Tag: Celestial Seasonings

Raspberry Zinger by Celestial Seasonings
Fruit Infusion / Flavoured
$3.49USD for 45g (20 teabags)

First Impressions

Raspberry Zinger is the last of the fruit tisanes in the Fruit Tea Sampler that I purchased ages ago! You can always tap here to read the other reviews of the tisanes featured in the sampler. This one, like all the other ones, comes ina sealed foil packet that’s not resealable. The tisane comes in square teabags, no tag or string present. There’s a bright and strong fruity berry aroma, and I can definitely smell the hibiscus.

Raspberry Zinger consists of: hibiscus, rosehips, roasted chicory, orange peel, blackberry leaves, natural raspberry flavour with other natural flavours, raspberries and raspberry leaves. Not surprisingly, raspberry isn’t the star ingredient, but it does smell very strongly of berries.

Preparation

Celestial Seasonings recommends steeping Raspberry Zinger in freshly boiled water (100°C/212°F) water for 4 to 6 minutes. I followed the steeping instructions and did a steep for 5 minutes.

First Taste

Raspberry Zinger steeps to a bright berry red colour. I found that it smells like berries and raspberries, which is nice. It’s both fruity sweet and tart. I found that the hibiscus flavour is strong and really complements the fruit flavours. I think it would be great with a bit of sweetener to help temper the overall start tartness to the tisane. Or perhaps iced with lemonade or a slice of lemon.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Raspberry Zinger, but the flavour wasn’t strong enough to really make it worth my while. I would recommend steeping Raspberry Zinger just the one time.

My Overall Impression

I liked Celestial Seasonings’s Raspberry Zinger. I really enjoyed the berry flavours, although it was more of a field berry experience than specifically raspberry. The tartness from the hibiscus could be overwhelming for some, but I do tend to like hibiscus so I was okay with it. A bit of honey would go a long way to help brighten up the fruit flavours even more, and lower the level of tartness present in the tisane. I would recommend having it iced to really appreciate the fruity flavours.

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Black Cherry Berry by Celestial Seasonings
Fruit Infusion / Flavoured
$3.49USD for 44g (20 teabags)

First Impressions

This is the second to last tisane out of the Celestial Seasonings Fruit Tea Sample. As like with the rest, Black Cherry Berry came in a foil packet inside of the box in paper-feeling tea bags. The aroma from the tea bags smells more like hibiscus than cherry, but that’s not too surprising when I look at the list of ingredients.

Black Cherry Berry consists of: hibiscus, rosehips, roasted chicory, blackberry leaves, hawthorn, natural black cherry flavour with other natural flavours, chamomile, and sweet cherries. It’s a pity that I don’t really smell the cherry since that’s one of the primary ingredients, and part of the name of the tisane.

Preparation

Celestial Seasonings recommends steeping Black Cherry Berry in freshly boiled water (100C/212F) water for 4 to 6 minutes. I opted to do an initial steep of 5 minutes.

First Taste

Black Cherry Berry is a very deep berry red colour. And surprise, it smells like cherries instead of hibiscus! Something that I’m pretty pleased about considering the aroma that I got from the dry leaf instead. There’s a nice mix of sweet and tart from the steeped tisane, and I can definitely taste the cherries, which is probably good considering the name.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Black Cherry Berry and found that the flavour just wasn’t quite there. I’d recommend Black Cherry Berry for just one steep.

My Overall Impression

I thought that Celestial Seasonings’s Black Cherry Berry was just okay. I thought the cherry flavour was pleasant, but I wasn’t impressed with how lacking the cherry aroma was for the dry leaf. I think Black Cherry Berry would be better iced than warm or hot, and perhaps even cold steeped with a touch of sweetener to really brighten up the fruity flavours.

Curious about the cup rating system? Click here to learn more.

True Blueberry by Celestial Seasonings
Fruit Infusion / Flavoured
$3.49USD for 45g (20 tea bags)

First Impressions

I’m working my way through the Fruit Tea Sampler that I’ve been mentioning the last couple of weeks (see 1 and 2). This week’s tisane is True Blueberry. A curious blend because when I first opted the package, I didn’t really smell blueberry. What I did smell, however, reminded me of orange and berries – but nothing that was distinctly blueberry. True Blueberry came in portioned tea bags, which made it easy for me to steep.

True Blueberry consists of: hibiscus, rosehips, orange peel, natural blueberry flavour with other natural flavours, blackberry leaves, wild blueberries, and blueberry leaves. I’m giving this tisane a bit of a side eye because of how low blueberry actually shows up in the ingredients list.

Preparation

Celestial Seasonings recommends steeping in boiling water (100°C/212°F) water for 4-6 minutes. I opted to do an initial steep for 6 minutes.

First Taste

True Blueberry steeps to a bright ruby red. The aroma of this tisane does actually remind me of blueberries, funnily enough. On first sip, I notice that there’s a nice fruitiness that reminds me of blueberries. To go along with the sweet berry notes is a strong tartness, which I attribute to the hibiscus. I don’t really get a lot of the orange peel or rosehips, which is fine by me. It’s okay hot, but I think it’d be much better iced.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep True Blueberry and found that the flavour was just not there compared to the initial steep.

My Overall Impression

I liked Celestial Seasonings’s True Blueberry. I found the dry aroma of the leaf to be fairly different from the steeped tisane – which isn’t a bad thing because I enjoyed the aroma and flavour of the steeped product. However, it was a bit disappointing that the dry leaf didn’t mimic the flavour better. I found the blueberry notes to be nice in my cup, and think this would be an excellent tisane if had been iced. I think it would also be lovely if mixed with club soda for a bit of bubbly.

Curious about the cup rating system? Click here to learn more.