Indian Summer

The eve of the Saanich Fair brings with it a chance to try this new white tea. The scent is refreshing and sweet. I would describe this as a more natural fruit punch without all the sugar and chemicals of the ones on the market. It tastes nice warm but no doubt it would work just as well on ice. The more I drink it the more delicious the notes are and perks the spirit, all I need is one of those little drink umbrellas and I’m set. Cheers!

First of all, a big thank you to DAVIDsTEA for including this as a free sample in my order! Been waiting to try this one, as it’s one of their few fall teas that I am not allergic to [nut allergy, :( ]. Anyways, onto the tea!

The dry smell…wow, I am pleased. A myriad of fruits..mmmm, what do I smell, cherries, watermelon, a bit of the fig or raisin, it actually reminded me a bit of a fruit cake! One of the dark ones my mom makes. I also detected a bit of an earthy smell, not sure what that was, I didn’t really like that note. Once water was poured on it, the smell diminished significantly. Must say, I am disappointed, I liked all those sugary fruits!

Taste- I steeped this tea for the full 7 mins, as I was a bit skimpy on the amount (only have the 5g sample, would like to try to get 2 cups out of it!). I now have to wait for it to cool, so will update in a bit!
Update: Finally tasted it, and must say, I am kind of disappointed. For there being so many fruits and veggies in this tea, I was expecting a bit different experience. The first taste is a bit tart, and I’m getting a mild hint of the cherries and watermelon. The taste kind of builds into a mixture of things, can’t really identify them. Aftertaste I find carrot, not my favorite taste in a tea to be honest. However, it does taste summery, which is very relaxing.

Another update: Tastes very, very similar to my mom’s fruitcake when it has cooled! Weird to taste that in a tea.

Overall, I don’t think I would buy a lot of this, maybe one more sample? I may have used too little leaf, or maybe it needs to steep longer, but it’s not really my thing. I’ll stick with less fruity blends I think. I’ll try one more cup at a later date and maybe change the rating. Not bad, but not epic.

Dry Leaf Nose: Dry and fruity… reminiscent of fall.

Liquor: Rosy-pink and clear with a delicate fruity note.

Flavour: Very delicate. A fruity note pervades with a subtle, natural sweetness.

Ok I am making a resolution to not buy any more tea until I get rid of 80% of my stash. I have SOOOOO many samples that I haven’t tried. I need to drink them away; or become a crazy tea hoarder……. nope.

This was one of the samples with my chirstmas order form Davids. It was pretty good. Though it is one of those teas that makes you wonder why it wasn’t an herbal. In my pack it was 80% herb, the rest white tea. I was also shocked when online and the pack they wanted me to use almost boiling water for a white tea mix………..WUT?

Anyways on the the smell. This tea smelled like Jolly Rancher watermelon, the wet leaf smelled like it, and the brew smelled like it.

This warm tasted pretty good, but this is diffidently an ice tea mix. The taste when it was cold was good. I mainly detected strong notes of watermelon and undertones of lemongrass. Also I think the apple pieces in it is what kept it from tasting sour. It does have an artificial-ness to it, much like JR candies, but it is decent. I kinda wish the pumpkin and fig flavors were there; don’t know why they are listed.

Overall it was good but not, “ER MER GERD”. It would be interesting to see what would happen if they took out the watermelon bit and try to up-play the fig and pumpkin flavors; also just scratch out the white tea and make it a herbal one…. would be cheaper.

I would recommend this to someone who likes JR watermelon, isn’t artificial sensitive.

My mom was a really big fan though. She kept trying to steal sips out of my cup.

Specifics

brewed at below boiling. First 5min then 7min and put both steeps in a cup

Pot: Porcelain
Water: 2x 8oz
Leaf: 5g
Sweetener: a bit of light agave but not necessary

Figs. Figgy, figgity figs.

And then the watermelon. But mostly figs.

This might also have to due with the fact that there was a sizable chunk of dried fig in the mix when I steeped it, so hopefully the overwhelmingly figgy taste is not true of the entire 10g bag I bought.

I’ll refrain from rating until I’ve tried it again (hopefully less figged out), but in the mean time I’ll say that it reminds me of a more pleasant Forbidden Fruit, but I still can’t get past the figs.

EDIT: Much better iced.

This is a sample I was yet to finish from an order I did a few months ago. It’s one is tasty, but very fruity, almost lolly-like. Not very white tea-ish. But still quite drinkable. Probably would have preferred this as a herbal.

This is such a cool tea, you can smell it from afar, kindly inviting you to sit down and enjoy a mug. I really think this tea embodies fall in all its qualities and taste. This morning, I added some milk to Indian Summer and it tastes phenomenal.

Okay, the dry leaves smell like candy. My sister and I decided on either Sour Patch Watermelons or Sour Punch Straws. Anyway, I couldn’t stop smelling them.

This was a sample included in my order. I’m not generally a fan of white teas. They’re usually too weak [if flavored] or vegetal [if unflavored] for me. But in the name of clearing out my stash, I decided to just brew the whole sample up (made two strong cups).

At first I primarily tasted the lemongrass and hibiscus. As it cooled, the watermelon became the primary flavor, which really popped after I added sugar. I suppose the other fruit flavors were there, but they all kind of converged into a syrupy, fruity flavored tea. If anything, I could only detect the apple and cherry, none of the berry, and especially not the pumpkin or carrot.

I’m not sure actually how much white tea was in this, as it was pretty undetectable to me. Overall, I don’t know what the primary flavor of this actually IS. It’s probably better iced as a sort of agua fresca. Overall, I didn’t dislike it, but I don’t care for it enough to buy some more, hence the lack of rating.

Still a profoundly awful few days…need something new..something sweet..something in a white tea.

Also didn’t want a fussy green or black tea..I want something simple.
This smells absolutely delicious it’s like a fruit orgy full-bodied,sweet and not delicate in the slightest.

Watching it steep it is a clear liquor with red bleeding into it it’s pretty to watch..god I love tea the process of making it can be as awesome as drinking it.Poetry in motion..after it’s steeped fully it’s a lovely watermelon pink color.pretty!

As I’m waiting Bananarama is cycling through my head for some reason..

As for taste it’s pretty delicate.
Fruity but with definite White tea taste.
I feel like I should like it more..but it’s just okay.
Not as good as Cherry Potion or mango madness..I like my fruit front and center.

Meh.I could take it or leave it.

this one steeps up a very pretty light pink cup! a good indicator that the hibiscus shouldn’t be overpowering… and yes! a winner!
there is so much goodness crammed in here though, haha, the hibiscus takes a nice tart back seat with the sour cherries.
it reminds me of goji pop in how it smells like some sort of juicy, fruity, chewy candy! yummm

This tea is just… a lot of things. Not crazy delicious but not a bad tea at all. It definitely has A LOT going on, as you can tell just by reading what all is in it. I can taste watermelon and cherry very distinctly and luckily the hibiscus is hiding itself well in the mix. I am not exactly sure where the pumpkin comes into play… and I am not really sure what this tea is even really supposed to taste like. It smells like, well, sun tan lotion (a fact that I am trying to ignore). As I continue my way through the cup, the cherry flavor seems the most pronounced. Giving it a decently high rating because I think that it will be a really good iced tea. I don’t dislike it.. I’m just confused by it.

Prepared in-store with agave nectar added.

Very smooth and tasty while it was hot and the agave helped bring out the flavour. It’s pretty sweet to begin with though, so I might not have needed it.

I can definitely taste the melon and apples but I can’t really distinguish the other ingredients. It has a pleasant fruity/flowery taste and I would definitely drink it again in the future.

I let it sit for a few hours and came back to it then. It was still really tasty – I imagine this would be a great iced tea!

(low caffeine)

This tea is pretty tasty. There’s a hint of tartness but nothing close to overwhelming. Also the hibiscus is essentially non-existent – yay!

I can taste the watermelon, which is just wonderful since I LOVE watermelon.

The only thing I’m not loving is the cherry taste. I normally enjoy cherries but not so much in this tea. However, the tea itself is certainly a success for what it’s supposed to be. I’ll be enjoying the rest of my bag for sure :)

One of my favourite mid-afternoon teas. It is light enough that I don’t feel overwhelmed, but fruity and sweet enough that I can still enjoy it when I want something a little bit flavourful.

I would not drink this in the morning, as it does not have quite enough of a kick, nor would I drink it before bed, as I prefer richer tasting teas later in the evening, but when I come home from work in the middle of the day it’s absolutely perfect! Sweet, simple, full of a nice, subtle flavour that warms me up from the inside out without shocking my taste buds!

Big fan. I find this white blend to be quite forgiving with steep times and temperatures. Love the blend of flavours – I find the fruity notes blend well with the delicate white rather than either being overwhelming. I’d like this one to stick around.

A sample from DavidsTea I got with a recent purchase. The name alone had me curious. Dry, this tea smells very much like berries, with just a hint of the hibiscus. I believe another reviewer had said it smells like berry fruit leather, and I think that about hits it on the head!
As for the brewed tea, it smells very much like apple and hibiscus, which has me a bit worried. I’m not a huge apple fan (or hibiscus fan, either, for that matter), and I am prepared for a let down.

On the first sip I’m definately getting some apple, but it isn’t as strong as I thought it would be, judging from the smell. The apple seems almost sour, which may be attributed to the cherry that’s supposedly in the tea. I’m picking up a bit of the white tea base, I believe, with a subtle and rather faint taste of watermelon following it. The hibiscus seems present for me as well, though not overt.
The more I drink it, the less watermelon I taste, which is rather disappointing. I love me some watermelon and wish it stood out more in the tea. The berry that I had smelled in the dry tea seems to be mingling with the apple, but the apple is really winning out. A floral taste is also present, although sometimes apple flavored teas give me this impression, which may be why I don’t like them much.

I’m suprised to see that some people found the watermelon to be the main flavor they got. Maybe my sample just had less watermelon and more apple then theirs?

Overall, this isn’t horrid. I’m glad the apple taste wasn’t quite as strong as it smelled. I would’ve loved some of the other fruit flavors to be more pronounced, though, especially the watermelon. Not bad, but I don’t think I’d buy it for myself.

Main Flavors:
Apple, Hibiscus
Subtle Flavors:
Berry, Watermelon, White tea base
Flavors I’m not tasting:
Pumpkin, Cherries (other than possible sour flavor)

EDIT: I’m actually, strangely enough, picking up some more watermelon as I finish the significantly cooled off tea. It’s still not the strongest, but I’m tasting a bit more of it now. Interesting…

I tried a sample of iced Indian Summer at Davids, and I found it fruity and refreshing. It tastes like a fruit punch that leans towards a cherry flavor. This would be perfect as a summertime blend, although I understand that the term Indian summer refers to a heat wave that occurs in the Fall. I bought a small sample to bring home and try hot, and although I enjoy this one both hot and cold, my preference is as a cold tea. I think it’s delicious with no sugar or other additives, just over ice and on a sunny day.

This is a great tea to have iced on those hot summer days. It’s not overwhelming or super sweet, but still carries it’s own unique flavour. The blend has subtle hibiscus notes and the apple and cherries are dominant.

Tastes and smells a bit like Cherry Potion, but in a better way. The taste is much more natural, less chemical.

Super yummy, melon flavor predominant. I can’t pick out individual flavors besides melon but it’s really tasty and I can see how this would be refreshing cold too!