Pink Flamingo

Given I have not been having the best time with hibiscus today (and yet keep making teas with it), I am surprised to actually enjoy this one. It’s quite tart, and I am enjoying that aspect of it right now.

It comes off more as a ruby red grapefruit rather than a ruby red hibiscus tea. I think the lemongrass is actually quite good here, I know I’ve said before that sometimes if it doesn’t fit, it makes whatever it is taste like Froot Loops. I love how this is tart without it being the hibiscus for once. It has some nice citrusy notes to it.

I think after Mamma Mia the surprise lies in the fact I actually like this since it seems like such an odd combination of various things…carrots? Eucalyptus leaves? It works. As I’ve let it sit, the tartness has lost its bite, so to speak. The first sip actually felt like a pinch inside my cheek but now it seems tamed. I was considering adding agave but now it’s good.

I probably wouldn’t get this normally (I received it in *DaisyChubb*’s iced tea swap I believe!) but I will sure enjoy this the rest of the summer, so for the next 2 1/2 months.

I was fairly certain I was the last person on Steepster to try this! OR…darned-near.

Special thanks to Amanda for this one!!! I have been wanting to try it for a while and I’ve shocked myself with that statement because it’s a fruity herbal. BUT…you know what? This is tasty! Citrus, Apple, fruit combo is really wonderful…it’s citrusy and fruity but not overly puckery or hibiscusy. The berries are a nice touch. I think the carrot adds the smoothness but pleasant sweetness to make this all work out nicely!

This was a wonderful surprise in many ways. I’m drinking this hot and it’s yummy but I am thinking cold it would ROCK even more.

So a friend of mine is pregnant, and “storing her tea” at my place until some time in the future. I was given specific instructions to just drink it all – like i haven’t got enough of my own tea to drink! In any case i figure i would however, use the time to sample the teas she has that i’ve never tried.

So this one is up first! It’s hibiscus alright, but it’s over all not a bad little tea. I’d likely prefer it better cold and i certainly wouldn’t buy it myself but i wouldn’t refuse to drink it. I can get hints of orange in this but mostly it’s that sour hibiscus taste hanging out.

This tea has such a nice purple colour to it. The first thing that popped into my head when I drank this was Starbucks passion tea. Im not sure why maybe the hibiscus and citrus in it. But if anyone likes the Starbucks passion tea you will probably like this.

I think I’m learning how to deal with hibiscus-y teas. Brew them weak and then chill. that’s what I did with this and heck, I think I’d do it again if I had any. It pretty much tastes like grapefruit. Very refreshing and citrusy and tasty. THis makes an excellent iced tea. Still, I prefer cold brewed oolongs and greens. I wouldn’t spend money on this tea, but I’m thankful for the sample. It’s actually the sort of tea that the husband would enjoy. I love that he pretty much likes what I don’t. :)

When I first smelled this in store, I thought it smelled like Joy’s Teaspoon’s Wellness. It also looks like it, since they share a number of ingredients. Nonetheless, the beau bought a tin of this yesterday, and we’re giving it a go. It still smells like Wellness, but with additional grapefruit smell. I really like the smell, and if it tastes anything at all like Wellness, I will probably love the taste. As soon as I poured the water, this turned bright pink. Definitely hibiscus and beetroot!

This tea from the Spring collection is actually far lighter than I expected. 100 g filled the tin almost to the brim, so that sort of makes up for the suggestion that 2 tsp of tea are required for 1 mug of water. As usual, I’ve thrown that out the window and used 2 tsp of tea for 20 oz(ish) of water. Since this has no proper tea in it, I’ll just leave it steeping longer to really flavour up.

The steeped smell is slightly grapefruit, even more slightly hibiscus (can I say more slightly??) The colour is deep pink to purple. I don’t really know how long I steeped it..I should really try playing by the rules someday.

First sips are tart and sweet, if that’s possible. I don’t get as much grapefruit not, but definite citrus. There is an extremely pleasant aftertaste. I get the impression this isn’t fully flavoured thanks to my screwy steep times, btu I like it and that’s what counts. Definitely reminiscent of Wellness (as expected). Between the two I would pick Wellness for strength and flavour, great price and re-steepability. But, this is lovely and will be enjoyed until it’s gone. I might try steeping properly sometime and see if I get that hardcore grapefruit flavour that others do.

Finally got to try this one! Very exciting, I know I hate the Hib but everyone seems to love this tea so I had to try it!
I got it made or me in the store and iced with a bit of agave.

mmmm it’s coool. Pink grapefruit for sure! I get the hibiscus flavour but it really works with and for this tea. I would have almost steeped it longer to be honest, it tasted a little watery. So when I buy this tea for the summer months, I will be generous with the leaf and not so generous with the steep time and I think it’ll come out just right.

Yum!

Another ancient sample from David’s Tea – evidently it is cleaning up and purging ancient things time…

I was really dreading this after reading the description. Well, I do like lemongrass but with hibiscus and citrus I was anticipating a big tart mess… this probably would be a good iced tea and good with booze in it. It’s a bright pink fruity cup that has the hibiscus zingy kick. It’s pretty ok but that’s about all. Better than Teavana but I doubt I will ever come to love a hibiscus fruit blend tea.

It’s been ages since I’ve placed my last order and I have no idea why. Maybe the new spring tea collection will be coming out soon??

Dry Leaf Nose: Tart and sweet citrus nose.

Liquor: Rich pink colour with a bright citrus character.

Flavour: Follows the nose well, clean and refreshing.

Third sample from Bonnie

I brewed this and then put it in the freezer to cool (I figured it would be better cold, but I didn’t cold brew it). I added a little bit of stevia and some lemon juice to perk the flavor a little.

This is very good! Sweet and tart, and very juicy. This is more of a summer tea, but I am still enjoying it right now!

this is excellent as an iced tea with (a ton of) sugar, but i would 100% NOT recommend it hot to anyone who has the same battle with hibiscus as i do.
it is so tart and blech tasting when hot, i don’t even want to think about it again to describe it.
a definite NO for me.
iced though (a cold steep), in the summer, it is quite nice.

Iced and lightly sweetened, this is tasty. For some reason it reminds me of Tazo’s Passion tea, though this is a bit more citrusy. The hibiscus and tangerine make a nice pair, but it’s not particularly special. I’m glad I got to sample this, but I don’t think it’s something that I will buy for myself.

Thanks for sharing, Sil.

Yikes! Hibiscus! I bought this before I realized how strong it could be. It was also $2.50 for a 25g bag so I thought why not?

It’s ok, but the rose and hibiscus overpower it. It was tart and terrible when I brewed it hot, but tart and drinkable iced. I just have to empty this last pitcher and I am done with it!

The dry leaf smells exactly like grapefruit. I love grapefruit, so this should be good.

Steeped it a long time…don’t know how long. I had it going while I was finishing up another cup. The colour is a dark pink and looks nice in my glass cup.

This is my favorite out of the three fruity herbals I got to try last week, but I still find myself longing for some Kanpe. The taste is tart straight, I think it would be great iced. WAIT I COULD RESTEEP IT OVER ICE! Runs to kitchen and puts tea back in steeper

Omg so much better. I added a hint of honey to my DavidsTea Steeper, and now it tastes exactly like starbucks passion iceteas. Will not longer be drinking hot, it just isn’t as good.

Time to crack open one of the several samples I got with my DT order. I normally don’t care for hibiscus. Too tart. Usually gives me a weird dry feeling in the mouth. But it really works well with the citrus fruits here. Not so in-your-face.

Because I only had a sample size, I didn’t want to cold steep it in my 1L jug (and wanted to simultaneously steep something in there!) so I busted out my Heineken pint glass, covered the brew with saran wrap, and let it sit in the fridge for about five hours.

When I uncovered the glass, whew! Soooo intensely fruity-smelling. Like to the max. The taste isn’t nearly as fruity though. Again, hibiscus-y but it’s not overkill or anything. I definitely still get that overly tart dry-mouth feel after each sip but I’m distracted by the slightly sour citrus notes to truly care. Probably the best hibiscus tea I’ve had thus far.

There is also grapefruit in there, but it tastes much sweeter to me than a straight up grapefruit. I wouldn’t buy this but it’s still better than I expected.

So I guess I should have listened to everyone warning about hibiscus imparting a bitter flavour if steeped too long… I cold-steeped this one for a couple days in the fridge (yes, forgot about it), and tried it today. YUCK. It is disgusting. There’s a hint of grapefruit and a ton of nasty, disgusting bitterness. I noted a bit of tartness as well, which was nice, but the bitter/gross flavour ruined it for me. So much so that I Actually Threw It Out.

I guess I’ll try again later, perhaps hot-brewing it then chilling :D

Shockingly, I didn’t totally hate the hibiscus in this one. It’s tart, as always, but everything else in there helped to balance it out enough so it wasn’t entirely overwhelming. Had the first steep hot, and then cold-brewed the leaves overnight for a second infusion.

Hot: it was pretty good. Sour like a grapefruit, with lots of other citrus flavors in there too. Cold-brewed: not so much. That made it taste more hibiscus-tart than citrus-tart. Had to dump half the cold cup.

Well this one smells awfully sharp. I picked this one up despite my better judgement so let’s see how this goes over.

Oh dear. The dreaded deep pink steep colour. Though the sharpness in the scent has diminishes a bit. Hmm the taste is kind of spicy. Like actual spices. This one isn’t for me.

I tried this in the store yesterday, it reminded me of lemonade but not nearly as good.

Why do I not hate this tea? It is full of hibiscus and brews up bright reddish pink but I love it! Pink Flamingo, your lemon and awesome additions just make me love your uniqueness in my collection. I didn’t realize how much I had missed you until the weather warmed up and I wanted something like this on ice. Definitely glad I can keep some for a while longer. And that there is at least one thing I like in the spring collection.