Tugboat Tea: Hibiscus Tea

This afternoon I'm bringing you a tea which was sent to me by the wonderful teatourist tea subscription service.

The tea is from Cornwall based tea company, Tugboat Tea and it's their punchy Hibiscus Flower Tea.

I have been really interested in this tea since it arrived in my teatourist box.  I love how large and deeply coloured the hibiscus flowers are.

There are no further additions to the tea - it's hibiscus flowers and that is all. Plain and simple, though it certainly doesn't taste plain and simple.

I filled up a teabag full of the flowers. As the flowers are quite large I couldn't get too many into the bag, which is great as it means the tea will probably last a lot longer!

As you can see the leaves of the tea are large and I just loved the deep crimson colour! Visually, this tea certainly packs a large punch!

That exceptional colouring continues during the steeping process. This tea can be steeped for up to five minutes upon which it develops a blood red colour which is stunning.

I will admit that I was unsure about this tea and how I would actually like it as I've not tried hibiscus on it's own, only in other blends. I wasn't sure if it would be my thing or not, and I was pleasantly surprised.

The tea tastes just like cranberry to me. It's strong and has a depth of flavour which I find really nice. And as the tea cools that depth of flavour keeps developing.

The flavour of the tea though is quite tart and I will admit that as the tea cooled I had to add just a sprinkle of sugar to take the edge off. Of course, if you like sharper flavours, then this is most certainly a brilliant blend for you. For me though, I have to say, I did need to add sugar to it. Though I should imagine sweetener or honey would work just as well.

I found this to be a most refreshing cup of tea. It would work really well as a iced tea too!

I have to say I'm not sure that this would of been the first tea I would of thought to have brought (and that's the beauty of teatourist - you are encouraged to step out of the old comfort zone!) but I'm so glad that I got the chance to enjoy it's natural and unique qualities.

It certainly does pack a punch and the fact it contains no caffeine makes it the perfect evening cuppa!