’s winter and cold drinks just seem wrong this time of year. However, it was still delicious and summery like a watermelon Jolly Rancher, but not as unbearably sweet. I drank it straight, but when I ice it I always add agave nectar because I like how well it mixes in to colder beverages.

Experience buying from @Ashley: I bought this tea from Ashley when she was selling all of her tea. I received the tea quickly through the mail and my package was filled with many surprises. Thank you Ashley!

Note: I got this as a sample from Ashley and brewed it up not long after receiving it.

Appearance and aroma of dry leaf: looks like small nuts and dried pieces of fruit; smelled sweet, herbal, and fruity.

Brewing guidelines: 2 tsp, 2 cups of water; I used a metal basket strainer inside a 16 oz ceramic cup, such that I put a lid over the top to keep the heat in. Cup was warmed before steeping. Stevia added.
…………….1st: 195, 2’
…………….2nd: near boiling, 3’
…………….3rd: boiling, 5’
…………….4th: boiling, 10’

Color and aroma of tea liquor: beautiful pale red, reminiscent of the color of watermelon! Smelled great, too! One odd thing: there were very small green bits floating on top which must have been flavorings small enough to make it though the strainer.

Flavor of tea liquor: I iced this, per the directions, putting all four steepings together in a pitcher with ice, and chilling it overnight. The resulting flavor was on the mild side (expected due to the way I combined all four steepings), but sweet and flavorful: just like watermelon!

Overall: I was impressed with how it looked and tasted like watermelon. A great iced tea for watermelon fans!

Taste of summer is right. Man is this ever delicious.
Just re-stocked this in my cupboard and made myself a cup in celebration of my favourite cans now full of tea once again! I can taste the honeydew and watermelon here for sure. Not too sure about the carrot and apple but by the looks of this tea I’m sure they must be in there somewhere :)
This tea is delicious hot or cold and I honestly don’t know which I prefer – hot in the winter (about -25 here at the moment) and cold in the summer. This one’s been a part of my permanent collection since I discovered it and I definitely recommend it!

Hope everyone had a great holiday :)