Pineberry Honeybush is a caffeine free blend featuring freeze dried pineapple, strawberry and marshmallow root. This tea is from 52 Teas, tea of the week for April 8th, 2013.
What the bleep is a pineberry? Lemmie wikipedia it for you.
Pineberries are smaller than strawberries, but have a taste of both pineapple and strawberry. Funky! I was hoping to find some for when I reviewed this tea, but no luck. I don’t think I’ve ever seen these fruits in person, and I’ve see some weird ones like kiwi berry/grape things. I knew what a pineberry was when this tea popped up as Tea of the week at 52 Teas and was interested. I was more entranced when I found out Frank added some marshmallow root! YEAH! This tea sounds wild, sign this Tea Owl up!
My owl assistant for today is my silly Snowy Owl.
DRY LEAF: Pineberry Honeybush as a very interesting smell. It’s very mixed fruity and fluffly sugar sweet. The smells reminds me of tropical bubble gum, fruity marshmallows and flintstone vitamins.
Appearance? Lots of honeybush sticks with big rooty marshmallow root, along with lumps of fruit covered in the honeybush.
STEEPED: Pineberry Honeybush steeped is completely different of a smell! It’s like a creamy pineapple, reminding me of pina colada.
I steeped this tea at 200F for 5 minutes. The tea is a dark brown colour, similar to a black tea.
TASTE: Innnnnteresting…. Pineberry Honeybush tastes like bubblegum to me. The blend is slightly sweet on its own. The main fruit is pineapple – that delicious freeze dried natural pineapple taste (man, freeze dried fruit is great in tea) with a soft hum of strawberry. The marshmallow comes out strong and fluffy. The marshmallow softens the pineapple and melds into a bubblegum flavor to me. The honeybush adds a level of earthy twiggy flavor and some wateryness that I’ve also associated with honeybush blends. The earthyness works as it grooves with the pineapple, like accidentally eating a bit of the skin. No tart or bitterness in this tea.
Sweetened with some german rock sugar, the strawberry pops more. This tea tastes even more like bubblegum to me. If not bubblegum, those flavored mini marshmallows – just the pink ones! Wait a minute.. this is like ambrosia salad without the coconut (and piles of whipped cream)! Hmmm, do I dare make this as a latte? No, I think that be TOO weird.
ICED: I prepared Pineberry Honeybush iced, poured the strong hot tea over ice, a frozen strawberry, fresh lemon slice and honey. The pineapple (with the fresh lemon) perks up, bringing some tang back into the tea, with the marshmallow hitting mid-sip. Fresh strawberry flavor end of sip. I like Pineberry Honeybush much better iced as the fruity pops out more and the bubblegum echo is less. This iced tea just tastes like a cup of candy to me! As the tea gets colder and colder, it reminds me of a popsicle that comes in plastic sausage tubes.
COMMENTS: Pineberry Honeybush, you are a weird tea! An unusual fruit + Marshmallow = a fun tea experience reminding me of fun flavors of my childhood! This tea somewhat reminds me of DAVIDsTea’s Swampwater for a fun fruit flavor, however I don’t have any to comparison taste.
Overall, Pineberry Honeybush I can see being a big hit with kids! I’m not sure who else I’d recommend Pineberry Honeybush to… tea peeps who are young at heart with a sense of adventure and love for candy? Regardless, this tea is limited stock at 52 Teas – buy it soon, or wishlist it in hopes it gets reblended!
BLOOPER PIC:
