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“So my internet ate my review of the new Teavana Cococaramel sea salt tea yesterday. :( But I’m back with a review of this one! The Teavana smelled especially alluring yesterday. Maybe it was all...” Read full tasting note
“Oh. God. I must have gotten a bad batch of this, because it’s rated fairly high on here. I myself find it disgusting. It’s weird hot. I sort of expect it to be a berry flavored tea, and there’s...” Read full tasting note
“Hmm this has the same issue that many of these blends do, you can only taste hibiscus when its hot. However as it cools the mint and other berries come through. This is greatly enhanced by the...” Read full tasting note
“I stopped into my local Teavana today while out shopping with friends. They wanted to go in and I had been looking for a new travel mug. I must say I do like their travel mugs. Anyway after another...” Read full tasting note
DISCONTINUED
Cool, creamy, and positively dreamy, this caffeine-free rooibos tea is soothingly delightful and totally refreshing. Flavorful blueberry, tangy red and black currants, pineapple, and mango mix it up with cooling peppermint, spearmint, and just a spot of vanilla creme, making for a tasty treat that is berry fine and smooth as silk.
1.5 tsp, 208F/98C, steep for 5-6 minutes.
So my internet ate my review of the new Teavana Cococaramel sea salt tea yesterday. :( But I’m back with a review of this one!
The Teavana smelled especially alluring yesterday. Maybe it was all the new stock? The worker kept making me laugh because they insist on wafting these at you and it was like he was aiming for my forehead. I must admit that these new teas are very visually appealing in person. Large chunks of colorful fruit, lots of different shapes, sizes, and the smell is very strong. I’m a very visual person so that really is a great way of selling me something. The new tins are also really stunning looking, but $12 for something like that is way too much for me.
The Cococaramel sea salt one was a must have for me, but this one just smelled so nice! I also sniffed the mate/pu’erh one and boy was it weird. I might go back and try it later just because it is a lower price than many of their other teas, but damn. I don’t know how they’ll swing that one.
My husband noticed the new nutrition booklets and how instantly useless they are. The worker actually agreed with us that it is a waste of paper to just tell us a bunch of 0s.
I’m actually very surprised about how dark this brew is. It could easily pass as a black tea; I just read it has hibiscus, maybe I shouldn’t be surprised after all! Reading off the full list of ingredients this sounds like something from Willy Wonka! Something about this smells like it should be paired with some of the really tart and in your face mate blends that Teavana carries.
This tea is, well, interesting to say the least. The first kick is mint and finishes with some kind of herbal note that I’ve never run into before. It’s almost odd! It has a berry flavor, but it is nearing medicinal. It would be a great mixer in my opinion, but I’m not sure I like it just plain. There is a sense of creaminess that comes into play that is interesting and I wonder what is making that happen. I really wonder what would happen if you added milk/coconut milk to this. I think it’d probably really pop! On its own it doesn’t stand too much and although tasty, it is a little strange.
Oh. God.
I must have gotten a bad batch of this, because it’s rated fairly high on here. I myself find it disgusting.
It’s weird hot. I sort of expect it to be a berry flavored tea, and there’s that, but then there’s also a mintiness afterwards… sort of like fruit-flavored gum. The hibiscus isn’t too strong, though, so yay?
And cold… I figured it would be better cold. It almost is. The vanilla comes out, as does the mint, and the fruit takes a bit of a backseat. It’s still sort of like gum, but the flavors jive a bit better. But there’s an unbearable bitterness, which I think comes from the orange rinds. I tried to finish the mug… but couldn’t.
I’ll leave off the rating, since people seem to think it’s okay, and I still have some of my bag left, but sigh. I’m disappointed. At least it was (fairly) cheap.
What would happen if you told them it was disgusting and you wanted a refund?
They probably wouldn’t refund it (it being a food item). And it’s not really worth the time/effort it would take to fight with them.
Michelle, they have a more generous return policy now (which doesn’t mean any given employee you run into might not fight you on it). But for a rooibos, they really should just let you exchange it for similarly price tea. I also got a gum note on this but don’t remember any extreme bitterness, but I only tried a few sips brewed in store.
Honestly, it’s not really worth it. I only have maybe an ounce left, and the closest Teavana to me right now is about an hour away. I think I might have gotten too many orange rinds into the filter, because it sort of tasted like that. I’ll just chalk it up to experience. Thanks, though!
Hmm this has the same issue that many of these blends do, you can only taste hibiscus when its hot. However as it cools the mint and other berries come through. This is greatly enhanced by the rock sugar, no doubt about it. It’s very clean and fresh tasting and I actually forgot it was a rooibos. The vanilla doesn’t stand out strong but I think it smoothed things over. Would probably be good iced.
I stopped into my local Teavana today while out shopping with friends. They wanted to go in and I had been looking for a new travel mug. I must say I do like their travel mugs. Anyway after another interesting trip that will be documented someplace else we all walked away with a free cup to go. I chose this. I got a lot of the mint flavors and only hints here and there of the many other ingredients in this tea.
I did purchase some to take home and mess around with. For example I think adding more rooibos might help cut the mint flavors a little. Heck maybe adding some gunpowder green tea could even make this awesome. Right now it’s ok, but I feel like it needs a little help.
On the other hand, I love this one.
I’m pretty sure this has hibiscus (of course!), but…can it be? It doesn’t come through that strongly for me. The berries and fruit at least rival it! Mostly I get blueberry and pineapple; it’s almost like a gentler cousin of the Blueberry Kona Pop blend. There’s a taste in there that my brain only identifies as “red,” though. The ingredients say there’s red currant in here; maybe that’s it? There’s a great minty kick at the back, and some creaminess throughout the sip.
Basically, I have nothing to complain about.
I will update when this finishes chilling. I fully expect, however, for the mint to pop, which should be awesome.
Chilled Update: Okay, the mint did indeed pop…but what really surprised me is that the creaminess seemed to as well! Very refreshing iced. WIN.
…Of course, this would be a cheap one.
From Michelle.
I made to for the other half while he was finishing making dinner. He took one sip and said “holey f*#+ this is awesome!”. A ringing endorsement methinks. Yet, he said a number based evaluation would have to wait until he’d had another cup. I think this is a ploy to drink it all on me! At least Michelle was very generous with her sample!
Splurged on a Breville tea maker today, and the lovely manager at my local Teavana gave me 200g of free tea with my purchase. Four different teas, this was the one that spoke to me the most, so it’s what I’m trying tonight.
First off, the Breville takes some getting used to, so I oversteeped this one. Not that I mind… usually a good rooibos tastes even better to me if I’m steeping it longer than I should. I was surprised as I measured it out how much fruit there is in this one, and how little actual tea. All large pieces? Interesting.
Dry, it smells very fruity like a tart raspberry punch. Zero mint smell that I could decipher.
Steeped, it smells less fruity. Less of everything, really. Maybe a more faint raspberry taste than anything. The mint is hard to place, although it’s definitely there, almost as a cooling action midway through and little else. I had to sweeten it to bring out some of fruitiness (I found it bland on it’s own), which may have dampened the mint? Dunno.
The smell is now wafting throughout the house though, so it does have a lovely odor. It’s just… sneaky, like my 5-year-old wearing his superhero costume.
I’ll try it again to see if I like it more with less steeping (or maybe cold?). At this point, I doubt I’ll ever buy it.
I purchased this on sale and thought it would come in handy with cold and flu season. Ummm…..very glad I made the purchase! I used it for a pretty annoying cold bug that would not budge. I made a pot of this and was able to breath and felt better rather instantly. I added some local raw honey too.
But I could smell it! It opened up my sinuses and I could breathe! Not sure I would drink it as a go to favorite but it helped me when meds could not. I am big on tea as treatment for ailments to start with, but this tea was one of the fastest acting remedies I have seen.
I really like this one a lot. It’s got a bit of hibiscus tart to it, but lots of berry flavour and nice, cooling mint. There’s no real distinct cassis notes, which is a shame, but it’s still lovely. If I didn’t know there was rooibos in this, I never would guess from the taste.
One of my go to evening teas. I was terribly disappointed that they discontinued this, but then pretty thrilled to get a 350g tin on sale for next to nothing.
Flavors: Berry, Mint, Tart
Black currant/cassis teas seem pretty rare. I have a black, and then that one from DavidsTea, and that’s it I think. Too bad, because I love black currants!
Oh me too. The black currant black tea from Bulk Barn is pretty good, and I’ve seen black currant blacks from quite a few other companies, but it seems pretty rare in more complex blends or with other bases.
There is no Bulk Barn here. :) When I go to Victoria, I’ll definitely have to go check it out. I have one from Steam, and it’s nice because they’ve added locally sourced dried currants. Mmm…
The first thing I noticed upon opening this tea was the strong smell of menthol. It was overwhelming and reminded me of the lingering aroma in an empty pack of cigarettes. The tea itself has large pieces of dried citrus (oranges, perhaps?) and what I think might be bits of apple pieces. I brewed enough to fill my 16 oz. tumbler and noticed again the menthol scent mixed with a little berry. The tea smelled mostly of mint though once it was finished steeping.
This tea is slightly bitter and very astringent. It also produced an uncomfortable cooling sensation in the back of my throat. I could taste the rooibos, but was mostly distracted by the way this tea made my mouth and throat feel while drinking it.
I managed to finish all 16 oz. but it took me a few hours of sipping to get it all down. I do not like this blend at all and cannot imagine wanting to drink this again. I still have plenty left so instead of letting it go to waste I will most likely try mixing this with other teas to see if I can bring out something good in it. If anyone has any suggestions for this one, I would love to hear them!
Flavors: Astringent, Berry, Bitter, Menthol, Mint, Rooibos
I really love this tea. I wonder if maybe less leaf and a shorter steep would improve it for you? Or possibly a cold brew? I might also try mixing it with a tea that has more intense berry flavours and sweetness.
Thank you so much for your suggestions, Anlina! I’ve read in some of the other comments that this tea works well when iced so I’ve been meaning to try it. The cold brew method is especially appealing; I’m interested to see how this technique affects the flavor of different types of teas. I’m hoping this makes for a smoother and sweeter cup.
Along with your suggestion to mix with a berry tea (I have a few that might work here), I’m also planning to incorporate this with another rooibos tea to help tone down some of the stronger flavors. I’ve heard that Teavana’s Citrus Lavender Sage goes well here too when iced.
One person did mention that putting this particular blend on ice will bring out more of the mintiness, and I’m wondering now if I’m not enjoying this because of the mint. I’ve had a few mint teas before, but I’ve yet to find one that I thought was memorable. Either way, I’m giving this a go. And, like you said, I can always try a shorter steep with less tea.
Lots of plans for this one – I really want to find a way to love it!
I tried this one today in store as well. I got another waft of the mate and my friend pin pointed it perfectly it smells like those home sparkly worm/snake/dragon fireworks. I’ll try it eventually, have to remember one of the new teas they release last year smelled like nail polish remover and it tasted delicious.
That’s hilarious about the fireworks! I had a hard time smelling because of the over the head wafting, but what I did catch was awful. I think I know which one you’re saying smelled like nail polish remover. Is it that joie de vivire?
Because of the hibiscus, I wouldn’t add milk, it would likely curdle.
The nutritional books are hilarious! We make a big joke out of them, I tell people, “And here is the most useless nutritional guide you will ever see in your life.” Would make more sense as an “ingredients list,” right?
On the other hand, I had a woman in for “the Dr. Oz tea diet” (oh god) and she kept grilling me like, “Are you sure your teas have no calories? What about carbs? I can’t have carbs,” etc. She didn’t seem to believe my answers. Now I can just point to the Magical Booklet of Zeros, because customers like her will surely believe a little paper booklet that says “no” over the associate’s tea experience.
Oh, good thing I didn’t try it then! shakes fist at hibiscus I forget about that one. :(
I wonder who thought the tea nutrition guide would be a good thing really; because it is pretty obvious they spent some time making it look nice and orderly. I wonder if that person thought it as insane as we do.
I didn’t know there was a Dr. Oz tea diet. Now that, to me, sounds like a bad combination. That’s too bad that people would trust that notebook of zeros over the worker. I mean, unless there is sugar added to the teas there really probably shouldn’t be too much worry about carbs/calories in tea though (I would think…).
This woman knew nothing about tea, I’m afraid. Nothing at all. It didn’t sound like she’d ever had tea in her life; she kept repeating that she only likes wine, but, “I need to lose some weight fast,” so she wanted this Dr. Oz thing.
I looked it up, apparently it’s
-2 cups of pu-erh first thing in the morning (to shrink fat cells, or something like that)
-2 cups of white tea with lunch (prevents the formation of fat? or something? I don’t recall, I couldn’t care less)
-1 cup of chickweed tea in the afternoon (laxative)
-1 cup bilberry tea in the evening (to cut cravings)
Oh, P.S. guys, the nail polish remover tea you mentioned was renamed Peach Bellini Blush. In case you end up looking for it.
That diet sounds pretty misleading to me. I wonder how he feels about mixed teas or if they have to be plain. I’ve never even heard of chickweed tea before, but it sounds dreadful. I find it hard to believe it when I hear plans like this based on drinking tea because I thought there was not a lot of supporting evidence for it being as influential as people like him make it sound.
Why do you think they changed the name? O.o I noticed it when I tried to go find out what it was.
Yeah I did notice the renaming, it was “awaiting new harvest” so I wonder if they were reformulating to tweak the smell. As for the diet, yeah we had women coming in for that many months back. Someone was clever and decided we should tell them oolong will do the same thing as chickweed and that elderberry is the same as bilberry, it confused people “oh so this is the chickweed?” no this is oolong, but they bought it. Better than selling them yerba mate though.
Apparently the chickweed is the best-tasting one, like it’s naturally sweet or something? I’m actually sort of curious to find it now; there’s a health food store down the street from the mall I work at that apparently sells raspberry leaf; I was planning to see if they had the chickweed and bilberry, too. At least I could direct people there if they wanted that exact “diet” (although it sounds sketchy to me!).
They changed the name because people were less likely to buy it with the French name. Which is understandable to me, because I couldn’t pronounce the name myself, and therefore never sold it! Now that it’s “Peach Bellini Blush,” the number of sales have gone up very noticeably. Our tin of it used to be perpetually full, now it’s almost empty. We also sell a lot of to-go drinks of it. People now insist to me that it actually tastes like a bellini, LOL.
I don’t think anything about the tea itself is changing, though. I think your store was just out, Autumn.
The woman I had in, I sold her oolong too (Slimful Chocolate), although I didn’t tell her it was chickweed. (LOL, WTF?!) I just told her that oolong can potentially speed your metabolism. I’m not sure that would have helped her anyway, though…I got the impression that this woman had more bad dietary habits than oolong would ever overcome. So I also discussed how I used to be horribly addicted to soda pop, and how I completely gave it up for tea (and lost about 10lbs in the process). I told her that the more important thing would be to find tea that she adored and could drink every day over things full of empty calories.
She looked at me like I had two heads.
What’s wrong with selling the mate?
That’s so interesting about sweetness and the chickweed! I thought I’d look for it while I was at the store last night, but forgot. They always have that one brand of teabags that advertises lots of tisanes like raspberry leaf, dandelion, etc. Raspberry leaf lasts forever btw. I have a bag that is probably 3years old in a sealable bag and it still tastes good and works great.
Ok now the name change makes sense. I could never pronounce it either! I never really asked for it though. That’s an interesting marketing move. See though? Another Teavana naming funny. I’ve never had a bellini so I wouldn’t have anything to go off of. :(
Yeah, the whole what else are you doing plus drinking tea is always an interesting issue. I’ve known people who like to say, oh I drink tea for health reasons, as they bite into their huge danish pastry. I don’t think any amount of metabolism boosting will help overcome that! Soda is something that I’m still trying to get my husband off of. We never buy it, but he always wants one when we go out. I had a photo the other day which showed how much sugar is in the sodas and he was pretty shocked. I haven’t seen him order one since.
I think that finding something you really love is great advice! I think that drinking tea over soda is easy for me because I just enjoy it so much. If it wasn’t something I really loved I probably wouldn’t be able to get myself to drink it.
O.o I’m confused about the mate thing too. I love mate when it’s done right.