Tropical Crimson Iced Tea

I followed the instructions on the box and used 1 sachet in 16oz boiling water for 5 minutes topped with 16oz ice cold water to cool it down. I had a glass with two ice cubes (maybe I’ll make tea cubes, but I drank it fast). The tea is a bright crimson with strong hibiscus flavor. Their is a herbal coolness underneath it, and a bright lemongrass tongue. I wonder what the cooling herbs used are, they definitely made me feel refreshed. The flavor isn’t one I’d request often, but I can see myself getting through 5 quarts of this due to convenience this summer. It’s nice to have an herbal iced tea option in the house.

So I prepared this one like the directions state – 16 oz of boiling water for 5 minutes, then add another 16 oz of cool water and refrigerate.

I sampled it this morning… woah. It’s like drinking hibiscus and ginger root. Maybe there are other flavors there, but I can’t tell because these two are completely overpowering them.

I’m going to try it hot before giving it a rating, since I’ve had some other ginger teas that are fine hot and ick cold. Since it comes in a bag with enough tea for 32 oz of iced tea, I’m going to have to open the bag. Annoying.

Taken Plain and with sugar.
Refreshing yes!
Tropical? ehhh… maybe?
The dominant flavors are hibiscus and lemon which is fine with me and there is a distinctly odd cooling feeling accompanying those flavors that I find minutely disconcerting. After you take a sip if you breathe in you feel a nice cool breath of ‘fresh’ air. It’s actually pretty neat considering you don’t taste whatever is doing that.
So this tea gets an automatic rating of super neato with magic and science!
And the hibiscus and lemon go great together with neither of them being over powering. With ‘tropical’ in the title I expected a bit more… I don’t know coconut or something that reminded me of the Caribbean and I’m not finding anything like that at all.
But it is yummy and refreshing.
And it has some kind of neat cooling science!
Yea Science!

I feel like this tea is either one you love or you’re ambivalent about. If you’re in the mood for a somewhat fruity (but not sugary) iced tea then this would absolutely hit the spot.