Fruta Bomba

I feel that my opinion of this particular tea is highly influenced by my experience purchasing it. I was on a trip to Boston, dropping my brother off at his university. Since I was in the US, I HAD to stock up on tea, and that included my visit to Teavana. When I got there, I was surprised to find that they were just about to start discontinuing tea. The vendor told me that she couldn’t tell me which ones were going to be discontinued yet, but she could hint at it if I was buying one of the teas that would be discontinued so I could stock up (confusing… I know…).

I picked out my tea and when I decided to try this one, the vendor told me this one would be discontinued for sure, so I bought 4 oz just in case I really liked it and would never be able to get it again. I was so proud of myself for being smart and buying it and liking it and having it in my stash once it was “going to be discontinued”.

Once Teavana announced which teas were being discontinued, this one was not on the list. I liked it, not loved it, and was stuck with 4oz of it… Needless to say, I put it away and didn’t drink it for a while. I somehow had a thought of this tea while walking my dogs, and when we got back, I brewed some up.

The dry tea is a bright mix of fruits and tea leaves. The lemon grass is far more abundant than the green tea leaves. There are candied fruits and petals that make it a pretty blend to look at. The scent is very fruity and fresh. I smell apple and peach. Maybe a bit of papaya. Mostly just fruity.

Brewed it is a yellow-green golden color. The scent is just as fruity. Unsweetened it is tasty, but a bit bitter for my liking. Sweetened with brown sugar it is much tastier. The fruitiness covers up the green tea almost entirely, but it is still an enjoyable brew. I get apple and generic tropical flavor. It does remind me of a peachy papaya flavor. It is fruity and refreshing.

The first few times I had it, I really didn’t like it. But, in retrospect, I feel it was my experience purchasing it that was influencing my taste-buds. Now that more time has passed, I am able to enjoy it much more. Funny how emotions play a huge part in taste perception…

This is one of those teas that makes it hard for me to frown in Teavana’s general direction. I really enjoy the medley of peach and papaya, with the underlying vegetable green flavor. I enjoy this hot or iced…or lukewarm as I am enjoying it now (had a meeting and walked away without realizing I was leaving this behind). I have yet to taste a tea as tropical and flavorful as this – but I’m always open to suggestions!

This was a tea of the month selection for April on the Classic plan. I was afraid of it, which is why it has taken me until halfway through May to get around to trying it.

I fear this tea for three reasons. First, it is a flavored green. My track record with those is well nigh abysmal. Second, has red rooibos in it, which I hope doesn’t mean it actually shows up in the taste (why would one add rooibos to a flavored green tea? filler?). Third, it is both a green tea and a rooibos, which means it falls between steep times and temps, which always makes the experience dicey.

At least it doesn’t appear they’ve changed the blend. The ingredients are the same. (Carrot bits? Huh?) I’m treating it as a green tea for steeping purposes at least for the first try.

Looking at the dry mix it is hard to tell what kind of green tea this is because its interspersed with a humongous amount of other stuff. It might be sencha, as it has a long and spear-like look. I can’t see any rooibos at all, which worries me. It makes me wonder whether as the smallest and finest ingredient, it has migrated to the bottom of the tin and the last few cups of this will be nothing but rooibos. It’s pretty: lots of big, long, colorful flower petals that look a little like ribbon, and chunks of dried fruit. It smells like dried fruit and raisins. (Yes, I realize raisins are dried fruit. My point is that the raisins are providing their own aspect of the smell separate from the rest of the dried fruit.)

The tea is a light yellow color and smells like white wine. Seriously. Like a chardonnay, only fruitier.

And it rather tastes like wine, too. Or at least, about a third of its taste is wine. Another third or so is a sweeter tropical fruit taste (mostly peach/papaya) that is apparent mainly in the finish and aftertaste. And the last third is the green tea, which is mild and fairly sweet. Not bitter. And I can’t really taste rooibos except maybe as part of the fruity after effect.

This is a weird little tea. It really isn’t bad as flavored greens go, in fact it’s surprisingly ok in that regard. It has a lot of different things going on. I just can’t imagine it being something I’d find myself thinking, “you know, I really want some of that” about.

I stopped at a Teavana today because I wanted some large paper filters to cold steep in a pitcher..and I saw Ninavampi’s post on this and thought it sounded interesting, so I asked to smell it.

Except that it smelled so good I bought it. And it’s so pretty! Filled with flower petals and bright dried fruit.

I like it! It’s fruity, really tropical, with a hint of lemongrass and the aftertaste of green tea, and more papaya. The peach hits first followed by papaya when you first sip. I don’t know where rooibos plays in here because it seems pretty devoid of it, but that’s okay. Green tea and rooibos seems like an odd duo to put in one tea.

I can’t wait to cold steep this!

This is quite the tropical treat for tonights wet, cloudy evening. I tried this sans additives for the first brewing. I really enjoy it. It is green tea on the forefront, with a papaya twist to the end. A nice sweet ending to an usweetened cup. Quite the tropical flavor. This would be amazing iced. Off to see how the second steep handles and make up a pitcher of iced for tomorrow.

Green tea. Splenda. Milk. Frother.

S’all good. Cuddled up with Pintrest and Project Runway

Steep Information:
Amount: ?
Additives: ? tsp German Rock Sugar
Water: 16 ounces hot spigot water
Tool: Teavana perfect steeper
Steep Time: a little over 3 minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: fruity, floral
Steeped Tea Smell: floral, fruity
Flavor: slightly vegetal, generic fruity flavor, floral, no bitterness!
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: none that I recall
Liquor: cloudy but translucent orange-green-yellow

Prepared in store by staff while I was purchasing other teas. I drank it while walking around the mall. I had asked for ‘Green Tea Heaven’ but apparently it’s been discontinued. This was their replacement recommendation.

Post-Steep Additives: none

images: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/03/teavana-loose-leaf-green-tea-fruta.html

Meh. Not very interesting. As I drink more teas, I’m getting less and less interested in rooibos and tisanes, thus, this “tea” is not working for me. Weak, fruity-ish, rather boring. I’ll finish the cup since I’m sick with the flu and trying to stay hydrated, but it’s not something I’d choose to drink.

Glad I just had a sample of this. Cannot taste the papaya very much, but there’s a definite note of peach in there. Not much else.

I didn’t think I would like this tea, but I did. The flavour is peachy and mild. It has a very clean finish which suits me fine. I could see myself enjoying the whole tin without becoming bored of the taste. I drank it hot and it felt hydrating.

Yum! This was a great iced tea…very exotic tasting fruit tea! I can’t wait to try this with some Jasmine Pearls in the mix :-D

I really enjoyed this tea. To me it taste just like those little peach ring gummies that are sugar covered. Like exactly like the peach o’s which were always one of my FAVE candies as a child so I feel a bit nostalgic drinking it! I didnt think I was really going to like it but I do. A friend purchased it and now I’m going to purchase my own! Definatly one I’ll keep in the cupboard!

Great Tea, very light tasting. I found that I had to add 1/2 teaspoon more than it was recommended in order to have a better flavour otherwise it was very week tasting.

Eh, it’s ok. I bought it and now I have to drink it

Not the best. It’s better iced though, I’m sure.

I loved the smell of this tea, it was incredibly fragrant. I had mine with the German rock sugar so it was amazingly sweet. I’m a sucker for sweet teas.

This flavored green tea has a great medley of peach and papaya (those flavors stand out the most). Like the other reviewers I couldn’t see a trace of red rooibos. I’d definitely recommend it.

Quite nice.

I’m not a huge fan of this, but it’s what got my husband to finally appreciate green tea! I have to keep some around the house for him.

Although I’m in the southwest, it’s winter and the air can get pretty chilly. In addition, I work in an overly-cooled office environment, so I’ve had plenty of weeks to enjoy all-day hot tea marathons. Teavana’s Fruta Bomba, however, disappointed me as a hot tea. The flavor isn’t bad, but it didn’t wow me. Despite some sweetness, it is tarty, with a flowery/berry flavor and aroma. I find that it gives up most of its flavor in the first infusion. A third infusion just doesn’t work. But iced, this is one of the best teas I’ve had! I will most definitely be stocking up on this for those 100F+ days we have down here.

I LOVE the smell. The taste is a little weak for me so I always add a little extra to make it tastier :) I brewed it this morning and made 2 tumblers which I drink all day. Hot at the start and lukewarm by the end of the day.