Queen of Tarts (Organic)

Well, now that I’m done my “morning ritual” of going through every tasting notes on my dash and reading the hundreds of notices that I missed/received while I was laptopless, I can finally begin on my tasting note backlog from yesterday! Yay!

I wasn’t able to job hunt at all yesterday because I use Tre’s laptop since mine is broken, and recently he changed the password so I can only use it when he’s unlocked it for me. His reasoning was “this’ll give you more incentive to fix your own laptop”. Are you fucking kidding me!? I can’t afford to fix even even though I very much want to. I need to find a fucking job so I can earn money, but I can’t do that without a computer… So basically it’s a viscous fucking circle of needing a computer to get the means to fix my computer

Because this was so nasty hot I decided to cold brew it because that would use lots of the leaf and hopefully result in a decent tasting mug – so a ‘winwin’. Before I strained it out, the tea cold steeped for about eight hours. I ended up drinking it in a timolino on the way to the dentist’s and then in the waiting room.

It was actually pretty palatable. It tasted pretty much like a berry punch, with just a touch of earthyness to it – from the mate. It was really refreshing and juicy, and thankfully no presence of “beets” in the aftertaste. Hooray! Downside? It still wasn’t tart and therefore doesn’t live up to the title, but at least I found a way I can finish the sample from VariaTEA with some enjoyment!

I’m raising my rating a little bit because the cold brew was drinkable.

Tart tart tart! The name does not lie. Ya can’t even taste the guayasa! feh! You call that tea?! it’s an herbal I say. That is all I have to say bout this tea. Now on to my story :)

I stopped by the shop today… because I’m going camping with a bunch of friends next weekend, and they were planning to bring their fave green tea… which I found out was TETLEY!? Uhhh no, that will not be served at my campsite…
So I figured since I haven’t got any fresh straight stuff in my cupboard right now, atleast not in the quantity I’d be needing, I’d stop by the most cost effective loose tea shop I know of, and pick some up. I bought the North African Mint sachets on sale for super cheap, some genmaicha, and some gyokuro. Also some Blueberry Jam for those who don’t want it “green”, or for something more dessert-like!
Don’t worry though, I have some premium Dragonwell, and Chinese Breakfast, from Tao’s for anyone wanting some of the serious quality stuff.
I’m hoping to make a few converts. Wish me luck!

As a rule, I usually hate hibiscus in teas. Especially herbals. They always smell so sweet and delicious and then BAM!! hibiscus is all you can taste. So with that in mind, it is probably a wonder as to how I like a tea that is predominantly hibiscus.

I think the answer is it is honest. The hibiscus is not lying in wait to ruin a perfectly sweet treat. Instead it is proud and advertising itself as tart. And tart this tea is. Not my favorite cup, and I probably won’t restock after I get through my 100 grams, but I also have confidence that I will be able to get through the tin just fine.

Here’s a quick tasting note from the Walmart checkout. I tried this iced to-go, and I love it. It wouldn’t be great hot, but it’s enjoyable iced.

Apparently I CAN do hibiscus. Agave helped.

I was having a pretty good day up until five minutes ago. I decided to whip out the new large filters I bought at the sale and try this out, as I purchased 16g. Long story short, as I was trying to fill the filter, I dropped most of the contents on the floor.

Hot, the liquor is a gushingly deep red, as expected. I would say that this is mostly tart hibiscus. I can taste the guayusa base in there too, but it’s rather faint. There’s nothing else going on with this blend.

The pun makes me think of the Red Queen, and I imagine the luxurious pastries baked exclusively for her would have more character than this. I like tart, but not a one-dimensional hibiscus, you know!

Now the spilled leaf is sitting inside of an ancient Hoover vacuum machine. The flavour hasn’t changed much over the past fifteen minutes despite it cooling down considerably. The hookah-smoking caterpillar disapproves.

EDIT: Cold steeped the last of it at room temperature in my Timolino for a few hours. It’s definitely better this way. The hibiscus isn’t a puckering nightmare and the guayusa is more prevalent. It’s sparklier and fruitier. Looks like the natural fruit flavours added to this blend are given a fairer chance now. Upping the rating!

(DavidsTea 2022: 39)

Whew. Forgot that this was basically straight hibiscus. It delivered, and I think the stevia cut the tart just slightly so it wasn’t quite so in-your-face. Can’t really complain; this tea is what it intends to be – tart!

Now for some positivity. It was yesterday morning when I tried this tea for the first time. Lord they were not kidding when they said it was tart! I totally get the visual of the “Queen of Tarts” that they were intending from the blood red hue of the elixir. But gosh it is a tea that has to be drunk slow to adjust to all the flavor notes.

I have not tried it hot yet but if I keep optimistic it probably is a little more nicer on the taste buds. I can say this though the energy provided by the tea made for a refreshing end to the day. So that’s probably one of its winning details. Cheers.

Dry Leaf Nose: Fruity and sweet. An interesting complexity is brought in by the guayusa and boosted by the aroma of the hibiscus flowers.

Liquor: Dark red liquor with a fruity aroma.

Flavour: A red fruit profile with some very interesting, earthy overtones brought in by the guayusa. The hibiscus keeps the blend lively and lingering.

So this was the best vacation ever…then I got home.
On last Monday I went numb all on one side no other symptoms. Went to the emergency room and they did a CT scan. The doctor comes out and tells me “You appear to have a mass in your brain” it is hard to even type that without collapsing . I then had to wait 12 hours to see the top Neurosurgeon …12 hours of hell it was like torture waiting and imagining the worst ..they finally came down and they are pretty sure it is a cyst but it is pressing on my brain stem. There are three types it can be but next step is an MRI..to say I’m terrified and depressed is a giant understatement so please forgive the quality of my reviews right now…goodbye drama onto the tea!

After such stress I needed some DT pronto. Picked this up for 3 reasons 1: the name because I sure am a tart 2: it is a mate 3: I could get just 8 trams and it smelled nice. I am worried about it becoming Pink Flamingo but we’ll see.

In the pouch or smells subdued kind of reminiscent of a whiff of earthy Campinos?!

Taste time! And hopefully a good damn burst of energy I am preparing my bedroom for a new kitten and there is much work to be done.

Yummy! Like Tazo Passion tea NOT Pink Flamingo! I only steeped for 5. It is lovely! Sadly not quite Paradise Found (which is being phased out cry) but I am enjoying it more then I thought! It is also the most gorgeous color.

Perfect for: icing,a morning kick,late nights with studying turning into more sexy activities,the beginning of Fall and still being able to dress Tarty for a little while longer without a jacket.

Final thoughts: Tarty in the best way. Everyone should try it at least once ! I’d stick to 5 minutes for those of us not fond of straight Hibiscus.

I tried this one iced for the first time yesterday. This is definitely a well-named tea…TART for sure!! I did enjoy it though. It’s really different from the other teas they have and I can’t think of one to even compare it to. Even though I enjoyed it, I can’t say that I “Loved it” or that I will be stocking up on it. I would love to try it warm too just to compare the taste and level of tartness. Overall I would say that it was a nice, and very sour little tea that I enjoyed but that I am in no rush to buy more.