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Bora Bora from Vykasa

Steepster Score 3 Ratings Rate This Tea

71/100

Bora Bora

Black Green Herbal Blend by Vykasa

Bora Bora: Black & green tea with natural hibiscus, spearmint, pineapple, red rose, jasmine, chrysanthemum, calendula with mint flavor, Pyramid tea bag.

9 Tasting Notes

AJ
63
AJ

Just got the package from Jillian. I think I’m psychic (or have impossibly discerning hearing) because I heard the mail come in through the slot and thought, ‘PACKAGE!?’ And I had been about to head out the door to get tea at Murchie’s too.

I added all of the teas to my cupboard, even though most are just a single teabag (and I certainly don’t afford that luxury to the many of OTHER single teabags that I have) and thus will end up removing them after that single use (minus this one, because I’m using it up RIGHT NOW so I didn’t add it).

At any rate, I dubbed this the ‘Mystery Tea’. It wasn’t in a bag and it wasn’t labelled. I looked up the company on steepster under the assumption that it was one of the three that we have listed. I eliminated the rooibos easily enough, because even though I couldn’t smell anything really, it definitely had some green tea in there.

Steeped it as a green, and I could smell it STRONG for a few minutes (not very pleasant, but luckily that seems to have dissipated). If I stick my nose in the cup, it smells minty. Whaddya know, I think I know which one it is. Every so often I get a whiff of something REALLY weird (and not in a likable way) smelling, but then it’s gone.

Going to sip this. I’m afraid. Mint! But black AND green tea, and I usually like blackgreen tea blends. I can do this.

Don’t taste really any green. I got a slight black tea flavour and then a stronger mint that trailed into the aftertaste. There’s a fruityness in there too, but I don’t know of what. This almost just tastes like a herbal tea. A slightly fruity mintness. I’m basically just assuming it’s Bora Bora now. Too obviously mint. I don’t have much experience with any of the other ingredients listed, so I can’t pick them out, but maybe those are that weird smell I keep getting but can’t seem to taste.

It’s not bad. It’s actually kind of nice and refreshing. The mint isn’t overpowering (it usually is for me, but that’s probably just my bias against mint), but I still don’t get really any other flavours. Actually, there’s an earthy turmeric aftertaste to the mint. Huh.

Jillian
60
Jillian 8 tasting notes

There wasn’t any instructions on how long to brew this tea so I put the bag in for 3.5 minutes. I might play around with that some more. The mint flavour is a bit overwhelming although there’s a distinct (and quite nice) fruity-floral aftertaste.

It’s been awhile since I’ve had this tea so I figured I should revisit it. In and of itself it isn’t a bad tea I suppose, but what I want to know is where the hell does it get off maskerading as tropical tea?! This basically tastes like a rather robust Morrocan Mint tea – there was maybe a little bit of fruitiness on the second steep, but other than that, all I’m tasting in mint and green tea.

Both of the Vykasa teas I’ve tried have been tea-fail to one degree or another, but of the two I prefer this one. It’s not a bad tea I suppose, if you like mint with a black-green tea blend – I just wish I could actually taste the other (purported) flavours.

That’s it for this tea – I have two more bags left but they’ll be going with some of my tea trades. I wanted to finish this off – mostly so I could use the tin this tea came in – it’s a nice double-lidded metal canister.

Five minutes is too much steeping for the green tea in this blend I think. It brought out the flavour of the actually tea present (instead of the mint) however it had a rather bitter tang to it that I didn’t like. As for the other (supposed) ingredients in this tea? Yeah, I still got nothin’.

Steeped for 2.5 minutes. Not bad at all.

Brewed for 3 minutes in less-than-boiling water. Still a bit too minty.

The second steeping (for 4.5 minutes and at a slightly lower water temperature) was significantly less minty although the fruitiness was rather deminished aswell. Still the flavours of the actual black and green teas came through more nicely than before.

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