A sample from DavidsTea I got with a recent purchase. The name alone had me curious. Dry, this tea smells very much like berries, with just a hint of the hibiscus. I believe another reviewer had said it smells like berry fruit leather, and I think that about hits it on the head!
As for the brewed tea, it smells very much like apple and hibiscus, which has me a bit worried. I’m not a huge apple fan (or hibiscus fan, either, for that matter), and I am prepared for a let down.
On the first sip I’m definately getting some apple, but it isn’t as strong as I thought it would be, judging from the smell. The apple seems almost sour, which may be attributed to the cherry that’s supposedly in the tea. I’m picking up a bit of the white tea base, I believe, with a subtle and rather faint taste of watermelon following it. The hibiscus seems present for me as well, though not overt.
The more I drink it, the less watermelon I taste, which is rather disappointing. I love me some watermelon and wish it stood out more in the tea. The berry that I had smelled in the dry tea seems to be mingling with the apple, but the apple is really winning out. A floral taste is also present, although sometimes apple flavored teas give me this impression, which may be why I don’t like them much.
I’m suprised to see that some people found the watermelon to be the main flavor they got. Maybe my sample just had less watermelon and more apple then theirs?
Overall, this isn’t horrid. I’m glad the apple taste wasn’t quite as strong as it smelled. I would’ve loved some of the other fruit flavors to be more pronounced, though, especially the watermelon. Not bad, but I don’t think I’d buy it for myself.
Main Flavors:
Apple, Hibiscus
Subtle Flavors:
Berry, Watermelon, White tea base
Flavors I’m not tasting:
Pumpkin, Cherries (other than possible sour flavor)
EDIT: I’m actually, strangely enough, picking up some more watermelon as I finish the significantly cooled off tea. It’s still not the strongest, but I’m tasting a bit more of it now. Interesting…
