Pineapple Kona Pop!

Teavana: (Skip to “The Tea” if you’re familiar with Teavana, or just don’t care to read about my first time at the vendor.) So it didn’t really take me long to crack on the Teavana front. It’s just so convenient to work in a mall with a tea store, and I drop by multiple times a week – often just to look around and enjoy being in a place that’s all about tea. I couldn’t really give that up.

Our new Teavana opened on Thursday, but I wasn’t working until today. I got a peek at the finished renovation-and-stock Wednesday night through the metal gate, but that’s about it. So I had to stop by today to say hi and check it out. The manager grabbed me and asked if she could give me, “the tour,” and I obliged…because I like her and was genuinely curious about what was going on with the store. Apparently Calgary is the first to get finished Teavanas? Some quick observations:

-Staff have to wear stupid colorful aprons like my store does (although being a guy, I generally get let off the hook with anything but the more basic colors). These were truly garish yellow aprons with rainbow text on them that said something about iced tea. My condolences to the staff.
-There were two sample stations of two: one at the door, one at the counter. I was sweetly warned by the manager that they are sweetened, but I obviously don’t care! She also pointed out that all their samples are blends of two teas. The taste of them all? Like juice. Good, but pretty much exactly like fruit juice. I see no need whatsoever to try to replicate them by buying all the teas in the blends.
-Expensive gift sets and cast iron is indeed closer to the entrance than lower priced stuff. Also, there is no price tag on practically ANYTHING, including the cast iron. I’m not sure if that is just because they haven’t gotten to it yet, or what – there is a paper tag tied to everything, but except for some little cute saying, the tag was blank. Stupidly, I kept checking them anyway and getting annoyed when they were blank.
-A lot of the product really does look good. I’m horribly tempted by the pretty glass stove-top kettle. Unfortunately, my family just bought an electric kettle that will probably last us years and years, and we don’t have room for a stove-top. I’m now going to hope the kettle breaks…
-Commission is so obvious that all the employees have little green plastic cards that they put stickers on for each tea they sell. No joke. I have no idea what else that could be for except commission. It makes me sad because I think now that it will be harder to say hi to people when they are so focused on getting their own sales and won’t casually switch off with each other anymore.

I sniffed a bunch of tins, and they indeed all smelled delicious. I was specifically looking for a blueberry white (always looking for one), and a peach white I’d heard they have. I left with both of those and a pineapple herbal because it smelled a bit like DAVIDs’ Tropicalia. The total was a little pricier than I’d expected, but I dismissed that thought because two of them were whites and I figured my mental estimate (without knowing the prices) had just been too low.

Which leads me to my beef. (And if you’ve read rants about Teavana before, I’m sure you know what’s coming…) When I got home and checked my receipt, I found it really hard to read (what the hell is a quantity of 1.91? 1.91 what?), so I got out a calculator and the little Teavana booklet, compared prices and did the math. And it would appear that ALL THREE TEAS were over-poured. ALL THREE, Y’ALL.

-My Precious White Peach was over-poured by 5 grams.
-My Imperial Acai Blueberry was over-poured by 8 grams(!).
-My Pineapple Kona Pop was over-poured by 10 freaking grams! I asked for 50 and got 60. At least that’s the cheapest one, but…

The total price difference works out to $4.31 before taxes, basically the cost of another tea!

THIS NEVER HAPPENED TO ME AT TEAOPIA. Never. There were over-pours, yes, especially towards the end when they were getting rid of stock, but I was NEVER not warned about it.

I’m…not pleased.

The Tea: So after that, is the tea any good?

…Eh. Drinkable. It’s nowhere near as good as Tropicalia, I’m afraid, although the smell is divinely pineapple with something almost spicy underneath.

The taste is just disappointing. I brewed it hot and flash-chilled it, and was very far from blown away at the first hopeful sip. It certainly tastes like pineapple, but the taste is not strong. It actually reminds me a bit of DAVIDs’ Bamboozled (which I have yet to review), so if Teavana is closer to you than a DT this might make a reasonable desperate substitute for Bamboozled. Otherwise, I’d go with Bamboozled itself, as it is by far the superior of the two.

I just wouldn’t get, you know, fifty SIXTY grams of this again. The supposedly dominant flavour is not really strong. If it turns out to be much better cold-brewed, I will raise the rating. Otherwise, I’d say skip this one.

soooo thanks to fiddling for this one. i have to say, not sure how people drink this one. After having some very nice pineapple oolongs recently, this is just a big ol’ miss. Especially since it smells like…i dunno…something that i’ve smelled before that is most certainly not pineapple. I’m leaning towards pollen..but i think that would be doing a disservice to plants that produce it. I see that some folks out there have enjoyed it, so that makes me happy. It’s just not a tea for me.

I love pineapple but ehhhh, even with a little sweetener, this is still kind of gross. Like someone put something really weird in some pineapple juice. It’s okay, it’s helped me feel like calming down since a shower didn’t do it. I’ll finish it off no problem, I wouldn’t seek this one out again.

I was hoping for something to put me in a better mood. I was supposed to get my new glasses Thursday. Supposedly now they are coming tomorrow, it took two calls for them to be like okay, tomorrow. But nobody told me the lab broke the frames and that has been the delay. I hate that my mom had to call about it too. Then I had to cry to someone at the student advisement center to let me take summer classes without going through all the advisement for summer. It worked, but ugh today has been a nightmare. I just want to go home.

Thanks for the sample, brandy3392!

First review. I must say that unless you pick up the brochure at Teavana you have no idea what’s in this herbal tea except pineapple (on the label). The bags are labeled with the name and a bunch of generic brewing information and that’s all. I had to look up the ingredients…pineapple, apple pieces, fragrant marigold, orange and mallow blossoms. OK. Following the steeping instructions of 5-6 minutes I did a sample pour which was like water so I waited another 3 minutes. Pouring again there was a little color (more of a blush) and a light pineapple fragrance. Sipping the brew straight the tea is not very bold and flavorful. The pineapple is not juicy but dry and undeveloped like the core of the fruit. It has a true flavor alright, just disappointing. I could not taste apple or floral or orange because of the very weak flavor blend. Adding some additional tea did not improve the taste. I added sweetening…which did help enormously with the drinkability
( I would have tossed the pot of tea down the drain otherwise). One thing I never do is add honey…but it seemed that this Pineapple Kona Pop could be the exception to the rule. What could ruin this herbal tea anyway? Adding some Colorado Wildflower Honey was a nice try but still the tea stayed pretty BLEH! I’ll drink it mind you eventually, because I have few decaffeinated or herbal tea’s in my stash. However, I don’t recommend this tea at all!

Made this tonight as my evening herbal…it is VERY sweet even without sugar. I taste the pineapple and other generic tropical flavors. I will say it has a VERY sweet and cloying aftertaste.

I will drink the remainder of my sample but will not re-buy this one. (I got this in an exotic iced set for the holidays.)

Uggg. Teavana I am sorry. I like several of your offerings but this one was just not to my taste. I am usually a fan of fruit tisanes so I had high hopes for this one. It is just kind of tart and tastes artificial like bubblegum. I did not like it all when I brewed it up hot. Finally I decided to cold brew it in the refrigerator with a couple of chamomile teabags from Trader Joe’s to mellow out the Kona Pop. Now it is like a barely drinkable watered down pineapple juice. Oh well. I guess they can’t all be winners.

I tried the blended sample in the store but I’m not a blueberry fan so I ordered a package of this on a whim when I placed my last order figuring with the free shipping and coupon code I had it was cheaper to order more tea, and, therefore try new teas than to just go get refills of my stand bys. It was like God wanted me to order more tea….right? Can’t say no to that!

When I got the package I opened this and felt like I was smacked in the face with the Hawaiian islands…in a good way, of course. Holy pineapple Batman! But I had reservations about making this iced as I cold brew and have always found that to be a bit weak (and difficult to add sugar to).

Earlier this week I got home from work where I had been freezing all day and decided I wanted some tea. Normally I’d go for something dessert-y but this spoke to me so I decided to give it a try. Since it’s an herbal I wasn’t too particular about steeping time. I added some brown sugar splenda since I figured pineapple upside down cake uses it and that tastes pretty darn yummy.

And ya know what? This was pretty darn yummy too! I’m not going to drink it and think I’m eating pineapple upside down cake (unless I am actually eating pineapple upside down cake while I drink it…now there’s an idea…) but this is good. Tart, but the brown sugar works well with it and brings out some of the other flavors (although I couldn’t pinpoint them – I’m drinking tea not taking the palatte challenge on Hell’s Kitchen). Great as it cools too but I prefer it warm right now. Will have to order more of this for when I don’t feel like my standard rooibos dessert tea at night. Very relaxing too.

I’ve since consumed two pots of this evenings after work. Yum!

First smell of the dry leaves and the pineapple pops! right up in your face. You can smell some apple and floral notes underneath but if I kept my nose in the dry leaves much longer I’d probably get a headache from the overwhelming pineapple. I used 1 1/2 teaspoons as directed per 8 ounces at 212 degrees for 5 minutes. Steeps to a beautiful golden colored liquid that smells like pineapple apple cider with light floral notes. First sip and it hits my tongue with a sharp tang, but as it rolls to the back of my mouth I notice how naturally sweet it is. It makes my mouth water the more I drink it, but I’m not liking it. It’s just kind of missing something for me, I can’t taste much other than pineapple. As I near the end of the cup the tartness is starting to becoming annoying to me. I am going to have to add some sweetener. I would have purchased their Blueberry Bliss to mix with it, as that’s what I’d tried in the store, but they were out at the time I ordered this. This tea seems to either need to be mixed with something else or sweetened to make it enjoyable; it can’t really stand well on it’s own.

Edit
I just added a spoonful of raw honey and poured over ice as it’s cooled down by now. Completely different. The tart pineapple is toned down and it’s actually pretty refreshing. It’s sweet and smooth. I can taste more of the other ingredients now. I’ll be drinking this iced only. The hot version about turned me off completely, I was about to pour it down the drain. Interesting how much it changed as an iced with a bit of honey.

I’m confused on how to rate this tea, as I couldn’t stand the hot version’s cloying tartness, but the iced version with sweetener is pretty nice.

Sipdown. I’m sad to see this one go, actually. It’s bright and fruity. Not really a night tea but it was easy to reach! The pineapple is right there at the front, but it’s not too overpowering – the mallow and apple do a lot to tone down the citrus flavors. Very good iced with a touch of sugar.

Tried this sample in store with the blueberry bliss rooibos. The flavour reminds me of fruit juice. It might be better cold, with less sugar.

My son tried some of this at the local Tevana and begged me to buy some. After Teavana’s standard sales procedure (see the end of this review) we acquired some and took it home. Made hot, It was disappointing in flavor and aroma, but I’ve since tried some cold steeped and found it to be really nice. Not sure where to put my slider, since temperature makes a large difference in my rating.

Now for the Tevana rant: Their standard sales BS consists of trying to sell you everything in the store in addition to what you go in to buy. A lot of stores offer an item or 2 when checking out, but Tevana is fairly aggressive about it. The clerk offered me no less than separate additional items to purchase. So many that I was tempted to ask him if he was behind on his quota…In addition, they consistently will over pour the tea. Now, to be fair, my local store has always told me that there was more, and would 2.5 oz instead of 2.0 be ok, but it does get old. I’m afraid I was a bit sharp with the salesman when he poured out 2.8 oz and asked if I was ok with that. He didn’t bother asking about the over pour on the 2 other teas I purchased that day, and simply made sure they were exactly what I ordered.

So as a part of my, ‘try the Teavana Tea of the Week’ challenge I have laid out for myself, I went in to get myself a cup on Pineapple Kona Pop a few days ago. I wrote down some notes to post here for everyone. It all sums up to whether or not you enjoy and like pineapple. If you like Pineapple, you will like this tea a lot. I am not generally fond of pineapple. Sometimes though, I do really enjoy it and just because I don’t USUALLY like a flavor does not mean that I will always dislike said flavor, hence going ahead and trying the PKP from Teavana this week.

I bought the drink cold and non-sweetened so as to not let anything other than the tea shine through. The pineapple is bursting on the first sip. Its very strong and sadly, due to the strength of it, I did not like it. However as herbal cold teas go, if you are a fan of the tropical pineapple, you will love this one. Alas, for me, it was not to my taste.

I first tried this a few days before Christmas, when I wandered into a Teavana while doing some last minute shopping. I sampled it iced, blended with Blueberry Bliss (rooibos) and “about a cup of rock sugar”, according to the girl helping me.

Was it sweet? Absolutely. But I did really like the taste, and figured I’d make it at home with (much!) less sugar/sweetener. It and the Blueberry Bliss also both happened to be 30% off, so I asked for 50g of each, although I ended up with a bit more than that. Being my first time in a Teavana and not wise to their tactics, I said “sure!” when they overpoured my tea and asked if that was okay. I ended up with 58g of the Pineapple Kona Pop and 66g of Blueberry Bliss. Fine, whatever, no big deal – it was on sale at least!

Onto the tea itself – Pineapple Kona Pop is a gorgeous smelling herbal. Just opening the tin to look at it and smell it makes me happy. It is so colorful and the sweet pineapple fragrance almost makes me forget we have a gazillion inches of snow on the ground outside.

Brewed hot, it retains the pineapple taste, and is mild but very drinkable, especially with a tiny spoonful of honey. It is nice iced as well, although I think cold it really shines best when blended with other teas, such as the Blueberry Bliss (I tried these two iced on Christmas Eve and it was so nice, even without the truckload of rock sugar!). I think on its own it would be a nice light, refreshing drink for the summer – especially with some fruit thrown in.

I really do like this. Is it my favourite? Nah. But I will enjoy it as a little escape to pineapple paradise on chilly days, and as an amazing iced beverage if winter ever ends. I purchased some more during the 75% off Boxing Day sale, so I will have fun trying this out with other teas in the months to come!

Nice big citrus and pineapple punch to the mouth with sweet floral and prominent pineapple aftertaste that lingers very well! This tisane is just the right amount of sweet and I can see why Teavana blends this with other teas, it adds sweetness and a bright citrusy lift!

12 down – 488 to go!

I have to say this is probably one of my favorite herbals. I found out that the recommended 1.5 tsp per cup of water was a bit strong.. So we went with the regular 1 tsp. and it was PERFECT!! This also makes great popsicles and iced tea for the summer. :D

Ok, so I neglected to have tea until late at night and decided I didn’t want to be up until 3 am and put on a pot of this tisane. It smelled really good, but it was too tart for my taste, but I don’t hate it. I may try it again with a bit of sugar.

Thanks Mitch for the sample of this. Ah… I like this. I’m tasting mostly bright, juicy apple ,with muted pineapple flavors, with some floral traces as well. I’m a little disappointed with the fact that the pineapple isn’t as bold as I wanted and this is tasting just a LITTLE too similar to apple juice, but this IS good. Not great, but good. I’d drink it again.

For some reason, I really didn’t want to like this tea. Maybe it’s because it was one of the samples that they were peddling, perhaps it’s because of its almost juvenile name – either way, I had hoped I wouldn’t like it as much as I do.
But I really do like it. Although it’s on the sweeter side, this is a tea that I enjoy quite frequently. I love it iced, and it’s been that perfect little cup to kill the midday slump at work. I’ll brew it in my Bodum travel french press and then pour it over ice – it’s quite delicious!

can’t rate this tea because i didn’t have it alone. teavana gave me a sample with it blended with blueberry bliss, sweetened and then chilled. it was so good!

I always find that the Teavana teas smell better than they taste. I’m kind of saddened by this. I tried this one today finally.
The pineapple is pretty good for flavour, but I think it’s the rosebuds or something along that lines that doesn’t sit right for me.
I wouldn’t buy this one again. It’s fine, but just not enough of a flavour for me. I like Davidstea’s Tropicalia better. It’s got a similar taste, but I find it’s like nicer. It’s sweet and delicious.

I think I’ll make a big pot of this iced and finish it up.