Wild Berry Zinger

Tea type
Fruit Herbal Blend
Ingredients
Blackberry Leaves, Chicory, Citric Acid, Hibiscus, Natural Flavours, Orange Peel, Rose Hips
Flavors
Blueberry, Cherry, Hibiscus, Tart, Berry, Citrus, Blackberry, Raspberry, Berries, Fruity, Sour, Strawberry, Fruit Punch, Lemon
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Tea Bag
Caffeine
Caffeine Free
Certification
Kosher
Edit tea info Last updated by Shae
Average preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 5 min, 0 sec 20 oz / 602 ml

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50 Tasting Notes View all

  • “Last night I was heading into my bed to read before sleeping, when I absolutely had to have a cup of tea to take with me. Now, sometimes I thinking about it before hand and make a cup of tea to...” Read full tasting note
    52
  • “Now this one’s a teabag courtesy of one of my roommates (who is away for the summer). Brewed aroma here is definitely more fakey-cherry. Cherry cough syrup-y? Flavourwise, I’m again getting a...” Read full tasting note
    73
  • “I’m still chilly – hope I’m not getting sick! I decided to make a lazy herbal bagged tisane with some honey. I chose this one because it’s the one flavor in my CS sampler that I haven’t tried...” Read full tasting note
  • “Another one I found in the previously mentioned Big Tins of Mystery! It was out of a Celestial Seasonings sampler pack that a former friend (we fell out, probably for the best) once sent me for my...” Read full tasting note
    2

From Celestial Seasonings

“There’s no mistaking a Zinger®! The freshly picked taste of this luscious blend evokes thoughts of coming home at dusk with pails full of ripe berries bursting with flavor. We add hibiscus – the tart, ruby-red herb that gives a Zinger its zing – and sweet blackberry leaves to layers of juicy berry flavor in this wonderfully balanced brew.”

— Charlie Baden, Celestial Seasonings Blendmaster

This product contains all-natural herbs, and no artificial colorings or flavorings.

About Celestial Seasonings View company

Company description not available.

50 Tasting Notes

52
545 tasting notes

Last night I was heading into my bed to read before sleeping, when I absolutely had to have a cup of tea to take with me. Now, sometimes I thinking about it before hand and make a cup of tea to drink while I read while I’m getting ready to shut down for the night and head into the bedroom. But no, last night I already had the lights off, the heat lowered, the computers sleeping, book, cel phone, and water in hand, heading into the bedroom, when I realized I had to have tea, that I would be preoccupied wanting tea while I read if I did not make some. So I put down my stuff and headed back into the kitchen, prepared to out of bed a bit longer while I made tea.

This brings me to a problem I keeping meaning to query my fellow Steepsterians about. What do you drink when you want tea late at night?

I’m talking 9/10pm when you’ll likely only drink a cup or two. I don’t want to drink a black tea because even though I’ll occasionally have one while making dinner, with dinner, or right after dinner, it’s just too late to have one that late. I don’t want a green or white tea because I’m likely to drink only one cup and feel like I’m wasting the multiple steeps I could have had from those leaves and I personally am not comfortable leaving wet tea leaves over night. Which leaves me with herbals. I like rooibos but I’m low on it and often don’t feel like it that late at night. I tend not to like chamomile straight or in blends where it’s a dominate taste, but I don’t mind being able to taste it in blends so long as it isn’t the strongest flavor. I don’t mind hibiscus cause I like tart things so I wouldn’t avoid it but I wouldn’t go out of my way to find it either. So far I’ve had a hard time finding non-rooibos herbals that I like and want to drink, not just this is okay and I can finish the box/tin ones.

So part two of my query, Steepsterians, is to ask for your herbal recommendations. I will also take good rooibos recommendations, since not many of you drink it, and I’m open to them, but I’m looking for mainly herbals to consider.

Now back to my regularly scheduled late night tea story. Barbara, my mom, brought back a ton of teas from the Celestrial Seasonings plant in Denver, CO, when my dad, my sister, and she were visiting my sister’s boyfriend who was stationed there with the Air Force. One box that she gave me was a sampler of their fruity herbals.

As someone who also readings “junk food” romances, I’m also embarrassed to admit that I kind of like these teas. I enjoy fruity teas and herbals, when I’m in the mood for one. And while these aren’t as good as others I’ve had, they are decent and I don’t mind the tartness from the hibiscus.

I did steep this tea less than the recommended four to six minutes and with water below boiling. It could probably be steeped less time and with cooler water. It was still a dark purple-red. It tasted fruity and tart with a general berryness. It filled my late night need for tea.

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 3 min, 0 sec
Angrboda

Question 1: I just take whatever. I typically don’t pay attention to caffeine content and the like so I just take whatever I’m in the mood for. I haven’t even developed any specific habits about preferrring a particular type at a particular time of day. Lately I’ve had difficulties getting to bed at a proper time which is a bad thing when you have to be out of the door by 6.10 in the morning, so I’ve tried to teach myself that tea is off limits after 8. Not going so well, though.
I’ll skip question 2, because I don’t drink herbals at all unless I’m ill. I’m just not that interested in them at all.

…How’s that for unhelpful answers?

~lauren.

1. I’m in an experimental tea period so I don’t have a particular night tea
however, 2. I find that I like Harney & son’s Lemon Herbal but at the risk of sounding redundant, you do have to like lemons. I’ve not had the chance to try many other herbals & tisanes, yet.

wombatgirl

I like Strawberry Lemonade from Teavana – it’s a nice tisane with no caffiene. As far rooibos – I’m only a fan if it’s a background flavor, because I don’t like the woody-ness of it in the foreground. And two that I like are Carrot Cake by Tea Guys and the much vaunted Caramelized Pear by Art of Tea. both of these don’t have the rooibos coming out and grabbing you – which I consider a bonus.

I also like Sleepytime Vanilla by CC- because I don’t like chamomile, and the vanilla in that cuts it down and makes it creamy and smooth.

JacquelineM

I have some of the same concerns as you!! I’ve been enjoying this late at night:

http://steepster.com/teas/tazo/1926-vanilla-rooibos

It’s not super rooibos-y – the rooibos just lends it some depth. I think it tastes like an herbal apple pie :)

…but I would like some variety so I’ll be watching the answers you get closely :)

Auggy

I tend to go for herbals, or at least try to. I’m working on expanding that section of my tea collection so I have more choice. Right now I have green rooibos (which I enjoy) and a decaf muscat black tea (also good), both from Lupicia. It’s hard for me to find good herbals that I like, so I am still on the hunt. The MF Rouge Ruschka I had at lunch I think is a good one, too.

I know teaplz is conscious of caffeine consumption so maybe she’ll chime in with some good ideas.

Auggy

(I would just like to clarify that I mean Mariage Freres Rouge Ruschka…)

Bethany

1) I don’t do anything with caffeine after dinner, so I’m limited to herbals.
2) The ones I reach for most often are Adagio’s Chamomile (sorry, can’t be a help there!), Celestial Seasonings’ Sweet Apple Chamomile and Tension Tamer, and herb + ginger’s Bollywood Star. I also echo wombatgirl on Teavana’s Strawberry Lemonade, and I hate rooibos but Rishi’s Blueberry Rooibos is AWESOME.

Meghann M

1) I’ve been trying to stick to greens and herbals after dinner, but with all the new black flavored teas I’ve been picking up I don’t always follow this.
2) I love orange herbals at night. Two I’ve tried lately are both from Teavana (only store near me that has loose leaf): Tarocco Ruby Orange and Wild Orange Blossom. The tarocco Ruby Orange is more hibiscus-y and has a bit more bite to it, where the blossom is calm and less tangy. I don’t enjoy chamomile either, unless I’m really sick but then I’d rather grab mint tea.

AmazonV

1. after 6 pm i switch to herbal or red 2. Azteca Fire-Teavana, Passion-Tazo, Vanilla Rooibos-Tazo,

Shanti

I’m usually up late anyway doing homework, so I tend to drink just about anything. I don’t have many herbal teas on hand, so if I really want to get some sleep, I just have to sit through my tea cravings. Sad.

However, I do have one herbal tea that I love and is perfect before sleeping…Comforting Tea by Aveda. Ohmahgaw, so yummy.

I ♥ NewYorkCiTEA

Whoa! Comments! The Steepsterians have come through.

Angrboda ~ Suitably unhelpful.

Lauren ~ I do like lemons. I’ve noted it on my Shopping List.

wombatgirl ~ Strawberry Lemonade and Carrot Cake noted on the Shopping List. Carmelized Pear was already on there. Lemonade I have to be in the mood for. The husband is a big fan though. I like carrot cake but have a hard time imagining how it translates into a tea. Barbara also brought back Extra Vanilla Sleepytime from the Celestial Seasonings plant so I’ve had it at her place in the evening. Good enough, but not anything I’d crave drinking.

JacquelineM ~ I guess I’m not the only one. =) I’ve had a Tazo sampler pack but I can’t remember the Vanilla Rooibos though I’ve had vanilla rooibos from other companies and enjoyed them.

Auggy ~ I’ll be keeping a closer eye on your tealogs for herbals. The Rouge Ruschka sounds yum and has also been Shopping Listed.

teaplz, please chime in with your herbally knowledge!

Bethany ~ Barbara also gave me an apple chamomile tea recently, I think it’s Twinings though. Neither the husband or I liked it but I will give it one more try. Then it’s going back to Barbara’s. Not sure about the Tension Tamer, lots of ingredients, including catnip! Might also prove too irresistible to the cats. I can’t imagine what the Bollywood Star would taste like from the ingredient list but I added it to the Shopping List cause I liked the company’s name. I love blueberries so you know that one got added!

Meghann ~ I used to love Wild Orange Blossom, back before I drank mostly loose teas. I remember taking a box of it to leave at the husband’s when we were dating long distance. Good nostalgia, thanks. Ruby Orange went right on the Shopping List cause I love oranges too. Oddly chamomile can sometimes make my stomach feel sick, not better. Mint teas are growing on me, I used to hate them.

Amazon ~ I remember liking Passion too. I’m going to say that I don’t think the Azteca Fire sounds like my cup of tea.

Shanti ~ As in Aveda, of Rosemary Mint shampoo fame? Neat. It is! I can tell from the labeling. On to the Shopping List.

Okay, that was totally fun browsing all the teas you guys suggested. I should add that I use my Shopping List more of as a ‘hmm, that one sounds good, I’d consider trying it’ then a literal To Buy list.

I ♥ NewYorkCiTEA

Crap @ no edit. I meant to bold.

takgoti

That may have just won the record for longest comment on a log ever. Well done!

Late to this party, but my current night herbal/rooibos rotation includes:

Samovar | Ocean of Wisdom, Orange Ginger, Wei Chi Cha and Cinnamon Stonefruit [the last two contain hibiscus, though you did mention you don’t mind it]
Art of Tea | Caramelized Pear

And I do enjoy Rishi’s Blueberry Rooibos every now and then, though it’s very heavy on the blueberry and I can’t drink it too often because of that. I may be forgetting some, but those are what come to mind.

I ♥ NewYorkCiTEA

Yeah. lol It is long. I commented as I browse the teas. Yours will be short. =)

Ocean on Wisdom – already on SL. Orange Ginger – added to SL. Wei Chi Cha – not sure about that one. Cinnamon Stonefruit – added to SL.

See? Short. But special. =) (Or I’m loopy at night.)

Alicia

I honestly like black teas late into my evening. I am a sort of night owl when at home dreading that the night will end and I am forced to face my job at the end of a cold pier… all good coffee and tea a fond memory. LOL

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73
6105 tasting notes

Now this one’s a teabag courtesy of one of my roommates (who is away for the summer).

Brewed aroma here is definitely more fakey-cherry. Cherry cough syrup-y?

Flavourwise, I’m again getting a similar sort of sweetness. It comes up a bit sooner though, and doesn’t linger as long, so it’s much more bearable. The hibiscus is also done reasonably well in this blend, with the tartness not overwhelming everything, even though this steep is just as epically long as the other. I’d have to say that the Tea Forte version, comparing them side by side, has a more tart berry sort of flavour, whereas this one is more of a sweet berry flavour. Both blends have the tartness of hibiscus of course, but the berry flavour itself is different.

I have to say, both definitely have their merits – I’m more familiar with Celestial Seasonings, so their ‘zinger’ blends typically taste “right” to me, but the Tea Forte version was interesting and different. The sweet aftertaste would therefore probably be the only reason I’d pick one (CS) over the other (TF), in general.

Fun experiment – I’m definitely almost asleep now.

Preparation
Boiling 8 min or more

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1112 tasting notes

I’m still chilly – hope I’m not getting sick! I decided to make a lazy herbal bagged tisane with some honey. I chose this one because it’s the one flavor in my CS sampler that I haven’t tried yet.

It’s quite good! Sweet/tart with the honey, fruit punch-like. It is hibiscus-y so if you don’t like hibiscus you won’t like this. All in all, not a bad lazy tea bag, but I wouldn’t buy a box of it (but I do plan on buying a box of raspberry zinger. I have such a soft spot for that one!).

Preparation
Boiling 8 min or more
ashmanra

I hope you are not sick! I must admit that many years ago Lemon Zinger with honey in it got me through the most painful sore throat I have ever experienced.

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2
1353 tasting notes

Another one I found in the previously mentioned Big Tins of Mystery! It was out of a Celestial Seasonings sampler pack that a former friend (we fell out, probably for the best) once sent me for my birthday along with a few other things from CS. I remember being quite taken by the boxes. Pretty pictures. They had actually made an effort on decoration. I wasn’t particularly interested in the actual contents though, which I found disappointing on account of 75% of them being herbals. I don’t care about tisanes. They are not tea and they are not interesting. (And many of them aren’t that well tasting either) Oh and FYI as a personal little peeve, rooibos falls under this category. It is not tea.

Anyway, berries! I like berries, so while I haven’t bothered to look at the ingredients, I’m feeling semi-confident. I mean if I only have one bag out of a whole sampler pack left, then surely the others must have been used up, right? And if I didn’t like them, there would have been more than one left, right?

It smells like… sweets. Not particularly fruity to be honest. Rather more synthetic and very very sweet. I do notice though that it gets a highly suspicious bright red colour while steeping. This is worrying. I have some very bad experiences with that particular colour. I haven’t even tasted it yet and already I’ve poured the rest of the water into a small pot to heat it up and the kettle on with water for a pot of emergency Lapsang Souchong if I’m right.

Okay. Here goes. takes deep breath and summons all reserves of courage

Ack! Yuck! Spitty!

I was right about that bright red colour. It tattles about the presence of the dreaded hibiscus. That stuff seems to be in just about everything and I just can’t get it down. To me it has a dreadful metallic sort of taste that reminds me most of all of blood. No thank you, says I.

It’s a mystery though that there was only this one bag left. I must have traded the others, but why did I keep one?

Jillian

Temporary insanity maybe? ;p

Yeah, I hate when the company ruins a perfectly good fruit tea/tisane by adding a ton of hibiscus. For future reference any of the CS teas with ‘Zinger’ in the title all have enormous amount of hibiscus in them. Bleh.

Angrboda

Yeah, my infatuation with CS doesn’t stretch any further than their box design. I’ve never been tempted to get any of it now that in later years it’s been available in supermarkets over here. This was a reminder as to why.
(That goes to show how ancient my teabag here was. When I recieved it, CS was only available here in an extremely limited selection at an extremely limited number of places)

Jillian

Well their Christmas teas aren’t bad at all I’ve found, although that might just be nostalgia talking. ;)

Carolyn

I used to love Celestial Seasonings. I grew up with the back when they were teeny, tiny herb company in my home state of Colorado. I used to adore Pelican Punch, which was a tea aimed at children that had vanilla, mint, carob, fenugreek and some other herbs in it. I missed it so much that when we went on a tour of Celestial Seasonings a few years ago, I begged them to bring it back. They offered Red Zinger instead which is totally NOT the same.

Real tea in my house growing up was Lipton’s tea bags steeped forever until the tea was terribly bitter. It wasn’t until recently that I discovered how magical and non-bitter real tea could be if it was made correctly.

TeaEqualsBliss

I agree with your negative ratings on this one…I didn’t like it either!

teaplz

I haven’t had this one, but I’m not a fan of the hibiscus invasion into every single fruit tea I see! The other day, when I tried a Tazo African Red Bush, there was the dreaded hibiscus! Is it really necessary?

Dylan Lawrence Ginther

I mean its good of you like really sweet

But its almost to sweet. And the hibiscus is definitly strong in this one!!!

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60
541 tasting notes

This smells mainly of hibiscus. I’m also one of the rare people on here who really loves the tart flavor. This somehow tastes more of cherry than anything else. There is a bit of raspberry in there too, but it is pretty artificial tasting. It reminds me a bit of the forest berries tea by Adagio without the black base. It isn’t terrible, just not the very best. I’d say I’d drink it just for something fruity.

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70
1015 tasting notes

I got this one for my husband because he seems to like these hibiscus based Zinger teas. I have a mug of it and it was okay. Very tart though with just a hint of berries. I’m making a pitcher of cold-brewed. I hope that cold-brewing it brings out the sweetness of the hibiscus like it did with the Tangerine Zinger.

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892 tasting notes

Backlogging! Cold brewed this today with LOTS of ice. Nice berry flavor but mostly tart from the hibiscus.

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61
709 tasting notes

So in paying attention I’ve established that my review of this tea yesterday was actualy a review of Black Cherry Berry. Sad to say, if that was supposed to be Black Cherry, it was not a good rendition.

Though, in actually drinking the wild berry tea, I like it! Seems redundant considering the other berry teas they make, but maybe they wanted to corner the market.

Edit – Rating is going down down down as it gets more bitter despite not continuing to steep. Stick with Blueberry – Check!

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 3 min, 0 sec

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68
67 tasting notes

After a few samplers ,I’m growing to like this.The combination of berry tastes are lovely,tart and sweet with a delightful red berries scent .I rate this higher than True Blueberry Tea,partly it may be true I like the red berries better,what’s more I also think this tea is much clearer than Blueberry Tea.Apart from the usual hibiscus(actually I love it even when brewed alone),lovely and tart raspberry 、cranberry、cherry and a hint of blueberry,I can sense the sweetness of strawberries too myself.The tea is so young and lovely in my opinion,well done.

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80
902 tasting notes

Definitely my favorite of the Celestial Seasonings Zingers I’ve had. I love the hibiscus, the blackberry, and the cranberry notes that are in here. It’s a fruit-punchy tea that wouldn’t appeal to everyone (if you don’t like hibiscus or tart, stay far, far away). I love all things fruity and naturally sweet with that edge of tart, so this tea is delicious.

This was part of a sampler pack of fruit teas. I wish there were more variety packs from CS, because there’s a lot of flavors I’m interested in trying, but they can be hit or miss and I hate to buy a box I’m not going to want to drink. I’ll probably grab a box of this one next time it’s on sale.

Preparation
Boiling 8 min or more

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