Kanpe Tea

Tea type
Fruit Tea
Ingredients
Banana, Cinnamon, Coconut, Hibiscus, Mango, Natural Flavours, Papaya, Stevia Leaf
Flavors
Berry, Fruity, Hibiscus, Cinnamon, Pineapple, Soap, Sweet, Tart, Tropical, Berries, Grapes, Plum, Stewed Fruits
Sold in
Not available
Caffeine
Caffeine Free
Certification
Organic
Edit tea info Last updated by bree
Average preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 6 min, 0 sec 2 g 17 oz / 488 ml

From Our Community

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152 Own it Own it

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93 Tasting Notes View all

  • “Wow, I was really surprised by how much I LOVED this tea!! Loved it! I remember trying Sleigh Ride from the Advent Calendar and despising it, but this one is amazing. Iced! I should say Iced! I...” Read full tasting note
    96
  • “I disliked this tea with my first sip. I liked the fruitiness, but combined with the cinnamon it didn’t initially sit well on my tongue. Additionally, the tartness of the hibiscus followed with...” Read full tasting note
    71
  • “Delicately spiced my arse. This tastes like apple cider to me, probably because of all the cinnamon. And wow, is it ever taaaart!! I really really wanted to like this one. You feel guilty not...” Read full tasting note
    61
  • “Sipdown! This stuff is so very, very sweet* and juicy that I don’t think I’ll be reordering it, but it was interesting to try! Edit: *Nope, tart. My mind is useless today and I can’t type.” Read full tasting note
    70

From DAVIDsTEA

Celebrate Haiti
We are so excited to be working with KANPE, an organization that seeks to put an end to the cycle of poverty by encouraging financial independence in Haiti. Our first step together is this tea, made with ingredients that celebrate Haiti’s rich culture and unique cuisine. It’s got hibiscus, a common Haitian folk remedy; mango, Haiti’s most popular fruit; plus other distinctly Haitian flavours, including cinnamon, banana, papaya, and coconut. It’s tart, sweet, and delicately spiced. All profits go straight to KANPE.

About DAVIDsTEA View company

DavidsTea is a Canadian specialty tea and tea accessory retailer based in Montreal, Quebec. It is the largest Canadian-based specialty tea boutique in the country, with its first store having opened in 2008.

93 Tasting Notes

89
150 tasting notes

This was a blind purchase when DavidsTea had the rainbow tin on 40% off.

At first sniff: When you smell this blend, it’s heavenly. Smells spicy and fruity and they blend together so nicely. The blend smells sweet but the spice balances it out.

At first steep: I have never had this blend warm, only cold. I love it iced. It’s a unique taste compared to other herbal blends because of the cinnamon. It’s so delicious. I usually blend strong and then water down in a pitcher and I have some water for the next couple days when I’m tired of drinking water. I liked this blend so much I bought it when it was on sale for 250gm 40% off. The blend is also a very pretty blend to look at.

Preparation
Boiling 6 min, 30 sec

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100
170 tasting notes

First tea battle!

So, I feel like I need to give a short explanation before I go on with the review. I’ve had, for the last 3 years, the aim of trying all of the teas from DT, buying at least 25g of each (usually 50g) to give them all a true shot at impressing me. I finished the endeavour about two months ago, and I was totally thrilled about the achievement (so was the staff at my local DT, lol). But all along, I’ve been doing it with the goal of building, afterwards, a 32-teas cupboard with my own “permanent collection”, that is, all my favourites. Narrowing it to 32 is REALLY difficult, and sometimes, it’s not worth taking up 2 different spots for 2 teas that fill the same “role” (that is, when I feel like having one, I usually don’t mind having the other instead). Sooooo, this is why I am making tea battles (exciting, right?! I think it is!), where I brew 2 teas side to side, compare them, and choose a winner to be part of my collection of 32 teas.

Today’s contest is: Kanpe Tea vs. Sleigh Ride

I always felt like these two teas were essentially the same, both being very tart from the hibiscus, as well as fruity and spicy and comforting and sort of juicy. I LOVE both, but it certainly isn’t worth having both at hand as they are so similar. Going into the tea battle, I did feel like Sleigh Ride had an advantage, having it linked to fond memories. Comparing them side to side really made the differences more apparent:

- Kanpe is really an in-your-face tea, the flavour is bold, very bold, and rich. Right away, you get a huge amount of sweetness, and a huge amount of tartness. Yum! I know hibiscus haters are a plenty, but I love it! Behind all that sweetness and tartness, you can definitely pick up the fact it’s very fruity, yet it’s really difficult to point to specific fruits, it just feels tropical. It’s also a little spicy, with a hint of cinnamon. But that only adds depth to the prominent sweetness and tartness, which compliment one another in a very balanced way. Maybe it actually is a little too sweet, but that doesn’t keep me from craving one more sip after each of them! It is very slightly astringent. Not enough for it to be unpleasant, but I’d do without that hint of astringency.

- Sleigh Ride is surprisingly (well, it surprised me anyway) a bit less bold. As similar as it is, I see big differences now. What you get right away is the hibiscus: it’s very tart. Probably, not more than Kanpe, but all of the spotlight goes on the tartness, since it is not nearly as sweet. However, after the initial hit of tartness, the spices are very prominent, especially cinnamon. I think I can taste what the popped rice adds to the mix, and I like the additional dimension, but it gets a little lost in all the rest. It’s also fruity, but the spices are really what I naturally concentrate on after the tartness has passed. It has the hint of astringency that Kanpe had as well, so on that level it’s a draw.

Comparison: While Kanpe is so sweet it is almost too much, the in-your-face sweetness compliments the in-your-face tartness so well that I can’t help falling in love with every sip. Sleigh Ride is awesome, but feels a little empty on that level compared to Kanpe. The additional spice taste gives it a few extra points, but that won’t do it. I think Kanpe is a keeper. Sorry Sleigh Ride, I love you nonetheless!

Winner: Kanpe Tea! Yay!

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 0 sec

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86
440 tasting notes

How have I not reviewed this before? I could have sworn I had. Anyways . . .

Hot? This sucker is cherry pie fresh from the oven. Especially with a couple drops of agave. I still haven’t figured out how I can love a tea so based with hibiscus this much, but even when I ran out it wasn’t long before I was restocking. I’ve had it iced as well, and it is lovely, but for me this one is meant to be hot. And with pie. Dang, now I want pie.

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85
250 tasting notes

My sister is back in town, but it’s late… what tea to drink?

Being a herbal AND for a good cause, she chose this one. I only had a bit of this left so I dumped what was left in the teapot, poured in the boiling water, and hoped for the best! It did not disappoint, but then again my sister is one of the rare few who really enjoys hibiscus tea. The coconut and cinnamon help to balance it out a bit, with the apple and mango taking a backseat to the other flavours. I must have gotten the water-tea ratio right because tonight this tea was delicious! Warm, spicy, fruity… all good things.

Preparation
Boiling 8 min or more

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68
230 tasting notes

Ummm… Still undecided.

This might be a fruit Tea that I share, with my kids at work. It smells delightful, like sour cherry pie and banana splits but the taste falls flat. It could be because I did not put enough tea into my Libre or it could be that my first scoop got too much hibiscus in it, but either way something was missing.

It’s a great tea for a great cause, I will just have to give it one more try before I completely write it off as a no-go.

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95
165 tasting notes

I went in to the mall tonight to pick up a few things and as I was leaving, stopped in at David’s (as per usual). The store was empty tonight which is extremely rare and I took advantage of the opportunity to speak to the staff. It paid off as I got a recommendation to try this tea. My mom had it warm while I had it iced. She really enjoyed it as do I. Iced, I found that it is like a fruit punch and reminded me of my many vacations on tropical islands. I am also so happy that the proceeds go to Haiti and that this tea really showcases and celebrates Haitian culture. The cinnamon however, adds a level of spice to this tea that you would not get in a typical fruit punch. I found that as it is not overpowering, it really showcases the sweetness of all the other ingredients and elevates their flavours. I will absolutely pick up a tin of this!

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45
1271 tasting notes

I never bothered with this tea until I was told if I like DavidsTea’s Goji Pop, I’d love this tea. Then of course it was sold out when the sales gal suggested. It drove me crazy for awhile until I could get my hands on some.

Dry Leaves: smells red fruity candy sweet, like red licorice but more fruity.

Steeped: steeps into a beautiful deep red, like fruit punch. Smells sweet, like cherries and slightly nutty (from the coconut maybe).

Taste: wahh, Tart! That first hit on the tongue is super tarty, booooo! I’m not a fan of tart as I associate it with that crappy bagged fruit tea that adds hibiscus to make it fruity – though this is a cleaner tart than bagged tea. Very fruity, but I can’t peg down the mango and papaya but I can taste the banana and coconut mellowing it out at the end. As the cup goes on, I start to notice the warmth of cinnamon. The tartness dries out my throat. For a 5 minute steep, this tea is quite strong. I don’t notice the stevia sweetness.
I’m not sure how this is like Goji pop as it doesn’t have that sweetness of the melons and Kanpe is much much more tart vs. the goji berry tart.

Kanpe Tea, I think, would make a good fruit base for sangria. Or maybe good iced or as a punch spliced with some Sprite/7up to pull out the tart.

If you like hibiscus and tarty teas, you will love Kanpe! It is also a herbal, so you can drink it into the wee hours of the night.

Me? I’m going to pass on this one. Too tarty for me (unless I just got a bad scoop of mostly hibiscus). I’m going to save it to splice with soda or sangria (I’ll review again then), but otherwise, I’m not going to buy more. I’m going to stick to Goji Pop.

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 0 sec

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85
307 tasting notes

Day 93 (yesterday) of my 101 days of DAVIDsTEA challenge was

Another one of those teas that brews a nice, dark red and gives an amazing, dry flavour. It gave a lovely mulled flavour — sweet, fruity and spiced.

Unfortunately, it is a one-steep wonder — while some herbal teas at least give a decent second steep, this gives an extremely watery and only lightly flavoured second go.

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 0 sec

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87
513 tasting notes

Okay, side by side I get the difference between this and Passion Berry now. Instead if the citrus hit from lemongrass, this one has a much more warming sweet effect from the cinnamon. Still a very tart tea, but the warmer, toaster version of a tart tea.

Dexter

I LOVE Kanpe!!! LOL There are a lot of hibiscus haters on here, nice to find someone else who enjoys the TART teas. Happy you enjoyed your two comparison teas tonight. :))

mewakeling

It is good to find someone else who like hibiscus the way I do. Comparing them was fun, I love how the tart works both with the citrus notes and with the sweeter cinnamon flavours. Hibiscus does tend to be under appreciated. I didn’t think I would like it, but I love my tart teas!

Dexter

I think hibiscus has to be done properly. Too much and it is just nasty sour icky, but if blended properly it adds just that right balance of tart. I like when a tea is both tart and sweet – such as Kanpe – those teas seem to bring out the “real fruit” flavors more than the ones that are just cloyingly sweet. IMHO

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144 tasting notes

Mmmm, Kanpe. It’s been too long.
I always drink this in my clear mug because the colour is so beautiful. It’s a dark, deep ruby red. I’m not sensitive to hibiscus and have never experienced any of the bad things about it that people talk about. To me this tea just tastes tart and sweet and lovely. Sometimes this actually tastes more like juice to me than like tea but whatever it is, I’m happy to drink it.

Bonnie

I love clear mugs…enhances the whole tea drinking experience…hold it up to the light. Hibiscus is high in vitamin C. You can make a spritz for skin or hair rinse mixed with white tea.

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