Wild Sweet Orange

I steeped this for less time today to see if it might help with the bitterness, and it has. I can taste the orange, but it’s more like the bitter bite of zest or pith, and there is also an artificial sweetness which I think must be coming from the licorice. This cup is more tolerable than previous versions so I really think the shorter steep time was beneficial. It’s still tart and astringent but not overwhelmingly so.

Cup #2 of tea at work. The pickings for herbal teas are slim. I knew reading the ingredients on the bag this tea wasn’t going to be great but my goodness this was bad. When I took the bag out of the package it smelled like vitamin c chewables. The taste was like orange drink (you know- the kind made with crystals?) heated up in a mug. I took a couple sips and dumped it down the sink. Yuck.

This one sounded so good! Something refreshing to drink in the late afternoon or evening. However, I found it very sour. And there was a strange, metallic taste in my mouth after I finished. I didn’t care for it. Even if a friend served this I’d decline. :( Just not my cuppa.

Well, on the bright side, it had noticeable flavor. :P

Seriously, I hate teas that are too weak. Therefore, I must give this tea some points. It really does just pretty much taste sour. I can taste the licorice, but I am pretty sensitive to that flavor. I added a ton of sweetener, and it really didn’t help. I am going to save it for trying with a couple of bags of Luzianne in the summer – there’s a chance that diluting it with some ol’ Southern sweet tea will make it palatable. Then again, I could just rip up all the bags and dump the contents into the garden for compost…

This is one of those infamous ones where the existing reviews already say it all! In the spirit of scientific inquiry, or “could it really be that bad”, I finally tried it today. Verdict: yes, it really can.

The smell is nice. It could probably be kept around the house as potpourri, which is the only use I recommend it for. The taste…others have put it more creatively already. It’s more tart than anything I would want to voluntarily imbibe. The only saving grace is that there is a detectable touch of lemongrass in it, to assure me that it isn’t pure acid. Never again, Wild Sweet Orange!

I felt like this tasted like a mandarin orange that had gone rancid. Took two sips before I poured it out.

When I first bought this tea, I loved it…it was the first grocery store tea I’d ever tried that actually had flavor! This tea has an EXTREMELY strong orange flavor (almost like drinking hot orange juice, but without the pulp). It’s tart when it hits your tongue, but there is an oddly sweet aftertaste due to the licorice root. Now that I’ve had the opportunity to enjoy some much better quality teas, I’m glad to finish this box off and won’t be re-purchasing.

I like this tea after dinner. I wish it didn’t have citric acid in it. Still in search of a purer form of orange peel tea.

I bought this on a whim. I was strolling down the tea aisle at kroger, as I usually do, and it caught my eye. I’m usually a huge fan of citrus flavors and I love some tartness in my teas, but this tea! I don’t even know how to explain. It was just not good. Even mixing it with lemonade didn’t help mask the overkill that is stuffed into this tiny little tea bag.

Beautiful orange scent right out of the bag. The fragrance is both soothing and uplifting. The scent is muted a bit while steeping but the gorgeous orange/pink color makes up for it. The orange flavor of the tea is bold but not overwhelming or bitter…it goes down smooth and leaves a very clean taste. It’s caffeine-free and I think it would make a wonderful after-dinner drink or something to warm up with in the evening.