Tropicalia

Yes friends. It is that good.
If you look at my highly outdated profile description, you’ll find Pina Colada as one of my favorite flavours!

The smell is spot on. It even smells sweet! Coconut, pineapple, cream, I’m drooling at the smell itself.
Now – it’s 2:30am and I had one of those breakdowns tonight. One of those I have a worthless degree and am applying for the same job I could have got after high school breakdowns. So I thought, screw it, I’ll make tea and bread and who cares about sleep. It wasn’t coming anyways.

I’m drinking it hot and trying to tiptoe so I don’t wake up my boyfriend, who needs sleep super badly tonight.

There’s something about this tea that reminds me of forever nuts! I think it’s the sweetness of the apple, in a non-apple tasting way haha. You know, I’m not generally a happy person, but tea, and my friends (Steepster friends included) give me hope and genuine, natural happiness. So thanks friends. :)

Sharing tasting notes from all over is allllmost (not quite) like having the cup of tea together. I guess it’s more like sharing the same experience, in a different way. Something about that is very calming. This is much too philosophical for this tea, I should be drinking an oolong or something.

Wow, okay – how does it taste? Something in the blend is giving it a little sharp tartness, then smooth creamy pina colada taste sweeps in. It will be a perfect iced tea with a splash of rum and a little bit of cream. The flavour is light in the way Luscious Watermelon is light. It’s juicy, but not heavy. Refreshing, but with any luck, won’t leave you wanting. A nice tea.

I went to the DAVIDs on Bleeker today in the hopes of using that coupon… only to find that the prices in store are 2-3$ higher than online. I find them a bit on the higher end given the quality anyway, so I ended up not getting anything. I was just going to buy online and get the 50g of Paradise Found but 2 of the teas I want are sold out, yet they were in stock hours earlier. Guuuuuh.

Anyway, I DID get an iced tea in store. I mean, I’m not going to leave with nothing and they seem reasonably priced compared to other tea stores. I find it kind of funny that there’s no way I’ll spend $9 on 2oz of loose-leaf but $2.50 for an iced tea is fine… the brain is a funny thing. I’ve heard so many rave reviews about Tropicalia that I had to get it, even though it’s a wet and rainy day. Now I kind of wish I hadn’t because it is SO GOOD. I could drink this every day. But it’s a heavy blend which means it’s pricey to keep in my cupboard all the time. However, I don’t know if I can live without it, it’s perfectly fruity and has a surprising amount of depth.

Thanks to Amanda I was able to try this one!

This one seems to be a hit here on Steepster so I was wondering just what all the ‘steep’ was about!

There are lots of different fruits and petals in this mix along with some candy hearts. It has a small pina colada aroma paired with apple, perhaps. Not that fake Pina Colada either…coconut – YAY!

The taste is pretty amazing! I don’t have much to compare it with! I can taste apple, citrus-family members, sugar (from the candies), floral tidbits, coconut…the hole sha-BANG! I’m totally impressed with the way these ingredients meshed with each other.

I had half a cup hot and the other half cold and both are pretty delightful!

Couldn’t resist picking up the new teas tonight, so swung by DavidsTea 20 minutes before close and picked up 8 new teas, 1 old tea, and one of their adorable little glass “gung fu” teapots that I’ve been eyeing up for a while now.

This one smells. Like. Pina Colada. Exactly like it! Reminds me of the Fusion Tea Room version, which also smelled right, although didn’t taste close enough for me.

I guess Tropicalia was being sampled as the tea of the day, so I got to try a cup of it iced as my samples were being packaged up, and although it was a bit weak for me, it actually tasted like pina colada! Did someone actually finally get it right?! I was told that making it into a latte was a fabulous idea…

I’m having it hot now (only because I’m too lazy to wait for it to cool)… the smell of the steeped liquor is delicious. Creamy and like a pina colada. Heavier on the pineapple than coconut, which is perfectly fine.

The taste is pretty friggin’ good. Pineappley with a lingering coconutty creaminess. Actually, the more I drink, the more I’m falling in love. This could possibly replace pina coladas for me!

Seriously, if you love pina coladas, try this tea! None of the other three I’ve tried have come close enough for me to consider them as a replacement. There is a bit of apple flavour showing up in this one, but it’s not taking over and just is adding a bit of sweetness/tartness/body.

I’m going to cold-steep some of this tonight and see how it fares. I have high hopes for it and Luscious Watermelon!

Dry Leaf Nose: Pineapple and coconut

Liquor: Clear-brown.

Flavour: Piña colada flavour – strong notes of pineapple with a coconut background. Sweet and fruity.

I ripped open this sample package I bought back in June and took a deep whiff of a pineapple, coconut, apple yumfest!! I know this is supposed to be a great summer iced tea. And quite frankly, I’m not ready to give in to fall yet (despite my love of pumpkin and spice teas). Everyone was raving about this tea a few months back. Who cares what season it is? I’m sure I’ll enjoy it just as much now as I would have then.

I’ll make the first cup hot and ice the second. Seriously though, the dry leaf aroma is a cornucopia of awesomeness! This will definitely help me stay cheery while I do a ton of laundry. I’m surrounded by mountains with a kitty who has a desire to mountain climb. Mr. Frodo!! Stay off my underwear!! LOL!

Anyway, time to try the hot version. Mmmm, yum!! This is delicious! Tropicalia is the perfect name to describe these flavors. I don’t think DAVIDsTEA could come up with a better combination of fruity summery flavors. I’m not gonna’ lie, I kind of chugged this cup down. Time to try the iced version!

Since I re-steeped the same leaves, I decided to go for a solid 10 minute infusion. Of course, then I left the apartment to go down to the laundry room and missed when the timer went off. So, who really knows how long this steeped for. Even though this is a beloved iced tea, ironically I enjoyed it better hot. It’s just okay iced in my opinion. As good as this tea is, it doesn’t really qualify as dinner. Therefore, I’m off to make some!

heeey! This is pretty good! This is another David’s Tea that I was convinced I didn’t need to try. Then came all those gushing reviews. Ack! The first day I went to pick up a sample of this, it was completely sold out. Apparently, it was sold out within three days. Three days! How does NYC already have such a huge DT following? There must be a ton of Canadian expats or something. But anyway, they finally restocked and I snagged a 1 oz sample size.

I just used all of it to make one potful with 4.5 cups of water. Clearly, one would need quite a bit of dry tea to keep up a Tropicalia habit. I plan to chill this pot and drink it tomorrow. :) Even though the weather has cooled down enough now that it’s possible to drink hot teas, I feel that this one would benefit from a chilling. I am sampling a bit of it hot now, just to see how it is.

I must admit, the brewed tea looks disturbingly like soup. It’s a rich yellow-y orange and there’s a nice layer of oil floating on top. I’m sure it’s from the coconut, so I’m not worried, but man, this looks like soup! I expect to stir it up a bit and find onion pieces in there. Speaking of which, I ate some of the tea after brewing. the little pineapple bits were the best! :)

This tea is surprisingly sweet all by itself. I suspect it’s all the dried fruit pieces. I can definitely taste the apple and the pineapple with a yummy coconut richness in the background. This also reminds me a bit of amaretto. Just a bit, but enough to convince me that a splash of amaretto would be amazing. maybe with a bit of sugar and cream. The tea person that sold me this said he liked it with Bacardi. I’m sure that would be great too. :)

My only complaint? You need too much tea to make your drink. I probably won’t be getting more of this.

I’ll rate this once I’ve had it chilled. For now, it’s time to make dinner!

We had company over so there wasn’t anywhere to really hang out once the baby was up, so I took her out for a walk and ended up at the mall. I meant to grab a go-cup of something with caffeine but grabbed this instead. I shared it with the baby and she really seemed to enjoy it, so after wandering around for another hour, I went back and bought 50g of this and agave.

Should this count for breaking my tea buying hiatus? I say…. no. :P Haha. I figure it was for the baby, and the guests we’ll have over tonight and I think 50g will only work for 2 large pitchers anyway. But the point is I didn’t buy it for me. So I’ve been good! Bwahahaha.

ETA: When I was in DavidsTea I was trying to convince the salesperson to join Steepster as it is so amazing and awesome. She said she’d check it out, but if I was thinking I would have told her who I am there too. IF she does join, how will I find her? :P Whoops

Holy heck – this is one of the best darn teas I’ve ever had! It tastes like pina coladas, like a tropical vacay, like Californian summers… Great hot and FABULOUS iced! Another new cupboard essential. I drink this down in three gulps, reinfused and (im)patiently waited for it to cool to try it “iced.” SO yummy!

Pina colada? Exciting!
This does taste fairly close to a pina colada, not as creamy of course but that would be impossible I think. I am definitely getting the pineapple and coconut. With some sweetness. Those little candy hearts are cute.
I think I might get a tin!

I will have to do a comparison one of these days to 52teas Pina colada honeybush. DT’s version is cheaper but 52’s version has less artificial flavouring I believe.

Also, I am curious how this would taste hot.

Oh is this tea even serious right now.

6 oz iced Tropicalia + a splash of coconut milk creamer, topped off with coconut rum. Stir. Go to tea heaven.

So I thought this was going to cover the pineapple, but it tastes more like it was brought out even more. I don’t even know what else to say because this is just marvelous. The sip I had without any additions was good, but this is a whole different animal.

Here’s to me not drinking the entire pitcher today!

A sample of this tea came with my last Davids Tea order and right now it’s perfect iced tea weather (ie. blazing hot) so I gave it a try. There was only enough for a single cup, so I drank half of it hot and then stuck the rest in the fridge to get cold. I’ll be honest in that I wasn’t expecting too much (fruit teas often taste the same to me), but in the end I was pleasently surprised.

First of all – no hibiscus, yay! The flavour reminds me very closely of a pina colada (minus the rum) with just the right dash of sweetness that I didn’t need to add any agave nectar. I think I prefere it iced to hot but it’s very nice both ways. Next time I’m in Vancouver I’m going to see if I can pick up some more so I can make a jug of this stuff!

Hmm… the smell of this tea sort of reminds me of Ceckmate… I guess it is the coconut. But whenever I brew tea, i like to smell the spoon after i scoop the dry leaves into the tea bag; I think the best smell is on the spoon… lol.

Anywho, I would like to start of by saying that since I love coconut and especially Pina Coladas, my expectations for this tea were so high that they were low. What I mean by this is that I didnt think this tea would match my expectations and would be a dissapointment, because I did not expect it to actually taste like pina colada. I am glad to say that this tea ACTUALLY met my expectations!!! Oh my goodness! had it iced and it had the exact aroma and flavour of pina colada. I did not expect the flavour to be that accurate! I definately tasted the coconut and pineapple, but I also got a hint of caramel. Everytime I took a sip I would turn to my friend and say “OMG this tastes AMAZING,” yeah, it was that good! I definately have to stock up on this one, I can see myself sipping this tea all year round. I cannot wait to try it hot!

I keep being disappointed by flavoured herbals. I keep seeing people say things like, “It tastes just like [thingummy]!” and it never, ever does. Not to me, anyway. Being flavoured like something doesn’t usually mean that it tastes just like that thing. It just means that the flavour is reminiscent of that thing. Am I being too picky? Probably. I mean, if something tasted just like [thingummy], it probably would be [thingummy].

Anyway. This tea. It’s supposed to taste “just like” a pina colada. It does not. It just tastes very similar to a pina colada. But really, once you get over the disappointment, it’s actually an impressively close imitation.

The dry smell is amazing. Bang-on pina coladas, basically. Nothing less!

The taste is a bit weak. I discovered that this tea is chunky enough that the 26g I bought basically make one pitcher at best, so it could be that I really needed more of it. But I cold-steeped it for 14 hours, and my first impression was that it tasted very, very much like a pina colada at the back, but was a bit weak at the front. I also felt that I really needed to put too much sugar in it to bring forward the tastes that I wanted – there’s something a wee bit tart (the apple?) at the forefront of the taste that I did not care for. I originally added what I felt was (accidentally) too much honey to the pitcher before I placed it in the fridge to steep, and still added white sugar when I went to drink it by the cup. Still, it’s a re-purchase, even a tin or two’s worth.

I also discovered that it’s really amazing with the addition of (what else?) rum and some half-and-half. I certainly can’t add the rum to my work Timolino tomorrow, but I’m seriously debating the cream.

I bought this as part of the summer collection to make iced tea, but I made it hot to try tonight.

The dry tea smells like pineapple alcohol, maybe rum or vodka. So my first thought was: I’m in!

The brewed tea smells like light, not overly sweet pineapple. There is also a smell of powdered milk or coffee whitener, which I think is the thickener (sugar hearts) that is in the mix.

The taste is not as sweet as I would have anticipated and I like it that way. There is a light pineapple taste, with an even lighter coconut flavour. I feel like I am tasting powdered milk. There is a very faint unripe red Spartan apple taste underneath all the other flavours. It is leaving an aftertaste that I would associate with what I get after eating soft ice cream. Because it has pineapple and coconut, it initially makes me think pina colada, but I don’t think it tastes like that at all.

I definitely can see how this one would be great iced or cold brewed! Looking forward to trying it that way.

This is very good. It really gives the impression that I’m drinking pina coloda. Smooth and creamy with a heavier mouth feel to it just like the drink. I think the pineapple and coconut are done really well since they feel pretty natural. Iced, this is the perfect drink for a hot summer day. This one shall get some cupboard space. :D

I wasn’t expecting to like this, I’m not a huge pina colada fan. But I was happily surprised at how good it was! I cold brewed it and it got me through a few days of brutally hot temps at the office. I think I need to get more of this! The girls told me it tastes like pineapple juice and it really, really does. Yum.

I cold brewed a pitcher of this and when I took it out of the fridge everyone in the room recoiled in horror. I hugged it to my chest and said “IT’S CALLED COLD BREWING, IT’S SUPPOSED TO LOOK THIS WAY! THERE’S A FILTER IN THE PITCHER! IT TASTES LIKE PINA COLADA!!” No one would try it so I have the whole pitcher to myself, which is awesome because it tastes amaaazzinnnggg. I was expecting to have to sweeten it a little but I totally don’t have to at all, it’s naturally sweet and creamy. I would love to try it as an iced latte! The pineapple flavour is really pronounced. Unfortunately I used up my whole bag making this pitcher, so I’m gonna have to go back and get a tin of this!

Dry notes- smells just like a Pina Colada
I had to have this iced. It tastes just like a Pina Colada, aside from the not creamy-ness. I think this would be great with a splash of Malibu Rum… YUM!
I really enjoyed how well the pineapple & coconut played together. My only concern, slightly too sweet. I enjoy my teas without any sweetness (unless they’re black iced teas). So next time I will avoid adding the sugar hearts that come in it.

Oh, wow – this is tasty!!! Very piña colada-eque and my first DT so we’ve started off on the right foot!

I actually had a hard time not eating the fruit pieces before I steeped. It smelled so sweet!

4 oz of boiling water with 2 tsp of tisane, steeped for 10 minutes. Iced, sweetened and added a tiny bit of cream. The taste is good, maybe just a touch lighter than I like, but that’s easily remedied.

Thank you to Amanda for letting me sample this! I can see this as a summer staple in my cupboard/fridge! :D