Tag: Herbal/Fruit Infusion

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DavidsTea’s Hibiscus Splash

Hibiscus Splash by DavidsTea
Fruit Infusion / Flavoured
$8.98 for 50g

First Impressions

Never quite done with iced teas, am I? This is a fruity infusion from DavidsTea with a bright yellow label across a sealed, resealable pouch. This was part of an online order that I made and was included as a free gift with purchase. Luckily, it wasn’t one that I had tried before I decided it would make a good option to review.

Hibiscus Splash consists of: apple pieces, candied pineapple, hibiscus blossoms, natural flavouring, fig slices, rose pepper, cranberries, cornflower blossoms, and stevia extract. The aroma of the dry leaf is primarily pineapple and figs, with hints of fruitiness throughout the background. It’s a nice fruity blend, and makes me want an iced tea.

Preparation

DavidsTea recommends steeping Hibiscus Splash in 95°C (200°F) water for over 5 minutes. I opted to do an initial steep with the recommended water temperature for 7 minutes.

First Taste

Hibiscus Splash steeps to a bright red, most likely thanks to the hibiscus blossoms in the blend. The flavour reminds me a lot of a fruit punch or mixed fruit juice box. It has a distinctly cherry quality to it, and it has the tartness from the hibiscus. There’s a nice sweetness to it, which I suspect is due to the apple, candied pineapple, and stevia. It does have a touch of an aftertaste with it with the stevia, but the cherry flavour is much stronger than the other flavours.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Hibiscus Splash, but found that it didn’t resteep well. The initial steep has a lovely flavour, but the subsequent steep did not and was fairly void of strong flavours.

My Overall Impression

I liked DavidsTea’s Hibiscus Splash. The flavour reminds me a lot of a fruit punch, with a strong cherry flavour. It has a good flavour for the initial steep, but it was definitely meant for one steep only.  The cherry flavouring is strong, and the fruit infusion does steep well. I’m not partial to cherry, unfortunately, but I think that cherry fans would enjoy it considerably more than I did – especially iced.

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Adagio Teas’ Purple Papayaberry Iced Tea

Purple Papayaberry Iced Tea by Adagio Teas
Herbal Infusion / Flavoured
$8.00USD for 6 pouches (2.1oz)

Adagio Teas has provided me with Purple Papayaberry Iced Tea for the purposes of writing an honest review.

First Impressions

It’s still summer, tea friends! So I’m happy to have a nice glass of iced tea right now; Adagio Teas was happy to send me Purple Papayaberry Iced Tea – an herbal tisane that came in portioned pouches for making up pitchers of iced teas. Purple Papayaberry Iced Tea comes in a sealed, resealable coloured bag with printed information across the front.

While the blend comes in pouches, I did rip one apart to take a look at it. It has a great fruity aroma that reminds me of a berry jam. Purple Papayaberry Iced Tea consists of: hibiscus, apple pieces, butterfly pea flower, rose hips, orange, papaya flavour, strawberries, blueberries, and natural blackberry flavour. It really is quite pretty to look at! Such bright colours – like a little happy rainbow in a cup.

Preparation

Adagio Teas recommends preparing Purple Papayaberry Iced Tea with 1 pouch per 1 quart of water, and to place in the fridge overnight. I followed the instructions to steep overnight in the fridge.

First Taste

Purple Papayaberry Iced Tea steeps to a brilliant purple-red colour. There’s a bright berry, fruity aroma to this tisane. The flavour is lightly fruity, and reminds me a bit of a thinned fruit punch – which given the nature of steeping the ingredients, isn’t unexpected. It’s quite refreshing, and it does a good job of quenching the thirst. Given that this blend does contain butterfly pea flower, you can add some lemon juice to change the colour.

I did top off the glass with some sparkling water, to add a bit of oomph – and it really hits the spot (so I would recommend adding some sparkling water a bit of refinement).

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Purple Papayaberry Iced Tea, and found the colouring to be quite thinned compared to the initial steep. The aroma and flavour is lacking in comparison to the initial steep. I would recommend Purple Papayaberry Iced Tea for just the one steep with the leaves.

My Overall Impression

I liked Adagio Teas’ Purple Papayaberry Iced Tea. I found it easy to steep, a beautiful colour, and has a good flavour. I do wish that the aroma, which was stronger than the flavour that I got from the drink itself. That said, it has a refreshing quality to it, and I think it’s a great iced tea option for those who want something light with a berry flavour to it.

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Adagio Teas’ Bella Luna Blue

Bella Luna Blue by Adagio Teas
Herbal Infusion / Flavoured
$9.00USD for 1.5oz

Adagio Teas has provided me with Bella Luna Blue for the purposes of writing an honest review.

First Impressions

Bella Luna Blue is a bit of a special blend. Described by Adagio Teas as being an elusive blend, this is an herbal infusion that Adagio Teas only makes available on the day of a blue moon, meaning it’s an extra full moon that occurs. Bella Luna Blue is a blend of lemongrass, butterfly pea flowers, and natural flavouring. The packaging is a sealed, resealable printed pouch with some information regarding the tea on the back – including preparation details and ingredients.

The blend itself is pretty – lemongrass and butterfly pea flowers. I smell just the lemongrass – I’m not convinced at this point that butterfly pea flowers really has much of an aroma or flavour to it (although the colourful experience is always fun). That said, the butterfly pea flowers are quite pretty to look at – and I’m looking forward to steeping this herbal mix!

Preparation

Adagio Teas recommends steeping Bella Luna Blue in 100°C (212°F) water for 5 to 10 minutes. I did an initial steep at the recommended water temperature for 7 minutes.

First Taste

Bella Luna Blue steeps to a gorgeous deep indigo colour. It’s quite pretty and just has a magical appearance to it. The aroma and flavour of the steeped tisane is lemongrass. There’s a very subtle fruity note to it, which I think comes from the natural flavouring. I did have this iced, as I was taking notes from some of the videos Adagio Teas posted on their social media about this blend – and the day that I steeped this wasn’t the warmest day (so iced it was!). The fruity undertones are pleasant, and the lemongrass flavour is throughout.

Adagio Teas did recommend adding some lemon juice – so I did squeeze a wedge of lemon over my cup. The addition of an acid to butterfly pea flower does do a bit of a magic trick – and the glass of iced tea went to a magenta colour. Very fun, and I think the addition of lemon juice (you could probably try lemonade if you want something sweeter), added a bit of brightness to the tisane and allowed for those fruity undertones to be a bit more developed.

A Second Cup?

As Bella Luna Blue is an herbal tisane, I opted to do just the one steep.

My Overall Impression

I loved Adagio Teas’ Bella Luna Blue. I think the blend is really fun – it’s definitely a bit of a novelty to have a colour changing tisane on hand! I could see this being a big hit with kids and kids at heart. The flavour of Bella Luna Blue is primarily lemongrass, so you really do need to like lemongrass to enjoy this. I really liked it iced, and found the flavour to be better with the addition of lemon than without – so I guess I’m trying to say that I like Bella Luna Blue better as a magenta drink than a blue one.

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