Prickly Pear Cactus

Really great, bright flavor. Blended well. Even brighter with the addition of some sweetener. Joyful, bright color. Tried at a friend’s house, then had to go get some for myself. Would probably be enjoyed by kids as well as adults.

Random Target purchase, because I rarely go so I had to check out their tea selection! I’ve enjoyed prickly pear teas in the past, and other prickly pear-flavored things so I figured I would give this one a try.

I actually really hate it, lol. I don’t know what this flavoring is, but it doesn’t taste like any other prickly pear-flavored thing I’ve ever had. It tastes floral, but in a super artificial and perfumey way. It’s very soapy. There’s a bit of fruitiness, but it’s a very artificial cheap Japanese gummy sort of fruit, and I can’t really place what it reminds me of. Pear maybe? Then there’s a touch of hibiscus tartness, which is honestly the most pleasant part of the blend.

So obviously, this is going into the rehoming box. I don’t see how anyone could like this, but the other notes written for it are actually fairly positive, so I guess it’s just me and my tastebuds not meshing well with this tisane!

Sipdown! I actually thought I had already reviewed this one because I grabbed a couple of bags out of the TTB a few months back, but apparently not! I like it. Not sure I’m really getting cactus, though I’ve only had that a few times. Mostly I taste sweet pear and a touch of hibiscus. It’s a nice dessert tea but not overly sweet. Not sure I’d go out of my way to buy it but definitely wouldn’t turn down having it again.

This is one of the four Target-exclusive Forager Edition herbals from Tazo, the one based on the Southwest US. So far, I have really enjoyed the Midwest “Wild Apple Sarsaparilla” and the Rockies “Juniper Mint Honey,” but really disliked the Northeast “Elderberry Blackberry.”

I was a little trepidatious about this one, as the “Elderberry Blackberry” listed chamomile quite high on the ingredients list, and this one does as well, and it’s a flavor I really dislike. I got a very off-putting soapy/baby powdery taste from the “Elderberry Blackberry” tea that I never could shake. And I’m picking up a bit of that same aroma here. But, there is a stronger melon/pear sort of aroma that is helping mask it a lot.

Thankfully, I’m okay with this on the sip. Perhaps it was the flavorings in the “Elderberry Blackberry” that created such an off-putting flavor, because I quite like this “prickly pear” flavor. It isn’t a flavor I could pinpoint very well myself (having tried prickly pear candy all of once in my life) but, I like it. It does have a strong mixed melon/pear sort of flavor, with a touch of florality. Hibi is listed first of the ingredients on the pouch, but honestly I don’t even notice it aside from a subtle pink hue to the yellow liquor of the brew (I’m a big hibi fan, so I wouldn’t have minded more of a presence from it, but for the vast majority of hibi-haters out there, don’t be turned off by its high placement on the ingredient listing). There is maybe a little citrusy-sort of tang, with a long steep? I’m not noticing the chamomile either, which is a bonus for me.

I don’t like this as much as the “Wild Apple Sarsaparilla” and the “Juniper Mint Honey”, but it is certainly enjoyable and I wouldn’t mind getting it again. I think this flavor will shine more prepared as a cold brew, which I’ll have to put on my to-do list.

Grabbed a bag from a tea box. This one smells great but isn’t as flavorful as I had hoped. Maybe I should have put it in a tinier mug. It ends up quite floral. I like chamomile, but this chamomile is a little soapy. There’s hibiscus, which adds a little tartness. I wish I had a second bag so I could try a more concentrated version.