Indian Summer

Oh man, I am in love with this blend. I really am! I bought some when it first came out, tried it cold steeped, and returned the next day to buy a tin. Yum. Iced, this is juicy and melon-y and guh. I wish it weren’t so expensive, but this is worth it to me. I just want to drink it forever. There is a touch of an artifical tang, but not enough to ruin it. It’s just plain lovely.

This is the second tea I am trying from the Fall Collection.
The title is more fitting to where I live.
I was blown away upon opening this package. The scent is incredible! Like some kind of candy… it took me a while to place what it reminded me of until I got it..
Fruit Roll Up!! It is a spot on Fruit Roll Up tea! Such a delicious memory for me. Brewed up it smells a little bit like pez.
Upon drinking it I still get the fruitrollup, but much more subdued. I imagine sugar would kick this thing right out there.
I had such a crappy week and the happy scent of this alone really helps. Drinking it doesn’t give me the same effect but I would probably buy more just to sniff it.

Lowering my rating of this by a good bit because I tried this over ice and it only brought out more of that “sun tan lotion” type jive that this tea has going on.

I really wanted to like you, indian summer, but I just don’t know.

You know, this is much tastier than I expected. I didn’t think it could possibly be enjoyable with everything that’s going on in here. Pumpkin&cherries&figs&watermelon plus various leaves and petals. Oh dear. Seemed to me as if they were trying to decide between several different themes to go with while blending and then someone said “screw it, let’s dump ALLTHEFLAVOURS in!!”

When I tasted it though, it was lightly fruity and pleasant. Hum. A nice surprise! I don’t really taste many individual flavours but they do, somehow, seem to work. Not something I’d buy for myself, but I’m so glad I got to try it!

I love the tart flavour of hibiscus and usually rejoice to see its random presence on the ingredients list but I have to admit that I’m baffled as to why it would be included in a white tea blend. Hibiscus has such a strong flavour that it doesn’t leave much breathing room for the Bai Mu Dan or the white peony. That’s my sole complaint.

Where the “tea-ish-ness” is lacking the delicious juicy fruit factor is not. The fruit medley is reminiscent of sour fruit gummies, or of a SunRipe fruit bar- which often has similar ingredients, but neither are as refreshing as Indian Summer. The hibiscus, when coupled with the cherry and lemongrass, creates a citrine sour cherry endnote that I adore. The apple-carrot combo and watermelon are cooling sweet “breaks” in the tartness. The blend is at its best when cooled or iced. I’m still searching for the pumpkin and fig. I’ll have to check the dry leaves to make sure I’m actually getting any in my steeper. It’s like a fruit scavenger hunt!

I was so surprised to open up this pouch and find all of these large pieces of dried fruit! Beautiful! I know this tea is called Indian Summer, but dried fruits seem appropriate for fall and the approaching winter. I couldn’t really find much actual tea, but was completely content with these little fruit pieces. The scent of the tea after water has been added is mostly of cherries. It reminds me a little bit of black cherry flavored candies, almost on the verge of being cough syrup.

Sipping.. it is surprisingly lighter than I expected. I find that most of DavidsTeas’ teas are stronger to the nose most of the time. This blend is much more mellow. It starts out a bit like sweet black cherry and becomes more tart. I’m glad that the tartness is somewhat subtle, but I wish that the other fruity flavors could be drawn out. I can’t really identify all of the fruits by taste. It’s more like a fruit cocktail (minus the tooth-aching sweetness) in that all of the fruits are joined in a syrupy cup — cherry, apple, plum, carrot?! The mixture definitely keeps the cup interesting and playful. I couldn’t decide on a tea this evening, but this one was perfect. Light & tangy fruits before bed! Thanks Invader Zim!

What a perplexing tea! The ingredients list looks like someone’s grocery list rather than a tea, which led me to even more confusion when I was getting it. It does smell lovely dry, although even there there was something . . . not off but it wasn’t calling to me either.

I steeped it at home and sipped hot and while I can safely say I didn’t dislike it, I also feel confident saying I didn’t love it either. I also have no idea how to describe its flavour other than sweet and complex. I finished my cup but it wasn’t memorable other than my confusion as to what exactly I was tasting. Even after two cups I still can’t figure out if I can safely say I like it. So odd. Not rating it because I honestly can’t give it a number, but its somewhere between 60 and 75.

So I think I might have a job! Yay! I have to call back and let her know that I want it but yay! I’ll be a receptionist at a vet clinic and then move to tech when I enter a vet tech program. They didn’t have room for an assistant at my level (which is a lot of large animal, but not companion animal experience). I’ve been college (and graduated) once and I said I didn’t want to go back but I think I’ll really like it!

Anyway, on to the tea! I cold brewed this, which may have been a mistake with the hibiscus but I won’t know until I try it hot. New tool for cold brewing! I’m using one of DAVIDsTEAs plastic bombillas. I usually cold brew in a glass travel mug, which has a strainer but it sucks. So, now I can use the bombilla and not have to transfer the tea over. Pretty cool! I’m also looking forward to using it with mate, but I think I still want their ceramic gourd. I just feel like I would probably wind up killing any natural gourd I had.

So I get a lot of cherry and apple when I sip this. Maybe a hint of watermelon. Not a whole lot of white tea, but as others have said there doesn’t seem to be much in the mix. I’m almost considering using some plain white peony and blending bits of this in so I get some more actual tea flavor. It’s alright, a little tart on its own. I think if I cold brew again I might try some agave.

This is good, but I feel like I’ve had it before, or something very similar… maybe I’m thinking of Cherry Blossom? But with a little watermelon thrown in. I like it a lot actually, and I think it would be great iced. It’s definitely very fruity and juicy. I don’t know about the lemongrass though. It has a beautiful clear peachy colour in my new glass mug (I got the Davids one with the branches, it’s so pretty!). I find that flavoured white teas do best with either a very long or very short steep depending on the tea, so I tried a 6 minute steep for this one and it came out pretty good. Maybe I’ll try 7 minutes next time.
During the entire time I’ve been drinking this tea, I’ve had “Indian Summer” by Beat Happening stuck in my head. I love that song, plus it mentions cherries and apple blossoms! So it’s kind of perfect for this tea.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7KNRC8SSAw

Alright, second sample from Davids Tea. I love the smell of this one dry and wet. It smells like some kind of candy and I am finding myself fighting to keep from eating it. The sad part about this is that I am not too much of a fan of the taste of this tea. I like the notes of apples and the hint of blueberry. The thing I do not like is that the blueberry and apple taste’s are fighting to hard for the top spot. I might try steeping it for less time later just to make sure it tastes fine.