I opened the packet and took a sniff and I immediately thought this is a familiar smell, but not of anything in the ingredients list. I seriously suspected citrusy and floral, but that was not it.
Let it steep for a while, not sure how long because I got distracted, but once I poured it into my cup and took another sniff that familiar scent just stood up and screamed at me. And then I could identify it, the smell of air popped popcorn. Completely unexpected.
The first sip and wow, that was harsh. My sense of bitter is a bit off, but I get the impression that the lemon and orange zest I was expecting is in fact the entire peel including the pith. In fact the ingredient list says peels, not zest. I agree with the description, I suspect this could use a touch of sweetener to help it along. Sadly, I don’t like putting sweeteners into my drinks.
I let it cool a bit (more distractions) and when I came back, that air popped popcorn scent has died down. The flavor isn’t quite as punch in the mouth as it had been really hot, but that orange and lemon pith is still there and its impossible to ignore it.
Some more sipping and I can get a sense of the sweet/sour from the rosehips. That’s actually quite enjoyable. But man, what I am assuming is the pith from the citrus peels is just too much for my tastes. Really a pity since otherwise I’m really enjoying the rest of the flavors.
I am wondering if that bitterness would be mitigated if I tried a cold brew.
