Swampwater

This tea intrigued me when I saw it as a seasonal Halloween tea. I was even more interested in the claim that it turns dark green when steeped. I redeemed my frequent steeper points for a 50 g bag. It smells like strawberries and some kind of tropical fruit (maybe pineapple) and tastes similar to the way it smells. The tea definitely holds up to its claim of steeping dark green and looks cool if you drink it from a clear cup. I find that it is also best to steep this tea for quite a while (around 10 min for best results). I will enjoy this tea while I have it but I’m not sure if I would repurchase it if I could.

My overall rating is “OK+”. I wouldn’t buy it again, but I’d drink it if I had it.

Sipdown (180)!

I made this one quite a while back like probably two weeks ago for everyone closing with me at DAVIDsTEA one night. I didn’t feel super guilty brewing this one up for everyone on shift because it IS a DAVIDsTEA blend; it just happened to be online exclusive this year. Still, it’s probably good for everyone working to have tried it/have familiarity with it…

I’ve gotta say, we all thouroughly enjoyed watching this one infuse in the gravity steepers we use; it went through such a beautiful array of green shades including a STUNNING emerald green before it landed on an almost black-like swampy olive hue. That it and of itself was its own show!

I really enjoyed the cup; I love the smooth, mellow strawberry notes in this blend a whole lot. Everyone else seemed to be in agreement with me as well with the small exception of Stirling who enjoyed the tea but did not believe me that it was a strawberry rooibos. He was CONVINCED it was some sort of sweet/dessert like green tea and that I was just messing with him.

Friendly reminder that I do not numerically rate DAVIDsTEA blends as I’m currently employed there and it would be an obvious conflict of interest. Any blends you see with numerical ratings were rated prior to my employment there. These reviews are a reflection of my personal thoughts regarding the teas, and not the company’s.

Well THIS was a lovely surprise.

I think I saw this briefly at DAVID’s when I was first getting into tea and I though “ew, swampwater…” (maybe they should work on the marketing for that one). And then I saw it was a rooibos, which didn’t help its case. However, reading some of the reviews had me intrigued (plus brought to light the fact it’s a green rooibos, which I haven’t had a chance to try before now (at least that I know of)).

Well this truly lives up to the hype! Fruity with a hint of sour (really getting a kiwi vibe here). Not much else to say about it, but it’s good, not too sweet, and packed with flavour! I would like to see how it preforms cold. Will very much enjoy what I have left.

On a side note, the murky green it brews up to is not necessarily the most appealing, though it adds to its charm as a Halloween tea.

I finally got a sample of this tea from someone and got around to trying it today. When I poured in the hot water, I thought ‘I can see why they called it Swampwater’ since the colour of the tea is a murky greenish. I really enjoy this tea, and I’m sad that I only had enough for one cup. Maybe I can get one more steep out of it. It tastes fruity, and I can definitely taste the strawberry in this, which is nice.

I got this as a Halloween tea. It smelled fruity and I love rooibos so I was excited to try it. After the timer went off I noticed that the tea lived up to its name- it looked exactly like swampwater being all murky green and all. I was kinda reluctant to try it as it looked like hazardous liquid, but I knew better. I was glad I did because it was yummy. A very nice treat for Halloween.

Interesting name, which I’ll admit, initially put me off. The colour is… unattractive as well. However I really enjoy the natural sweetness of the Rooibos tea coming through, as well as the unmistakeable taste of strawberries. I do wish this tea wasn’t retired though, as I’d like to stock up on more.

I love drinking swampwater. Not because of the name to an oh so cute tea but because it makes me feel rejuvenated. Just like if I was drinking a witch’s brew for energy, despite the fact that the tea is classified as not having any sort of stimulant or caffeine. It’s just a good tea to read anything to and to enjoy hot on any occasion, but should definitely have the tea drinker keeping in mind the tea’s namesake. The tea made me realized that I have not read near enough books as I would like on witches. With this tea, I would like to explore that genre more closely.

Books recommended for this tea are: The Witch’s Daughter by Paula Brackston, Rosemary’s Baby by Ira Levin, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

This sample came out of a lovely holiday package from a Steepsterite who would rather remain anonymous. I wasn’t sure what to expect from it as the name is decidedly unappetizing, but the included flavors sound fruity and nice. I was confused by the addition of sprinkles until I saw the color of the steeped tea – dark sludgy green/black. Dry, the tea smells fruity and somewhat tart.

Meh, there’s not enough flavor here for me. Green rooibos is very mild to begin with, and the fruit flavoring is quite subtle, so it kind of ends up tasting like a big cup of bland. And for some reason it’s making my throat scratchy/itchy, which isn’t something that usually happens to me with rooibos. I guess this one’s just not for me!

Made this one last night after I finished off the Lime Gelato. Dry it smells like fruity oatmeal and hot the taste is similar. It’s not actually super grainy in taste, it just leans that way (smell influencing how the taste is perceived?). I accidentally left this one sitting and, when I came back to it, it had cooled down to room temperature. I expected this to be bitter (too many green teas lately?) but it was SO FRUITY AND DELICIOUS. Wow! I don’t normally go for iced tea or cold brews, but this was so tasty cold I think I have to try it.