Red Seal Black Tea with Peach & Mango product reviews

I am a huge fan of tea in almost all varieties and flavours. I have several boxes of various flavours in my house right now. I just had to give this one a go, one big advantage I discovered when I opened the box is the teabags are individually wrapped so I could easily pop some into my handbag and take along to work to enjoy on my breaks.

I like strong tea so I often leave my teabag in my cup for a bit longer than the recommended 3 to 5 minutes and sometimes I find that can make the tea taste a bit bitter but I really found that the tea was a great tasting tea, I do try and have my tea hot but with kids (both at work and at home) I often make my drink and get busy so when I get to it the tea is rather cold and this tea is great both hot and cold and luke warm if that is how I get to drink it.

The box is really colourful and informative. I could easily read the directions and information which is great as I'm sure my son is getting tired of me asking him what the instructions say on various items (I had to assure him that I am the one having a problem reading such small print).

I am that impressed with this tea that I have been to the supermarket and bough some more.

I was keen to try this tea as I usually have a couple of black tea's open and numerous herbal teas for after dinner and evenings. I try to limit my caffeine so was a a bit disappointed when this flavoured tea arrived and it was caffeinated.

I like my tea a lttle weak as I do not add milk, sugar or honey so it doesn't need to be too potent for me. When I opened the tea bag it was a strong smell of peach for me so it was clear this was not an ordinary black tea. I couldn't smell the mango but I am not sure I would recognise the smell of mango as easily as peach. The tag did not fall into the cup the first cup I made so that is a small success I always like when a teabag has a tag. So after trying the first cup I decided it was a bit strong and I was also going to to the cold brew technique (as often I like a cooled tea anyway).

First the hot brew - I did this in a pot (see picture) as I had already tried a sneaky cup of this previously and found it quite intense. I thought the colour was strong and dark and suited the black tea aspect of the flavour. I liked the fruity tones and they were clear in the smell of the brewed tea as well and it was a strong taste that I definitely enjoyed. I would have a word of warning here that I left one tea bag I hot brewed in the cup somewhat longer than suggested (until it cooled) and it became quite bitter so I would not recommend that technique

Next was cold brew - it was a much lighter colour and the flavour took a bit longer to come through and sadly because of the lack of vapours the smell was not as intense but I am told you could still smell it pretty strongly but it was a bit less successful for me. I will be doing the hot brew and throw in a few ice cubes but I can understand that it might work for some people.

I thought the tea was sweet enough to not add honey or anything else but I don't generally flavour my teas with anything else anyway. In future I would like to buy this but I am not sure where it would fit in my range as although it had a nice after dinner taste (quite dessert like) the tea had caffeine which is a no no for me in the evenings. Maybe a post winter lunch location would suit but it will be a lovely smell whenever I open the box too.

Since cutting out most caffeine from my diet I am a huge fan of herbal teas and red seal certainly have the best selection on the market. I enjoy the fruit varities and drink the chamomile/sleep tea daily. I had not tried this peach and mango variety but it sounded very appealing as peach and mango are a great combination. I loved these tea bags the peach and mango has a great flavour and just makes drinking tea a bit special. Fruit teas are certainly my preference over a normal black tea with milk and I love the fact you can drink them hot or cold.

Having had a terrible cold lately I have been having these with a little honey to soothe my throat although this sweetens the tea you really do not need to add any sweeteners as the tea itself with the fruity flavour goes down a treat. As a cold tea it is very refreshing I enjoy a flavoured iced tea and being red seal it doesn't have any nasties that pre bottled iced teas can sometimes have. I do prefer it as a hot drink but could easily drink it either way.

Having switched from coffee (mostly) to herbal tea I am quite happy to pay the price of these for a good quality tea so would say they are very good value for money and very appealing with the flavour choice. Definitely a first choice for me for a day time tea drink, with my red seal chamomile at night time. A winning flavour combination in my opinion.

I am not a coffee drinker, I don't enjoy the smell let along enjoy the flavour. In fact, I have many memories of making Dad coffee as I was growing up and feeling quite sick in the stomach as I hated the smell. Eventually, I had to block my nose while doing it! For this reason, I have never been a big fan of hot drinks, although I do enjoy having a hot chocolate every now and then, and if we go to a cafe I will have a hot chocolate or a smoothie. My memories of drinking tea are all from times spent with my Nana where I would add a pile of sugar and a whole lot of milk to make it palatable. Now as an adult and wanting to make healthy changes to my diet I am interested to find some other drinks that I can enjoy without having to add lots of unhealthy things like sugar.

The packaging of this tea is very attractive. It is clear what flavour it is both by the words on the front of the package and the image that goes along with it. Peach and mango are two flavours I enjoy so this particular flavour would stand out to me on the shelf in the supermarket. There appears to be a lot of information on the packet, apart from the front all sides (including the top and bottom) have words on them, however when reading a little closer I soon discovered that one side is about how to brew the tea - both cold and hot, the back gives a little further information about the product that the front of the box (of particular attention it mentions that the tea has no gluten, no artificial sweeteners and no added sugar), and the other side has the nutritional information panel and the ingredient list. I did notice that while the product has no added sugar and no artificial sweeteners, it does use stevia which is a natural sweetener. This didn't worry me as I use stevia in lots of my baking and cooking, but some people aren't a fan of the flavour of stevia.

I decided to make it as a hot tea first. I put the tea bag into my mug and poured water on top. It said to leave the tea bag to brew for 3-5 minutes so I gave it five minutes. The fruity smell was there as soon as I opened the tea bag and it intensified as the water hit it. I couldn't wait to try it as it certainly smelt delicious! Once the tea bag had brewed for long enough I took it out and sat down to try the tea. My first sip was very very disappointing. While I didn't dislike the product, I simply could not taste the peach or mango. To me, it tasted very much just like black tea. I was surprised that I didn't mind it though, and found myself going back for more without adding in a pile of sugar or milk! I would like to try some more fruit teas to see if there is one that tastes a little more fruity, however this won't be one I buy again.

To be clear, I am a black tea with milk drinker by choice. I do drink quite a lot of herbal and green teas but am a bit of a tea snob.
Upon boiling the kettle and opening the packet, there was a very strong smell of peach which I found a little off putting. A colleague beside me liked the smell a lot. I found the aroma very strong but the taste didn't match for me. I think that it would be more enjoyable drunk as iced tea in the summer. Colleague (who drinks a lot of fruity herbal tea liked it a lot so has had used the supply several times since!) I can easily imagine that this would be a very good base for a Kombucha brew.

I do like Red Seal Teas and drink other combinations very happily especially as they are all natural. I think if you are a fruit tea enthusiast you will not be disappointed by this product. If you are like me and like strong flavours (peppermint, lemon and mint etc), then this may not be to your liking. I would use this however as a base for punch in the summer instead of my normal black tea.

I'm not a coffee drinker, as I find the flavour far too bitter. Hot chocolate and tea are my go-to hot beverages, so new varieties of tea to try are definitely going to get my interest. Now whenever I'm trying to get my weight down, drinking teas is one of the big parts of that, as I use teas to fill my stomach, rather than food. But I like to calorie count, so even when it comes to teas, I scan it into my food diary app "MyFitnessPal". Interestingly, the teas will usually come up with zero calories (this packet boasts zero sugar too), so I was surprised to see the app say this particular tea had 2 calories. Now this is still a very low amount (compared to a orange juice, fizzy drinks, or beer which usually average 120+ calories), but it still gave me pause and made me want to figure out why it had calories.

The product has no gluten, no added sugars, and no artificial sweeteners, but what it does have, is the natural sweetener, Stevia, and also has natural flavouring added to "enhance" the flavour. But again, 2 calories is negligible, but interesting to not that the additives had an effect on the calorie content.

I decided to try the tea both as a cold and a hot brew. Making both at the same time, there was a significant colour difference right off the bat; the hot brew was instantly dark in colour, whereas the cold brew only managed a honey amber colour after several minutes and a thorough dunking of the teabag. The hot brew, despite being a black tea, was not bitter at all, and was quite a sweet full bodied flavour. The flavour of the sweetener was apparent, but not too dominant, instead allowing the peach flavour to come through. The cold brew on the other hand, while refreshing, was much weaker in flavour (which matches the difference in colour).

This tea would be ideal for me with a little bit of honey if I wasn't feeling well. The flavour didn't quite appeal as a cold brew, but made hot, the tea was flavoursome and aromatic.

As I opened the first paper wrapper and took out a teabag, I was amazed at how strong the peach smell was. It was almost as though I were cutting open a ripe peach - full and sweet and very enticing. But then the boiling water hit the teabag and the effect was doubled. This is the strongest fruit tea I have ever brewed. If the taste turned out to be as good as the smell, then it would be a rewarding experience indeed.

I had three friends to help me to evaluate this product because I am not normally a black tea drinker - I prefer coffee or fruit teas which are standalone rather than prepared on a black tea base. My friends are all work colleagues and all of them assured me that their preferred drink is a flavoured tea, so I thought they would be ideal to evaluate.

I prepared four cups and we left them to infuse for a few minutes. One of the testers likes hers quite weak so I removed her teabag and mine after a short soak. The remaining teabags we left in place for a bit longer as the other two said they preferred theirs stronger. During this time the smell of fresh fruit was so strong that several colleagues commented as they walked past and asked if they could have some too!

My first tester could not wait to try hers. She started to drink while the other two were still waiting for theirs to infuse. I asked what she thought but she waved me away until she had given herself the chance to drink more. Finally, after she had drained the entire cup, she said she was most impressed - not only did she think it was one of the most flavoursome she had tasted, but also one of the most successful blends. Usually she would not enjoy a flavoured tea where the fruit or floral flavour overpowers the tea base, but in this case it worked for her. As she said, it was anything but subtle - but it tasted so authentically fruity that it did not matter.

The other two were equally positive. Both loved the flavour combination, agreeing that the tea took second place to the fruit but it really did not matter. One of them said she would buy it and while it was nice served hot as a winter drink, she thought it would go perfectly in a sangria on a hot summer's day. She is going to buy herself a packet so she can try it. The third tester said she appreciated that the drink delivered what the packaging promised. She has had experiences with some brands that taste nothing like she would have expected, and one brand in particular (which she did not name!) was quite "putrid".

Ingredients wise, they all commented on the use of unbleached paper for the teabag pouches, the lack of artificial ingredients, and the bright, attractive outer packaging. One commented that she hopes the packaging does not change as it is sometimes difficult to find the product she wants when manufacturers keep rebranding and changing their image. She thought the current packaging for this product is perfect because it is eye-catching and means she can quickly find it on a supermarket shelf.

Personally, I don't especially like stevia, but although it is listed among the ingredients, none of us could detect it so it has obviously not been overdone. The other thing I liked was the long shelf life which means I can keep some on hand and not worry about it going stale. And although this type of drink is not my usual choice, even I had to admit that I liked this one. Can't wait to try it cold with that sangria!