Thanks to yssah for this sample! The dry leaf of this tea smells almost exactly like SweeTarts candy, and although normall I wouldn’t be into that, today it just kind of made me want SweeTarts. There are tons of fruit bits in this tea which I assume are the pineapple “gems”, but whatever they are, yssah’s packing skills caused them to get mashed together into one massive lump that I had to break up a bit before portioning out this leaf.
The steeped tea does not smell like SweeTarts, or any other candy really. It smells kind of like a tropical juice blend where I can’t quite separate out all the flavors. That’s pretty much what it tastes like, too. I guess I get definite orange, but the pineapple and mango are somewhat muddled. It’s a decently tasty fruity tea, and if you like tropical fruity teas it definitely fits that niche. The black tea base is kind of lame in that it doesn’t add much to the overall flavor of the tea, but it isn’t bitter or astringent and that is certainly what most people look for in a flavored tea (it is definitely all I used to look for! Now I’m just picky). I bet this would make a really delicious iced tea.