When I lived in South Florida, I got to know and love fresh key limes, and still wolf down key lime pie when it is made the right way. Lime is one of my favorite fruit flavors, and the best among citruses to me. In fact, I often add lime juice to plain black teas.

Given that background, in hauling this out of a Numi variety pack, I thought a tea made exclusively from dried lime parts would taste great otherwise, but too sour. It smelled outstanding in the dry bag and brewed up a murky tan color, with some finely powdered sediment at the bottom. The lime flavor is naturally potent, powerful and unpretentious, as I like. Some sourness came through in the taste, probably offset by the sweeteners I usually add to tea anyway. This made it taste like a highly concentrated, non-carbonated version of Diet 7Up or a Florida fruit-stand's limeade, but with one unexpected addition: pronounced bitterness. That caught me off-guard. Maybe the Arabian limes used to make this drink are supposed to be bitter, or that aspect comes from the rind peelings used. I typically use juice, not rinds, from limes.

Still, the flavor is not quite so bitter as to make it revolting, and I probably could learn to like this beverage a lot. I let the cup cool down and will warn that it is better hot than cold, getting more bitter as it sits.

Add your own review

Login or Sign Up to comment on this review.