The apple is very notable in this herbal tea. It tastes sweet, natural, and a bit sort of palate smacking--an apple juice-like taste rather than apple cider. Good stuff. The hibiscus provides background flavor/texture, but isn't as dominant as some of the other flavored hibiscus teas by this brand. This one has a refreshing taste and feel to it that I enjoy--particularly good if you're craving something fruity but not too citrusy. It's hard to pick out the vanilla flavor at first, though as the drink cools it's more noticable. It doesn't need that much sweetness, though, and I actually prefer it without noticing the vanilla. (Note: This tea does include stevia.)

For me, Republic of Tea's best hibiscus offerings are the Hibiscus Pineapple Lychee and the Hibiscus Coconut; this one is solid but comes in second behind those; the weakest, imho, was the Hibiscus Key Lime--which was disappointing. In all cases, though, I'm betting that the loose leaf versions would hold up better to multiple steepings. It was nice to try these cheaply first, though, using the choose-your-own 24 count tea bag sampler. More companies should do this so that I could affordably get a comprehensive sense of their brand.

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