Tag: Herbal/Fruit Infusion

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Steeped Tea’s Pineapple Orange Cooler

Pineapple Orange Cooler by Steeped Tea
Fruit Tea / Flavoured
$8.00 for 50g

I received a bag full of Steeped Tea samples via a craft swap that I participated in, this is one of those samples.

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First Impressions

Pineapple Orange Cooler has an interesting smell to it. It reminds me of roses, citrus, and hibiscus. I had two sample tea bags/triangles, so I popped them both into my tea pot. I opted to do this because the triangles are less than half-filled with the tea (it didn’t seem like much at all!). The tea itself has nothing that is actually from the tea plant – the ingredients are dried apple pieces, rose hip, natural dried orange, hibiscus petals, and natural flavours. While oranges may be par of the ingredients, pineapples are no where to be found. I also can’t smell pineapples either, so I’m curious about how this tea will wind up tasting. I really like pineapples, which is why I picked out this one to sample next.

Preparation

The directions provided on the sample are to steep for 4-5 minutes in boiling water, which is exactly what I did.

First Taste

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The tea steeps to a really nice dark pink, thanks to the hibiscus petals. It has an interesting smell to it – the fragrance has a hint of orange and a lot of the hibiscus floral notes to it. The taste is very interesting – there’s a tartness to it that I attribute fully to the hibiscus. It’s almost sour, it’s so tart. I don’t particularly find that it tastes like pineapples, but it does have some citrus notes to it. I don’t particularly like this tea when it’s hot, so I allowed the pot to cool before trying it again.

At room temperature (and with ice!), Pineapple Orange Cooler is quite refreshing. I still don’t taste the pineapple that’s allegedly in here, but the light citrus notes mingling with the strong hibiscus taste is quite nice.

A Second Cup?

I generally do not resteep herbal/fruit infusions, it never tends to end well – this was no exception.

My Overall Impression

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I thought that Steeped Tea’s Pineapple Orange Cooler was just okay. I’m really disappointed that there wasn’t a stronger pineapple or orange presence in this drink. There was no pineapple to be had in the ingredients, in the smell, and in the taste. There was some citrus notes, but it could have been stronger, that’s for sure. I think that the Pineapple Orange Cooler works amazingly well as an iced tea, and I would definitely recommend having it cold. While it is tasty, I don’t think it’s something that I would want to necessarily keep a stash of in my tea collection, there’s other (better!) fruity drinks out there and the lack of pineapple is a bit of a sore spot since I like pineapple.

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Pluck’s Ctrl+Alt+Delete Blend

Ctrl+Alt+Delete by Pluck
Herbal Infusion / Flavoured
$8.00 for 30g

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First Impressions

I received Ctrl+Alt+Delete as part of a swap package, and was rather tickled by the name of the tea, since I’m familiar with using that keyboard combination. The front of the bag is see-through on the sides of the label and I could see how fine the herbal blend is. Pluck includes all the usual information necessary for a tea drinker: how much to use, steeping time, water temperature, information on the ingredients, as well as a best before date. The slogan for Pluck is “Local. Natural. Bespoke.”. On the back of the bag, Pluck mentions that their source ingredients from ethical sources, local growers, artisan producers, and they produce their blends in small batches (hence, bespoke).

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Ctrl+Alt+Delete was opened up one night when my sister needed some kind of herbal infusion as she was coming down with a cold. Ctrl+Alt+Delete has a very strong ginger and lemongrass smell to it, the strong ginger smell kind of tickles the nose a bit. The ingredients are: ginger, rose hip, dried organic lemon peel, lemongrass, and dried Muskoka cranberries. I could not smell the rose hips or cranberries.

Preparation

Pluck recommends steeping Ctrl+Alt+Delete in 100°C (212°F) water for 3-7 minutes. I steeped for approximately 4 minutes.

First Taste

This herbal blend steeps to a nice yellow colour. The blend of ingredients is very fine, I would recommend using a tea filter over a stainless steel infuser because you’ll end up with bits of the herbs in your tea and in your mouth. The herbal infusion has a very nice warmed ginger smell, the lemongrass isn’t as strong in the steeped infusion fragrance as it was in the dry blend.

It has a mildly sweet lemon flavor with a very nice ginger taste to it, which I appreciate. The ginger isn’t overwhelming or spicy, as ginger can be, but it does make my entire mouth feel warm when drinking it. It’s quite pleasant and it’s a very relaxing cup of tea.

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A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Ctrl+Alt+Delete. It does okay for one resteep, the lemon and ginger is still very much present in the taste, but a second resteep leads to a watery cup of lemon and ginger that I would not recommend.

My Overall Impression

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I thought that Pluck’s Ctrl+Alt+Delete was just okay. I was a bit disappointed that the cranberries and rosehips weren’t more prominent in the dry or steeped herbal blend. If I was feeling under the weather, I think this concoction of ginger and lemongrass would do the trick. Ctrl+Alt+Delete is a decent herbal infusion, I do think a lot of people would like the ginger and lemongrass combination – but also that it’s a nice blend to have if you’re not feeling well. I would definitely make this again, especially if I have a sore throat, but I don’t think it’s something that I would buy or want to keep a stock of in my stash.

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DavidsTea’s Forever Nuts

Forever Nuts by DavidsTea
Herbal Infusion / Flavoured
$7.40 for 50g

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First Impressions

I bought a 10 sachet box of Forever Nuts when DavidsTea was discontinuing their sachet style, it was 40% off the original retail price, which made it cheaper than the loose leaf or new sachet style. The only downside is that the old style is not as environmentally friendly as the newer style with the biodegradable packaging. But an herbal infusion is an herbal infusion, and Forever Nuts is still Forever Nuts regardless of how you change the packaging. When I opened the packaging, the smell is delicious! The herbal infusion smells heavily of apples and cinnamon (what a perfect combination!) followed by the lovely fragrance of almonds. I tried Forever Nuts before with a store sampling, so I knew what crazy pink colour it steeps to.

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Forever Nuts consists of: apple, almonds, cinnamon, beetroot, and artificial flavouring.  The top three ingredients are noticeably present, but the beetroot not so much in terms of aroma. My sister commented that the ingredients made it look more like a trail mix than something to drink – she’s kind of got a point since it is an herbal infusion and not an actual tea, it has a lot of yummy bits in it that would look right at home in a granola mix.

Preparation

DavidsTea recommends steeping Forever Nuts in 96C (204F) water for 4-7 minutes. I steeped for close to 6 minutes in total.

First Taste

The colour of Forever Nuts can be surprising if you’re not really expecting it. It steeps to a deep pink, thanks to the beetroot as part of the ingredients. The smell itself smells of apples, cinnamon, and almonds. There’s also some hints of vanilla in the aroma of the steeped herbal infusion, which I quite enjoy.

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The taste itself of Forever Nuts leans heavily towards the apple and cinnamon. The flavour of almonds is present, but it’s overwhelmed by the combination of apple and cinnamon. There is a level of sweetness to the infusion that I would say might be from the apples since sugar is not listed as part of the ingredients. With some blends that contain apple, there’s often a tartness from the fruit – I don’t find that with this one, which is good because it wouldn’t go well with the cinnamon or almonds. The overall smell of the tea reminds me a lot of apple pie, and the taste is delightfully pleasant. I do get the almond in the taste of the tea, but ultimately it’s the apple and cinnamon that stands out.

A Second Cup?

Forever Nuts does not resteep well – as an herbal infusion I also didn’t really expect it too since it doesn’t steep the same way that a tea does.

My Overall Impression

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I liked DavidsTea’s Forever Nuts. It’s a very fun herbal infusion, with the bright pink colour and the amazing flavour that reminds me a lot of apple pie (or apple crumble, or any other apple-and-cinnamon dessert that you can think of). I find that the almond gets overpowered easily by the apple and cinnamon combination, but the flavour is still there. If the almond was more present, I think I would have ranked it a bit higher. Overall, I think Forever Nuts works well as a dessert drink since it does have a level of sweetness that doesn’t require additional sweetener. The nice bonus is that as an herbal infusion it is naturally caffeine free and can be enjoyed throughout the day and won’t keep you up!

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