Prairie Berry

Oops – I thought for sure I reviewed this one already!
First of all, I’m a prairie girl (S’toon/Regina) and I loooove S’toon berries. Picking them off a giant plant was the best part about certain campsites. I would just stand there with a bunch of other kids and just shovel them in.

S’toon berry pies can be amazing or really bad – depends on the quality of berry. The big juicy berries make an amazing pie – the small hard ones make a crunchy/chewy type pie.

I digress! This tea smells soooo good – like a sweet, mapley berry pie! Sadly I can’t get the berry taste to come out in the steep. It tastes like a sweet, maple drizzled dark oolong – dry in texture, maybe a Taiwanese?

I’m definitely missing out on the berry flavour I get in the smell.

Okay now the important part! (lol) My birthday is next weekend and I’ve invited some new (non tea obsessed) friends for a tea party! I’m cooking and baking, trying my hand at some gluten-free treats as well, but I was kind of hoping for some tea party advice. I’d like to set up a little matcha tasting bar, I only have one big teapot, any advice or fun ideas on how to sample a bunch of fun teas? Thanks friends!

Jeez who would say this is better than Blueberry Jam, that’s not right.

I had no idea there were things called Saskatoon berries before this tea, but I figured berries are usually all pretty delicious so this will probably be good. So I had to try a couple of them after the tea steeped since I don’t think I’ll be going out anywhere and finding these berries, though I know of a store that would probably try.

I didn’t read the description recently so I didn’t see the part where it tastes like a cranberry/blueberry, but that indeed sums it up. Maybe just a little bit blackberry too.

It really just isn’t berry enough in the tea. I steeped it for four minutes. It mainly tastes like a roasted oolong and maple syrup. It’s there though, but it comes off more like the cranberries that are more present than the Saskatoon berries. As it cools, it gets more of a berry flavor, so it isn’t bad. I just wouldn’t drink it while it’s still pretty hot again because it did not taste good then.

I think I’ll have no problem finishing it though. Thanks for picking up some of this for me, Kittenna!

Oh!!! And most exciting news ever: my grandma gets to leave the nursing home for an overnight stay at home this Saturday! I was planning on going up to visit tomorrow or Wednesday for the rest of the week but now it’s for sure!

Thanks raritea! I actually enjoyed this one today. Still not a fan of davids tea but ill take this one over blueberry jam any day :) I wouldn’t quite put the flavour as being close to saskatoons but that could be my taste buds or a mis recollection from when I was little.

Sample #2 of the day. This one comes to me thanks to Faith!

Not being very familiar with the Canadian prairie, I have never had Saskatoon berries. But I am always up for a new and interesting fruit!

The the tea smells very berry-ish, definitely the tart, sweet kind. I also smell the warm, roasted oolong base underneath that seems like it goes pretty well. I am getting quite a lot of tart berry from the flavor, cranberry for sure and perhaps Saskatoon berry, though I don’t know that I would be able to identify it. The oolong base is a touch roasty but not very strongly so. As opposed to several other reviewers, I get basically no maple syrup, and I would hvae liked some maple syrup. Still, this is a pretty tasty tea and I enjoyed it.

I was really looking forward to this blend. I love berry tea! Coming from Saskatchewan, I really like Saskatoons. And berries and oolong together….how can you go wrong!!??

Smells very Saskatoon berry!

This blend is actually very good. I am certainly getting more cranberry taste than Saskatoon. I also like cranberries, so for me, this is all good. The maple syrup adds a subtle sweetness that makes this nice and fulfilling. The oolong taste is in the background. Too bad there is artificial flavouring, but overall, I really like this blend.

Edit: resteep 6minutes, boiling, just as good as the first!

So I hear this one’s even better than Blueberry Jam…

The aroma reminds me a lot of Superberry. Perhaps the cranberry?

Huh, flavour-wise this strangely reminds me of bagged Celestial Seasonings tea. I’m not sure exactly why. I can taste a woody oolong base, with light fruitiness overtop. It’s alright, but not thrilling. If I try really hard, I can imagine a Saskatoonberry flavour, but as I didn’t really see any as I was measuring out the tea (I saw lots of cranberries though!), that doesn’t surprise me. The berry flavour here is pretty mellow and neither sweet nor tart, really. And there’s a bit of a lingering dark oolong aftertaste.

I have to say I’m a bit disappointed. I definitely think Blueberry Jam is better, and this one is certainly a decent cup of tea, it’s just not quite what I wanted. I’ll have to try icing/cold-brewing it as well though.

sample pouch brewed in my timolino.
nom nom nom
gonna leave work a little early today.
yay yay yay

saskatoon berries and maple syrup are the reason i tried this tea. it being delicious is the reason i continuously reach for it over most other berry teas. i am thinking i am going to try mixing it with pineapple oolong and see what happens…

bleh!
It’s not often I say that about a tea. In fact, I can’t recall the last time I rated one so low. but this… well it certainly is not for me!
The taste is sharp on the tongue, faintly berry like with an aftertaste of plastic.
Was there black tea in this? I certainly couldn’t taste it.
Overall, I’m having trouble finding any redeeming qualities about this tea. Not just that, but it has artificial ingredients?! enough said in my books.
Steepster won’t allow me to rate this at the moment… so let’s just say I gave it a 45.

Curse you Prairie Berry for being so darn delicious! ( > . < ) Seriously. This is one yummy berry and I am on a no-more-tea-buying-because-it’s-threatening-to-overtake-my-apartment program. My cupboard is filled to bursting and I think I have more kinds of tea than David’s does on their walls. But this is good. And it’s even better because it’s been quite an educational experience. I didn’t even know what a Saskatoon berry was before I met Prairie Berry. So I guess I can say I’m better for having tried it. Mmmm. I look forward to deleting some teas from my cupboard to make room for this beauty. Also excellent with vanilla almond breeze.

Dry Leaf Nose: Juicy berries with dark berry notes.

Liquor: Classic brown tea colour.

Flavour: Darker-coloured berry notes with a rich, full flavour – like a very strong blueberry. Black tea is present and is sweetened throughout by the maple syrup.

I’m definitely getting more oolong than berry here, but I am getting some berry juiciness and tart undertones in this brew. I added sugar, but not a lot, and no milk, though as the oolong is a little on the darker side, it could hold up to one, but I don’t think this one will benefit from any milk. But maybe. There is an astringent taste that might be more mellow if I add milk.

In the Prairie Berry vs Blueberry Jam war, I think it is no contest…Blueberry Jam is the clear winner to me. This is another one that I think will make a nice cold brew iced tea.

Hmm, what will my next tea be? Something else from indigobloom or something I already have?

Have I not rated this yet? Oops.

I’ve had a couple of cups of this, a first steep, then the second steep of someone else’s from my Steeper. Just delicious every time. Love the berries, and the mix is really nice. Its my first exposure to Saskatoon berries, and a great decision it seems!

The oolong base adds a lovely mix into the tea. It compliments the berries, but there’s still a disctinct oolong flavour there too.

I really like this one. Next stop, iced!

Life has been a little hectically crazy right now: my sister needs surgery on her gallbladder (we have the same issues, just apparently hers are so bad she needs it out!), my sister-in-law’s baby shower is approaching (expecting twin boys), and my husband & I just got news of our own… we’re pregnant with baby #2! It’s kind of early on to announce anything to family, but I had to let someone know! It’s strange, with pregnancy #1 I was so nauseous and tired that the slightest smell of meat or coffee sent me running for the bathroom. This time around I’m actually craving coffee! Fingers-crossed the nausea decides to stay away for good.

It’s also Saskatoon Berry season here in Saskatchewan, with berry-laced pie, preserves, and cinnamon buns at nearly every Farmer’s Market stall. I can’t have any of the baking and my mom makes her own jam, so I usually opt out of the bounty. This tea, however, was an exception.

From the moment the sales-girl opened it up for me to sniff, I knew I needed some in my possession. Today, I finally brewed up a cup to drink with breakfast and I wasn’t disappointed. It’s thick and flavourful, with the Saskatoons complimented perfectly by the maple. Much more dimensional to me than Superberry. Now, let’s see if we can get multiple steeps out of it…

Cold steeped my 10g sample of this beauty, and while it was very good, I don’t think it’s one I need to stock up, especially considering I have a tin of Blueberry Jam. Of the two, I still prefer the blueberry, though if this one was offered, I certainly wouldn’t say no! I love berry teas and this one is very, very good at being just that.

I got this as a sample with my order, and while it was hot I thought it wasn’t bad. But as it cooled it became sickly sweet, and the artificial flavor reminded me of those blueberry LipSmackers. I actually had to toss the rest.

Not only that, but the smell clung to the rubber lid of my timolino, and even after two overnight soaks and washes with soap/vinegar/baking soda, the fake berry taste was still creeping into other teas I made in there! I usually don’t give ratings this low but sometimes you just gotta vent, and who better to understand tea troubles than fellow Steepsters! Ahh ok I feel much better now :)

Vanilla Beans sent me 4 generous samples of some DT blends 3 I’ve never owned/had only once & one I love. I’m determined to drink/at least try any new teas I get.

So I had this one today.
Well it’s lightly berry like, but just generic berry. I am definetly not getting any maple syrup.

Overall just not liking this one. I’ll finish my mug but that’s it. It’s rather bland.

I used 1.4 tablespoons of dry leaf for 375 ml of water.

The aroma of the tea reminds me primarily of packaged berry oatmeal. I can detect the oolong as well as a sweetness which it likely sourced from the maple syrup.

Very sweet on the sip. The taste of this tea also reminds me of mixed berry oatmeal. I do appreciate the presence of oolong flavour (the oolong seems like a quality oolong that I would enjoy drinking on its own) and delightful astringency and toasted-ness imparted to the cup, however, I am not sure if it is best paired with a berry-type profile. I am detecting a sweetness and hint of saltiness near the end of the sip. The berry taste is a bit more on the artificial side. I can almost pull out the flavour of maple syrup from the mix but it is either very well blended or too faint for good taste detection.

As the tea cools, I’m getting hints of peppery notes.

This one’s really good! I love the berries in this – far better than Blueberry Jam, which it initially reminded me of. There’s a hint of sweetness in every sip that really makes this tea quite amazing.

This one may need to be kept around.

I couldn’t resist anything that has Saskatoon berries in it – they grow wild around here although they tend to be a bit small and seedy, but they’re wonderful in pies and jam. You can smell the berries right away in the dry tea and the flavours meld very well with the dark oolong base which has a complimentary fruitiness. The maple syrup also adds a touch of sweetness without being too cloying. The resteep (@ 5 minutes) was lighter with less of the toasted dark oolong flavour and more of the berry sweetness coming through. I love that they went with a berry that was a little bit unusual, but quintessentially Canadian, for this tea.