Red Raspberry

I think this was the one that Fleurdelily sent me.

Initially I had a little happy when I saw this, because I like berries in general in tea. I just had the one bag and that turned out to be lucky because when I went to make it, I had not seen that it has hibiscus in it.

I cannot abide hibiscus. It tastes like blood. All metallic and sour. Ew.

At first I had a small suspicion when I poured water on it, and it immediately started bleeding a strong, bright red colour. However, while this is a tell-tale hibiscus sign, I have learned that it’s not the only ingredient to do that.

Not until now when I came to post did I see the truth of the matter.

And even if I hadn’t, I would have found out by the aroma. Let’s just say that this does not smell like any raspberry I am willing to eat. It’s all sour and ugh. Luna the Cat appears to agree. This aroma does not give me very high hopes for the flavour.

No, indeed not. It doesn’t taste like a raspberry I am willing to eat either. It doesn’t taste like raspberry at all! It’s just all sour and hibiscus-y. I can’t drink this without making a face, and trust me, I have tried my very best here.

Which leads me to a bit of a rant, frankly. American blends with berries seem to be loaded with hibiscus nine times out of ten. I have even seen people here on Steepster marvel at the fact that berry-flavoured blends without hibiscus even exist. What’s with all the hibiscus, people? It does not taste like berries! Berries are not sour by definition and not all berries taste the same, so if you take the trouble to actually use berry flavouring alongside the hibiscus, why do you insist on making it taste uniformly tart with hibiscus? Do you even have tongues to taste with?
It is possible to make something berry flavoured without letting it even stand next to a hibiscus flower. As far as I can tell this is largely an American phenomenon (do-doo-dodo-do), and I have never ever seen a European fruit or berry blend that contained hibiscus, while still claiming to be a plain fruit blend. Ever. Never ever ever.

Now I realise that this is a raspberry herbal and that implies that there are different sorts of things in it that aren’t tea. Raspberry leaves and raspberry flavouring, this I expected. But rosehip and hibiscus, just to make it red and tart, oh so very tart indeed, this I don’t understand. Does raspberry not taste sufficiently like raspberry on its own?

So chalk this down as a massive disappointment from someone who has been curious about raspberry leaf for sometime and believed she was going to try it at last. I don’t need to try hibiscus. I know what that tastes like.

I’m sorry, Fleurdelily but this one was just not for me at all. To be frank, even if I had seen that it contained hibiscus, I would probably have tried it out anyway because you never know when something otherwise unpleasant suddenly shows up in just the right combination. I had that experience with rooibos that was sent to me and it completely turned my opinion of rooibos upside-down. Just ask Cteresa. I suppose I’m vaguely hoping that the same thing might happen with hibiscus, but I’m not really super-optimistic about it.

A friend of my fiancee came to stay with for a few months over the summer in the spare bedroom until his new apartment was ready. He had been my fiancee’s intern while he was in college, and he graduated in May and got a job with my fiancee’s company. Although I was hesitant about having a random boy living with us, it turned out great and he was so polite and so much fun to have around. Our dogs and cats loved him, and one of our cats mourned for two weeks when he moved out! He came over in January to watch some football and surprised me with two boxes of Harney & Sons teas. He is from Millerton, NY where Harney & Sons is based, and knew of my love for tea, especially Harney & Sons. It was such a thoughtful gesture and I am so glad that we were able to get to know him during his stay with us, and that we all still keep in touch!

Now on to the tea! This is not one that I would’ve chosen for myself because it includes hibiscus, and in the past I haven’t been crazy about the tart flavor of hibiscus. I do like raspberries, though, and other fruity teas. There is really bold scent of raspberries from the teabag, but also a really odd alcohol smell. Thankfully the tea liquor smells more like raspberries. I was expecting this tea to be a red or pink color from the hibiscus, but it is more of a really deep purple color, almost like a pretty eggplant hue. The night that our friend brought this tea I steeped it in my Adagio steeper and then poured it over ice and it was excellent. Tonight is the first time that I am having it hot, and while it’s ok hot, it is far better iced. It has a tart flavor, but a nice raspberry finish that takes away from the hibiscus taste. There is a little bit of a strange artificial note, but adding a little sweetener lessens that and I didn’t notice that at all when I had it iced. I’m glad our friend brought this because I probably would’ve never tried it on my own. I will keep this box around to enjoy iced during the summer and see about buying more after that!

-Standard teabag.
-Teabag smells strongly of fresh raspberries with a hint of alcohol. Tea liquor aroma is of musty raspberries.
-Tea liquor is a dark deep purple red color.
-Tart berry flavor with a sweet raspberry finish.
-Best with sweetener.
-Good tea. Tangy raspberry flavor. Best prepared iced.