Jelly Bean Dream

Confession: I picked out almost all of the hibiscus.

I cold brewed this one. Kept it to 3 hours because I wasn’t sure if I got all the hibiscus. Now this is the way to drink this tea.

I personally think it was much better cold brewed than hot. There is a strong taste of strawberry initially, followed by a sweet candy taste. There is a long, lingering aftertaste of jelly bean. It is not a bad aftertaste at all.

I am happy I tried the last of my sample as a cold brew, keeping in mind I got rid of most of the hibiscus.

wow…not sure what to make of this one. there’s a lot going on in this one. I don’t think the jelly beans add much of anything to this. That being said, it’s a totally candy like blend that this creates. However, there’s quite a bit of hibiscus in this which turns it into a really sweet but terribly tart brew..sounds contradictory but it is. the initial sip is sweet and very nearly strawberry delicious but then it quickly goes tart in my mouth.

That’s the end of this – sipdown!

Della Terra threw this in as a free sample which is great because I was curious about it, but not really willing to actually buy it. It’s so sweet and tart!

When I first sipped it I immediately thought of wine, which is odd for a “kid’s” tea. Then I got hit with the hibiscus backlash. Yowza!

All in all, it’s an interesting experiment, but it’s not for me. Della Terra can make some great blends, but this isn’t one of them…

(Oooh – I’m at about 85 teas in my cupboard. I’m hit by a sudden impulse to buy a billion samples from Teavivre or Upton but that’s irresponsible and also, I’m afraid to. Seriously – when you’ve got 20 types of Assam to choose from how do you know what to buy? I might just do it randomly if I do it).

this was my late night reading tea last night!
(i also read a great dark story with BAMF Phil Coulson in it. i will confirm that these two things together were extra awesome.)
i opened the sealed tea pouch and was apprehensive about the hibiscus. but i’m trying to not give hibiscus such a bad rep in my head and be more open-minded about it. (the employees of the awesome local tea shop declare that they ‘love’ hibiscus. and i trust them so much that i figure maybe it’s like sour beer. maybe it’s a flavor you adapt into?)
so yes, it was fruity and sweet but not painfully tart. and i thought i rinsed my mug well, but maybe the scent from the chai i had earlier was till attached to the pores of the surface, because i got a touch of cinnamon notes in the cup. which i THINK may be a nice trick to enjoying hibiscus! it definitely added to the experience.
thank you Shelley_Lorraine for this evening treat!

I got my Della Terra order in TWO days! Yes! Of course I was a sucker for their latest promotion. Anyway, this time, it came with a sample of this tea! A pretty generous sample too.

After smelling this tea in the bag, I couldn’t help steeping some up. It’s super sweet, and it has jelly beans in it! I was wondering what would happen to the jelly bean, and yes, it completely dissolved into the tea. No wonder it’s sweet! The hibiscus really tries to ruin it for me. I’m glad I only steeped it for 2 minutes, because that was PLENTY. Overall, this is a fun fruit blend, but I wish there was less, or maybe even no hibiscus.

Sipdown (133)! This is actually my first time drinking it though, so I guess that’s kind of sad? Well, I guess we’ll see if it’s sad depending on whether I like it or not…

I received a one cup sample size from Janelle when I purchased a bunch of tea samples from her. I had sent her an initial list of what I was interested in and halfway through working things out she asked if I wanted anything else, and on a whim I added this to the list. I’ll be honest, I was a little disappointed that the sample amount I received didn’t actually have any jellybeans in it. I feel like they probably would have been large flavour contributors.

Also, it amuses me slightly that I ended up having a strawberry tea in order to make room in a teaball for this tea, which also happens to be a strawberry tea. After a day of not trying anything new though, I figured I had better at least get a sipdown in. Turns out that out of what I have set aside in my sample drawer (the rest is in the closet, in storage) this is the only thing in a small enough size for a sipdown – and it happens to be new as well (well, new in that I’ve never had it before).

I’m not really sure what steeping parameters I should be using, but I’m just going to go with the sample amount sent to me in a 10 oz. mug of boiling water – since herbals typically go with boiling water – for however many minutes feels right. Turns out that worked out to about five minutes.

The smell of the tea is sweet strawberry candy with a kind of tangy, hibiscus undertone. There’s very much a candy quality to it. In so far as the taste, the first thing I noticed was hibiscus, and not in a pleasant way. Even though it only lasted for a split second or two before fading into a much more pleasant taste, I was hit was an extreme pulse of puckering sour strawberry – like strawberry kool aid before it’s been sweetened or those sour Warhead candies. But like I said, it was only for a split second or two and then I was met with a much more calm but still candy sweet strawberry flavour that was, true to the name, much like a strawberry jellybean.

But that said, I’ve tried and own much better strawberry type teas (just today I had some of DAVIDsTEA’s Sweet Strawberry which is like strawberry candy). And, I’m not overcome with a need to keep sipping at my mug because each time I go to take a sip I have to mentally prepare myself for the unpleasant wave of sour about to come my way. Despite being “rewarded” with a nice finish to each sip, I still don’t think it’s worth it.

Not disappointed this is a sipdown, and this is definitely not something I’d get again. I am happy I got to try it, though. If I hadn’t I think I’d still be nursing a nagging sense of curiosity about it.

Alright so I know most companies say to remove things like jelly beans & gum, buuuut I don’t listen…. like ever, so I kept em in there.

Steeped this up extra strong & poured it over ice. This is fruity, strawberry, a bit tart I swear it actually tastes like jelly beans…. ok no it tastes more like red gumballs. It’s quite tasty.

I just got this in a swap with Lariel :) oh man, I didn’t expect to like this one. I kind of hate jellybeans, and I’m super picky with my herbals, but this is actually pretty great! Reminds me of tazo passion if that one was straight strawberry flavored.

I found a surprise sample in my package! Thanks to Della Terra Teas for sending it even though I placed my order a couple days before the promotion. So I had ordered a mate tea, and somehow some of the mate got stuck to the back and the bottom of the packet. (shrug)

The dry leaf is colorful – a combination of pinks, orange, blue and yellow because of the hibiscus, jelly beans (!), and apple and strawberry bits. I can smell the jelly beans, which busted its way out of the packet as soon as I opened it. The liquor has the usual stunning color of hibiscus, which initially dominates the flavor and then subsides so that the strawberry and jelly bean take over. It’s tart, but not as much as pure hibiscus tea (mostly likely because the kind I have is in tea bag form and this one is full leaf). Overall, this tea is sweet and slightly sugary. If you like hibiscus, or at least tolerate it, it’s pretty good.

My order came with this bonus. Doesn’t seem like a full ounce. Oh well.

This smells really nice in the bag. Like strawberry jelly beans. It has a nice (a little too sweet) strawberry flavour at first, then it’s more like hibiscus. It was good as just a strawberry herbal