Tag: Herbal/Fruit Infusion

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DavidsTea’s Caribbean Crush

Caribbean Crush by DavidsTea
Fruit Infusion / Flavoured
$7.98 for 50g

First Impressions

Another “on a whim” online purchase, Caribbean Crush came in a sealed and resealable silver pouch with a bright yellow label on the front. The yellow certainly makes the teal easier to read, at least in comparison with other types of tea. I got it in part because I just hadn’t tried it yet, and I’m always game to try another fruity tisane in the summer time.

Caribbean Crush is a very chunky blend, as you can see from the image below. It smells like strawberry candy, which isn’t off-putting, but not exactly what I thought a tisane with a tropical sounding name would smell like. Caribbean Crush consists of: apple, pineapple, papaya, hibiscus, cranberry, and artificial flavouring (strawberry, cream, red fruit).

Preparation

DavidsTea recommends steeping Caribbean Crush in 95°C (200°F) water for 5+ minutes. I did an initial steep with the recommended temperature for 7 minutes.

First Taste

Caribbean Crush steeps to a very pale pink, like a pale pink lemonade colour. I think the colouring is because of the hibiscus, but I tried shaking up my bag and never got very much hibiscus in each spoonful so I think it was just poorly mixed because I was expecting a brighter pink after seeing other photos of this tisane online. That said, it has a bright fruity aroma to it – I can definitely smell the strawberry and pineapple notes after it’s been steeped. The flavour itself is mostly fruity with apple, pineapple and strawberry notes. It is fairly sweet, which is pleasant. I tried it first hot and then iced and would say that iced is much better – just lends itself to a crisper taste.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Caribbean Crush and found the flavour to be lacking across the board. I would recommend Caribbean Crush for just the initial steep.

My Overall Impression

I thought that DavidsTea’s Caribbean Crush was just okay. While the dry leaf of Caribbean Crush smells fruity and fun, it doesn’t make me think of the tropics. I found the blend to be a bit poorly mixed in the pouch that I had received, which is why there wasn’t as much of a pop of pink colour as I was expecting. That coupled with the flavour which was a bit tropical, but not really quite what I was expecting, is partially responsible for the lower score. If I could guarantee the next pouch was better mixed with the ingredients, I’d give it a try again – it’s not bad as an iced tisane, just not what I was expecting.

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DavidsTea’s Dragonfruit Aloe

Dragonfruit Aloe by DavidsTea
Fruit Infusion / Flavoured
$8.98 for 50g

First Impressions

Dragonfruit Aloe is a fruit infusion (or tisane – the word used to describe a “tea” that doesn’t contain any trace of true tea leaves) that found its way into my online shopping cart when I was making a purchase – and I’m not remotely upset about it. I’m always looking for another nice caffeine-free and fruity iced tea (yes, I know, not the correct word) option to have on hand to keep around in summer. It’s just nice to have a variety on hand, so I wanted to give Dragonfruit Aloe a try. I really like the dragonfruit fruit – it has a really pleasant floral sweetness to it, and when you get a good one, it has a nice crispness to it.

Dragonfruit Aloe came in a larger-sized silver pouch – both sealed and resealable. And I’m liking the bright yellow label – I’m a sucker for a sunshine yellow. In contrast to the Mango Matcha review I shared last week, the new label design works well with the yellow that DavidsTea uses for their labels because the teal really pops. Dragonfruit Aloe has a beautiful aroma to it – very fruity and floral with great hints of coconut. Dragonfruit Aloe consists of: apple, candied pineapple, hibiscus blossoms, coconut chips, dragonfruit, candied aloe vera, natural berry flavouring and raspberries.

Preparation

DavidsTea recommends steeping Dragonfruit Aloe in 95°C (200°F) water for 5+ minutes. I opted to do an initial steep in the recommended steeping temperature for 7 minutes.

First Taste

Dragonfruit Aloe steeps to a lovely peachy-pink colour that reminds me a lot of a commerically produced pink lemonade. The aroma is fruity and floral. There’s a good amount of sweetness in this tisane, but it’s not overly sweet – which makes it nice. I actually did not enjoy this hot at all, so I topped up my glass with some ice cubes and found that it greatly improved once it was cooled down.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Dragonfruit Aloe, but found that the flavour just wasn’t there. I recommend Dragonfruit Aloe for just one steep.

My Overall Impression

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I both loved and thought that Dragonfruit Aloe was just okay. I wasn’t particularly found of Dragonfruit Aloe when I drank it hot, but I loved it iced. I do think it’s a potential contender to make it into my regular at-home iced tea menu and really enjoy that it wasn’t too sweet (let’s face it, we’re all having tea a little bit more often at home!). I definitely think it’s best served iced, and think that it would be excellent with a splash of lemonade or topped with some sparkling water for just a bit of bubbly action.

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Sunny M’s Cascara Tea

Cascara Tea by Sunny M
Herbal Infusion / Straight

Sunny M has provided me with Cascara Tea for the purposes of writing an honest review.

First Impressions

Fun fact, Cascara Tea is not a tea at all – it’s a tisane! It’s also called coffee cherry tea, and is made from the dried skin of the coffee fruit. Inside of the fruit is where you find the actual coffee beans themselves – but that’s a story for another day. Cascara Tea came in a sealed, resealable pouch from Sunny M with some information about the product. I did a search for Cascara Tea on the Sunny M website and it’s not currently available. But no matter, that’s what the internet is for, right?

Cascara Tea is from the Costa Rica Sonora Estate, it’s a nano lot and only consists of cascara. The aroma of Cascara Tea is a bit like a roasted chocolate aroma, with a hint of fruity sweetness. It’s definitely intriguing! And check out the look of the dry leaf itself – the tisane consists of these pieces of the dried coffee cherry fruit skin.

Preparation

No preparation information from Sunny M available at this time, but I opted to steep in 93°C (200°F) water for 5 minutes. 200°F is the ‘French Press’ temperature setting on my variable temperature kettle.

First Taste

Cascara Tea steeps to a orange-brown colour. It’s clear, has a nice aroma to it that reminds me a bit of chocolate and fruitiness, which is appealing. There’s a nice smoothness to it, with a slight bitterness at the tail end of each sip. I find that it has a thickened mouthfeel to it, which is smooth, and has a great flavour to it – I find it to be a blend of chocolate-notes, with some fruity notes that remind me of a bit of currants and rosehips. The sweetness that I find in this cup is really nice and pairs well with the flavour of currants.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Cascara Tea and found that it tasted like a very watered down version of the initial steep. I’d recommend sticking to the initial steep for Cascara Tea for maximum flavour and to leave it with a pleasant taste in your mouth.

My Overall Impression

I liked Sunny M’s Cascara Tea. I found it to be really pleasant, and was nothing like coffee (bonus!). The chocolate notes and the fruity flavours that remind me of currants made for a pleasant cup to drink. I did find some hints of bitterness at the tail end of each sip, but it wasn’t enough to keep me from finishing the cup. Cascara Tea has a really nice smoothness to it, that I think is enjoyable as an alternative to coffee if you’re trying to get away from it – since cascara does naturally contain caffeine, but not as much as coffee.

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