Orange Hibiscus

This is hibiscus all the way. I taste a slight herbal flavor with it, but not much else. Good for iced tea, but steer clear if you were hoping for more Orange. I cold brewed,and when I do so I usually do three cups instead of four to keep the flavor strong, and this one would have done really well to be steeped that way, but with 5 cups. Maybe even 6. Then I might have tasted the orange more.

Nearing the end of my Just Organic Teas reviews with this one. I’ve got the mango-citrus one next, then I’m on to other things.

The scent of it instantly reminds me of Tazo’s “Passion” and this glass bottled juice tea they made called “Brambleberry”. (Which turned out to be marion berry juice and cinnamon.) The hibiscus is bright and in the forefront, complimented by cinnamon. Honestly, I can just barely smell the orange peel and lemon myrtle over the hibiscus, but we could all assume that was going to happen.

When finished, the tea comes out to such a dark purple it’s practically eggplant. It’s very fragrant, fruity and spiced. Once iced, it comes out to a lovely cranberry-like shade of red. Sipping it over ice seems like drinking fruit juice. There’s zero tea astringency or bitterness since it’s herbal, so it’s very smooth and even after sweetener, it’s tart. The cinnamon is a nice touch, too. It makes it stand out. However, the cinnamon and hibiscus are loud and don’t really give the other notes a chance.

I can’t really say this tea tastes very “orange”. But that’s fine, as I’m not really into that. But if you are looking for something citrusy, I wouldn’t recommend it for that. Still, I like it. It reminds me of sangria! That’s what it is! Maybe it wil have to make another appearance this summer for that reason alone.

Today was a perfect day for iced tea! I really needed something thirst quenching, and this was the sample I grabbed from Just Organic. I cold brewed a quart of this overnight (okay, like 5 wish hours) and I swear to all that is hibiscus, this is a perfect imitation of TAZO’s Passion. I have had my fair share of that tea in it’s natural iced form, and it’s like drinking steeped juice.
The hibiscus is definitely the forefront of this brew. I typically enjoy iced teas with hibiscus in them, even if I am not one to actively seek it out. The citrusy notes of myrtle and orange peel are there ever so slightly, and the cinnamon is a brief reminder. It is pretty tart, so I took this with half lemonade to mellow it out. It helped a great deal, and brought out more of the citrus undertones. While I would never seek this blend on my own, I enjoyed the juicy tartness that for sure felt hydrating.

I love drinking iced hibiscus, straight. Like others, I usually stay away from blends because it often tends to overpower other ingredients if the portion is off. Might as well drink it by itself! The orange peel in this particular blend challenges the hibiscus, creating a strong, tart and citrus-y combination, each equally showing its character, curbed yet by the cinnamon. Adding cinnamon to sweeten teas has never occurred to me (unless it’s masala chai), certainly not to hibiscus. Hibiscus and cinnamon seem like a strange pairing but it works really well. The dry tea bag smelled nice, too. No sign of the lemon myrtle – too quiet to stand up with these loudmouths. Regardless, I drank the whole quart throughout the day and enjoyed this blend.

Thanks to Just Organic Tea for this sample. This herbal iced tea blend has a strong flavor of hibiscus first of all. It dominates over the orange peel and lemon myrtle. It is quite tasty but not for those with an aversion to hibiscus.

I was given one large tea bag of this as a free sample and I brewed it with one quart of boiling water for five minutes and poured it over ice and added sugar. Without sugar I don’t think I would like this blend. Tried this one over my other samples because it is caffeine free.