Herbal Revive Tea

Backlogging from yesterday. Ok, so I know I said in my Sinharaja post that this wasn’t in the database, but, honestly, how am I supposed to keep up if they keep changing the name?

So I got 5 bags of this and 5 bags of peppermint and eucalyptus from a friend whose friend had given it to HER, but she didn’t like tea. The fact that this is labeled “fresh and fruity” rather than herbal revive makes me think it must have been a souvenir from England or something. Oh well, her loss = my gain.

So, thing is, I love currants. I love eating fresh red currants (not that I get to very often what with most of the US being ignorant of their existence), I love black currant flavored stuff, especially juice, but jam is also up there. My relationship with vanilla, on the other hand, is rocky at best. Still, I was cautiously optimistic. And, at first, it was great! Super fruity, with the creaminess of the vanilla offsetting the blackcurrant tang. But then…everything changed…I was having lunch with a friend outside so there was really no good way to get rid of the teabag, so I just left it in. BIG mistake. The nice light currant flavored changed into this heavy generalized vegetal doom thing, that, when mixed with vanilla was just…not good. Also, it left my mug determined to smell like currant.

Despite my bad experience, this was a super tasty tea, and is, seriously, just asking to be combined with a neutral black tea (see: my Sinharaja post), chilled and served as Super Tasty Currant Tea Juice!

Unlike many fruit-flavored herbal teas, this tea has a smooth, subtle taste, neither sour nor artificial. The ginseng sharpens the brew, adding depth and complexity to what would otherwise be much like a German früchtetee. Be prepared for the stimulating mental effects of ginseng; this tea does not contain a very large amount, but neither is the dose small.

This is the worst tea I have in my pantry. It has no flavor whatsoever. I don’t know if it gives you a boost or not, didn’t even drink the whole cup.

I think vanilla teas are really growing on me. This one was actually pretty good. I thought the blackcurrant would overpower everything, but instead the vanilla was the predominant flavor with just a touch of blackcurrant. I’m not a fan of teas that are too fruity, so this was perfect!

Yummy.

This smelled just like Currants that is for sure! The coloring was really near – a little dark reddish than the package but near a purple type color. I was worried that it was going to be too fruity but it was a nice combo!