Trader Joe's Red Refresh Herbal Tea

I don't drink nearly as much coffee as I used to, mostly because I've gotten lazier and lazier. I can't be bothered to make it properly unless I'm spending the day at home. These days, I'm back on the tea grind - chai, matcha, regular green, earl grey, ginger tumeric - I drink whatever I can get my hands on. Most of the time it's caffeinated because I'm generally a more sociable and friendly person when caffeinated, but sometimes it's nice to be able to have tea at night and be able to sleep. 

This is a new tea that came out over the summer. That word "refresh" reminds me of those Starbucks refresher teas. Could it be similar?

I was hesitant at first about all the stuff going on in this tea. Hibiscus, lemongrass, peppermint, orange peel, and cherry bark sounds borderline too herbal.

My first impression of the smell was "ew...licorice" until I glanced at the ingredients. It was probably the peppermint that I smelled first. I brewed it according to package directions. The peppermint isn't very strong but gives the tea a nice lift on the tongue. Everything else adds a faint earthy/herbal note, but it's the fruitiness of the hibiscus that really shines. The fruitiness level tastes similar to the passion fruit tea served at Starbucks (minus the passion fruit of course). I don't think it tastes that much like a tea at all. It's more like an unsweetened fruit punch. In that case, served cold with sweetener of your choice and maybe some bubbly base, it would make a nice non-alcoholic party drink. 

I still don't know about this being one of TJ's top 50 products, but I won't dispute it entirely. It's tasty, drinkable hot or cold, not too esoteric, and affordable too at $2.49 per box. I would have called it a ruby red refresh but maybe it would mislead some of us to think that it was grapefruit flavored. Can you imagine a grapefruit tea? Eghhhhh. A thought it tasted not bad, which is basically a compliment. The only tea he really likes is the pearl milk tea from our beloved Gong Cha. Pick it up before we abandon summer in favor of fall and all things pumpkin. 

TL;DR: Trader Joe's Red Refresh Herbal Tea. Unsweetened fruit punch. Kid friendly if you sweeten it. 7 out of 10.