The plastic sachets of tea are transparent enough to see the tea leaves and some of the flavorings. The leaves are obviously broken, but the pieces are the same size as in the Pure Leaf loose leaf offerings. Looking closely, I can identify pieces of hibiscus and orange peel.

The dry tea smells overwhelmingly of fresh peaches. I can't pick out the aroma of tea or of any of the other ingredients.

I used boiling water and steeped for four minutes. The aroma is powerful and still smells almost entirely of peaches. I can pick out some sweetness that might be from the mango and maybe a flowery hint of the hibiscus. I'm a little disappointed that I still don't smell tea, but I have to admit that it smells delicious, anyway.

The first sip is shockingly floral, almost like potpourri and is not at all what I expected from smelling the brewing tea. There's a bitterness that doesn't taste like it's from the tea. Hibiscus is prominent and the tea is really astringent. I'm trying to taste the tea underneath the floral peach and I don't. I'm surprised because the unflavored Pure Leaf Iced Tea, also from Kenya, has a strong flavor on its own.

When it comes down to it, I don't enjoy this tea. Since it's intended to be drunk as iced tea, it's possible that some of the harsh flavors are more muted when served ice cold or maybe sweetened. I like the other Pure Leaf teas and feel bad writing this, but I just don't think this one's very good.

At $4-$5 for 16 sachets, the Pure Leaf teas are rather more expensive than other grocery store teas. The tea itself looks to be of high quality, but there are flavored teas from Bigelow and Celestial Seasonings that I like much better than this one.

Add your own review

Login or Sign Up to comment on this review.