[Backstory: I have a habit of buying odd-looking, usually foreign foods just because they pique my curiosity. I used to send them to my friend Christian (for example, one time I sent him this hilariously-named food), but here in NYC, there's so many weird new foods, I'd go broke with postage costs, so now I just eat them myself and share it with him by blogging about it.]
Name: Deluxe Garden Fresh Forest Tea
Imported from: Poland
Purchased at: Frank’s Gourmet Market
Details: First off, yes, I know it’s not a tea and is, in fact, a tisane. Opening the package, it smells like, well, dried fruit, seeing as that’s pretty much all it is: blueberries, blackberries, bits of apple. Here’s a close up look at what’s in the package:
Looks like potpourri, eh? Believe it or not, that’s pretty much life size. This is some chunky ass tea. The directions say to add a teaspoon per 7 oz. boiling water. Now, personally, I am not so keen on having little floaty bits in my teacup, but a couple of months ago, I bought what I thought was a pack of tissues at M2M, which is this sort of pan-Asian convenience store. Imagine my surprise when I went to wipe my nose and saw this:
Good for tea, not so good for my nose. Anyway, I loaded one up with what I guessed was about a teaspoon’s worth — maybe a little more, because a level teaspoon was only about two or three of these dried chunks. I let it steep while I took these photos (maybe 4-5 minutes worth — I only just noticed now the package recommends 8-10 minutes steeping time. Oops).
I added some honey, and let it cool on the windowsill while I took one last photo:
At the first sip, I was a little unsure if I liked it or not — something about the smell reminded me of the unpleasant “uterus toning” herbal tea I drank while pregnant — but after a couple sips more, I found it quite pleasant, like an extra fruity Red Zinger.
hey hey…look at that mug…it looks like it might be bone china, right on (I think I wrote porcelain, didn’t i? I meant bone china…I’ll go edit it now)…and the tisane, ahem, tea, turned out a great colour. So you see? Tisane has its place in the tea pantheon…later…Nicola
Hey, I’m drinking some of that stuff right now, only I brewed it with some China black tea. Solidly fruity, decidedly tasty (yeah, like Red Zinger but without the XXXXing cinnamon!), and sneakily pricey. Still, you can get cheered up just looking at it, which is not something you can say for most teas, or tisanes. Just what Mr. and Mrs. Gnome would serve you in their little home tucked under the roots of the old beech tree. What I’m wondering is whether you can pick out reconstituted berries and eat them, sort of like an olive in a martini. Well, one way to find out… . . . Oops, sorry I looked. WHAT is this thing that looks like a giant boiled centipede? (I took a photo, but who would want to see it? Yuk!)
It really is like tea for hobbits, isn’t it?
So, did you eat it or no?
I just tried the Raspberry flavored tea and it was wonderful!!!! Where can I purchase? Is it available via online purchase?
You are the best
does somebody can tell me where I can buy “Deluxe garden fresh”?
Please send me information if you know website where I can buy.
My email address: Spumanti1@yahoo.com
Thank you
I drink this tea and it’s amazing!