A Visit to the Tropics

We've got a foot of snow and freezing rain now coming down on top of it here at Mt. Mackyntoich, so it seems the ideal day to talk about some tropical teas.

For my morning dosage of caffeine I started out with Republic of Tea's Passion Fruit Papaya Black (http://www.republicoftea.com/passionfruit-papaya-black/p/V00589/).  As with most of the Republic of Tea blacks, the flavoring is light and subtle.  While the papaya in particular is noticeable in the aroma and taste, this is not a sweet tea.  It retains the clean tones of black tea while keeping the sweet notes of the fruits in the background.

Celestial Seasonings (http://www.celestialseasonings.com/products) tends to be the entry level brand for herbal tisanes, inexpensive and found in most supermarkets. Nevertheless, it's got quite a few very nice blends with interesting flavors.  Today I'm drinking their Tropic of Strawberry. Unfortunately, it's been discontinued (http://www.celestialseasonings.com/products/discontinued), but I have to praise its virtues even so.  It's got the bright flavor of strawberry with an unexpected aftertaste and aroma of coconut.  Every time I drink it I think of Hawaii.  It lacks the complexity and intensity of up-market brand strawberry tisanes, but if you manage to find yourself an unopened box somewhere, I recommend picking it up.

The other tropic-inspired herbal tea for the day is Republic of Tea's Key Lime Hibiscus (http://www.republicoftea.com/key-lime-hibiscus-tea/p/V00687/).  I have a very uneasy relationship with hibiscus-based tisanes.  Hibiscus teas are made from the sepals of the Hibiscus sabdariffa plant (also sometimes called a roselle).  Used with too heavy a hand, I find that hibiscus makes tisanes too sickly sweet.  In the case of the Key Lime Hibiscus blend, the tart, sharp taste of the lime cuts particularly well through the hibiscus, keeping the flavor from trending into the ranges I dislike.  It's another bright, sharp, sunny tea, excellent hot and superb iced.   A tiny bit of sweetener deepens the flavor.  I experimented by adding True Lime powder (http://www.truelemon.com/true-lime) when brewing the base for the iced tea, and it was wonderful for a lime-lover like me.