Kiwi Lime Ginger

This was a free sample from Tea Forte and I thank them for it. When I opened the package to ready it for making I could smell the kiwi and lime, but only a hint of the ginger. As it steeped the ginger aroma became a little stronger and I was ok with it after trying a ginger rooibos from another company (the name escapes me at the moment).

I opted to have this one iced as it seemed it would be perfect that way. Sad to say that the ginger is just way to overpowering in this cup. I wish it wasn’t so, but I’m not getting any of the kiwi/lime also in this. I really wanted to see how the three would blend together. It just isn’t happening. Fingers crossed for the other samples!

First off, I like the concept of this packaging (single steeps) but the reality kind of bothers me. I try to avoid single use packaging in my day to day things, buying a tub of yogurt instead of singles, not buying a cup of tea in a disposable cup and so on. I buy my tea loose and generally in bulk, so there is minimal packaging waste. While a single steep package I could carry with me on the go is a nice idea, I feel terrible about that waste. If I were to drink these regularly (even one a day) that would really add up.

Now for the tea. The dry smell is very lime, almost medicinal or alcohol smell to go with it. Maybe a hint of ginger, but mostly just lime. I like lime in teas, so that’s cool. Lime it up! Even though this is slightly more ‘leaf’ than I would typically use, I figured I had better follow the parameters if I am going to review this accurately. I used the whole shebang and let it steep for five minutes, despite my better judgment. Even in my Perfect Tea Mug;s fine infuser, a lot of dust shook out in the beginning (I always do this before I pour, I like to get the dust out). I am not sure if it was powdered ginger or broken rooibos, but it was annoying.

I think I might be alone in this, but i am getting a margarita sort of smell from the steeped ‘tea.’ I feel like this isn’t exactly an at work early morning tea. It’s very dark brown and a little off-putting with the tequila, lime and ginger sort of smell. Aside from the alcoholic connotations, this smells like something I would feel obliged to drink if I were feeling very poorly and wanted to get better. I’m a little afraid to drink it…

Aha! First sips are not so bad. All that lovely lime smell does not pass on to the drink (sad face) and I definitely don’t get any kiwi but the ginger isn’t so potent as I was worried it might be from other reviews. The taste is not very strong and honestly I don’t know what I’m getting here. I get a hint of something smoky on the front of the sip (what is up with that??) and then I get a mildly possibly limey aftertaste. I don’t even necessarily pick out ginger, but I assume that is the ‘smokey’ taste I am getting. I’m really surprised at how mild this is. Maybe I really did shake out all the ginger when I got rid of the powder.

If this had more lime taste or any kiwi taste, I would be all over it. For now, this is mostly just a let down. Another Tea Forte tea that smells really interesting but brews up disappointing. The points I am giving this are mostly for the fact that I do get a limey aftertaste and I like that. I wouldn’t buy this for myself or others, but I would drink it. I have the sense that a drop of honey might enhance this a little and hopefully make it less blase, but I don’t have any here so I shan’t be able to try it. As the cup cools, the ginger taste is increasing, I can feel it on my tongue though I still don’t pick it out as a “Bam! Ginger!” sort of thing.

Thanks to Tea Forte for allowing me to try this…maybe kick up the kiwi and lime flavours a bit next time?

I was a little worried about brewing this single steep package in my KATI tumbler because I thought that the rooibos leaves would fall through the mesh on the strainer, but, surprisingly, it did not.

Prior to infusion, this smells like lime and kiwi fruit, with very faint notes of ginger. After infusing, the liquor has a slight medicinal scent to it … but not so much that it’s off-putting. It almost smells like eucalyptus.

But it doesn’t taste like eucalyptus. The ginger is stronger in the flavor than it is in the dry scent, and while it is quite a dominating flavor, it isn’t completely overpowering the lime and kiwi flavors. I like the way these flavors are working together. The honeybush and rooibos taste nutty and sweet, and provide a nice backdrop.

I like this one.

Backlogging… I’ve been avoiding reviewing my last two Tea Forte samples. I don’t relish slamming anyone’s tea. I sincerely adore tea, and I’m a firm believer in there being a place for every tea and tisane. Enough stalling… let’s do this.

I’m not going to draw this out. I didn’t care for this one at all. The aroma of Kiwi Lime Ginger dry was promising, but at first sip I knew that I wouldn’t be finishing the cup. I don’t taste any lime in the brew and the ginger is far too strong for my taste.

I’m so very grateful for the samples that Tea Forte sent out, and it pains me that I didn’t care for this blend at all. Oh well, to each his own. I’m sure that someone out there loves this one.

So, because I am who I am and because it’s hot out, I’m going to try all of my samples from Tea Forte iced. This one came up first because of all the negative reviews it has been getting. I am eying that Blueberry Merlot, but saving it for last.

The smell of the dry leaf was overwhelming. Some have called it medicinal or alcoholic, for me, and I hate to say it, it smelled like nail polish remover to me. I just….did not like it.

Iced, it still has that smell, but the taste is much, much different, thank goodness. I’m surprised by the taste and how much I do like it.

However, the ginger does take over, and I don’t know what is supposed to be tropical, but I’m not tasting it. I taste ginger with an aftertaste of lime…

I’m not a fan, but I would definitely recommend it to someone who like ginger and lime.

Cold brewed for around 20 hours in 12 oz. water. This is the third of the five samples provided to me by Tea Forte. I loved Mojito marmalade, HATED apricot amaretto, and so I had no clue what was going to happen with this one.

The smell of this (both before and after steeping) reminds me of sour gummy worms. So, kind of fakey. But gummy worms are tart and limey smelling, which makes it kind of accurate, too. Luckily I like sour gummy worms (understatement: they were one of my favorite candies when I was younger).

The sip does treat the lime and ginger pretty equally: first I get lime, and then ginger which has a bite. But then I get the “bonus” of some kind of medicinal aftertaste. Nowhere near as terrible as with the amaretto, which was all medicinal, but just enough that it kind of ruins the drink for me.

Meh, at least I can finish this one. Two to go, and I am definitely curious as to what will happen with those.

I feel like kinda a douche bag, all my reviews of late have not been overwhelmingly positive, unfortunately this isn’t going to be the tisane to change that.

First off let me state that I hate rooibos and honey bush, or more correctly my strainer hates rooibos and honey bush. But that has absolutely nothing to do with this review I just needed to get that off my chest.

Again beautiful packing and kudos on the single steep idea, it is wonderful for samples however that very environmentally sound for anyone who would drink this stuff regularly, but since I doubt that is likely that is a moot point.

When I opened the package I was quite impressed with the scent, it was as advertised, kiwi, lime and ginger all readily apparent. As I was pondering how they did this so well I soon picked up a chemical scent, then it started to smell like cleaner, not promising. Once brewed it takes on a strong ginger scent. Yeah I’m kinda nervous now.

As I poured the water onto the dried bits it immediately started to fizz slightly, what the ..? Once brewed it is quite hazy, why the smeg is it hazy? Ok time to suck it up and take the first sip.

…

…

OK FINE if your going to just sit there and watch then I’ll do it!

Well its not as bad as I … wait yeah it is. To be honest this is not terrible stuff, just not at all what was advertised. I was expecting a clean crisp cup of kiwi-lime with subtle ginger notes. Its very heavy for some reason, and the ginger completely dominates the palette with nearly indiscernible notes of citrus. I supposed that if you really like ginger or have stomach problems and ginger makes you feel better than you may enjoy this. As for me I’m tossing the rest of this and making myself a cup of tropical rooibos.

This started out decent, but got worse as it cooled. For some reason it reminds me of medicine – not the thing I would pick out to drink because it tastes good. It is drinkable, but barely so. It has taken me several hours to get through half a mug and I’m thinking the rest may be going down the drain soon. This is my least favorite of the Single Steep Sampler so far.

Last in my Tea Forte sampler.

Oh. My.

I will preface this by saying I love ginger. I eat ginger laced foods. I buy the super potent ginger beer where you see a layer of ginger debris on the bottom of the bottle. I love ginger so much that I’ll just suck on a piece of it while cooking. This tea is delicious.

I’ll keep it short, because I basically drooled all over my blog post… I went into this tea pretty grumpy. It was late but I really wanted to do the sampler teas five nights in a row (in my blog anyway, I keep forgetting to rate here). I saw that it had received pretty low scores and thought, well, it’ll probably be a one and done. I steeped this all night. Then I put it in the fridge and steeped it the next day.

The ginger is strong with this one. It’s sharp, warming, and vibrant. The lemon/lime combo supports it nicely and doesn’t get in the way. Makes it somewhat more refreshing. The honeybush is there and balances it out with a slight sweetness. I’m not sure where the kiwi was. It didn’t show up until the next day. In fact, the next day everything was much more balanced in flavor and all flavors were present and accounted for. I would wager that many of the folks who didn’t like this tea on the first or second steep would probably have liked it on my last steeps.

This tea had a wild, firey ginger orgy in my mouth. We partied all night long. Our good times ended the following afternoon, where we ended our craziness on a more peaceful, soothing tropical note. Good times.

Full OMGSPAZZ Review: http://www.tea-tank.com/?p=159

I’ve been a bit scared to break into my Tea Forte sampler (thanks Tea Forte!) for all the reviews I’ve been seeing. This one in particular scared me because I’m not into ginger. But, I’m thinking my stand on ginger may be softening or I like it with the right flavours, because this isn’t bad. It was my first sample since I’ve been coming down with a summer cold (I managed not to get sick all winter but now, in August?)

I don’t think I’d purchase this, though maybe just to have on hand for when I want a ginger tea (i.e. when sick; ginger seems to work incredibly well for me). Anyway, this is definitely bitingly gingery. My tongue is tingling. And I can see what others mean when they liken it to cleaner or medicine. And yet I think if I happened to be in the mood for ginger (rare), this is a pretty decent option. I am really liking the tart-and-sweet fruity hint in the aftertaste. So, definitely not a favourite but I think it does what it does pretty well.

I got this as a free sample from tea forte. I truly appreciate the generosity of tea forte in providing the sample. However, unfortunately I do not really like this tea. I wish I did! However, it tastes somewhat medicinal. I do enjoy other tea forte products but this one is not for me.

As an aside: I had the cup sitting next to me and my husband came in and asked for tea. I handed him the cup and he LOVES this.

I seriously thought I logged this one already but it’s not saying that…so…this is a backlog…

I enjoyed this one! The ginger was slight and played a part but the Kiwi/Lime is what I really enjoyed! Especially pairing it with the Honeybush! The lemon notes were a nice touch, too!

It appears I may be in the minority here, but I think this is just dandy! :)

The scent right out of the pouch is very fruity and very strong. The flavor is a bit difficult to describe. It’s fruity and with a little bit of something that tastes like sage. This flavor makes the tea more savory instead of sweet. The finish gives me that interesting fizzy sensation, like I’ve had a sip of soda. I think that this would be so much better iced, but even then I don’t think I’d go crazy for it. Thank you Ottawa Tea for a sample!

There’s just something about the taste of this tea that reminds me of Buckley’s cough syrup – the one that has the slogan “It Tastes Aweful. And It Works” for good reason. Its ingredients include things like camphor and pine oil, and maybe it’s purely psycological but I swear I’m tasting those things in this tea. It’s not all bad, I’m geting a nice, fruity kiwi note in the aftertaste. But let’s be honest, the only time I want to taste Buckley’s is when I’ve got a bad bout of the flu.

http://buckleys.com/images/home_buckley_ad.gif

Kiwi Lime Ginger is what I chose to try first. Dry=I can smell fruit and ginger. The ginger is very prominent in the blend. Once the hot water hit the brew basket, I could smell the rooibos:( I am sad to say the rooibos and the ginger overpower this blend to the point that I cannot finish my sample:(
I hope the other samples are better than this one.

I might have a migraine – things smell to strong when I do. This smells like cleaner to me…and I could only manage a sip with that image in my head. It may be better iced…Or maybe I’m just picky. I’m not terribly fond of infusions as it is.

This would make an outstanding cocktail. It’s simply delicious- a bright, vivid lime with a backdrop of the ginger. I might have to acquire more of this one just to make the best iced tea ever- if not this summer, than really any season in Houston. This is so limey that I’m almost tempted to think about lime lollypops, but I hate lollypops and am enjoying this, so…. maybe I shouldn’t have brought up lollypops. Again, I say, why do I not order more often from Tea Forte? They’re excellent tea mixologists. They’re going on my Steepster shopping list.

Backlogging..

SO I wasn’t a fan of this one. I didn’t want to write the review really, haha, so I’ll keep it short and sweet! Again, a huge thanks to Tea Forte for the extremely generous samples.

For me, being a ginger, I love ginger. It’s in my blood :D Anyways, I do love ginger. The ginger in this wasn’t enough for me, it didn’t tingle really and I could hardly taste it – although I knew it was there. I liked the dry smell, very limey and fruity, but it was almost too “thick” for me, even after a short steep. Maybe if it was a bit more tart it would have ‘fit’ better, I’m no expert though haha!

Not tasty pour moi, and I only have one tea forte sample left! Wish me luck :)

I was thinking it tasted like those honey cough drops, then I read RP’s review and…. Oh god… exactly like Vicks. I have it it my mouth right now…. Someone get it out!

Vicks is menthol. Not kiwi. Not lime. Certainly not ginger.

The dry and steeped tisane smells more like something you’d rub on you than drink.

The taste isn’t far off, either. Not horrible though, but quite strange. I can’t taste any of the fruit in this, just moderated Vicks.

The ginger makes my stomach warm/burn as though I’d swallowed Vicks, too. Not in a good way.

It’s not so bad as to want to spit out, but I probably won’t finish the cup and definitely won’t be buying it.