Ciao Bella Pear Hibiscus Sorbetto

[By Nick, New for 2014] ‎If you haven't noticed, Ciao Bella has recently gone through quite the re-imaging process. They've put more focus into their product line and took the steps to improve the quality of ingredients they source for their gelato and sorbetto. They even changed their packaging to clear, reusable twist top containers like Talenti has. Even their website is updated. When I went to ask my contact about the changes, I found out she was also replaced as well. After a nice talk with the new representative, she offered to send me over some of their new line up to review.

Ciao Bella Pear Hibiscus Sorbetto
"Smooth Bartlett pear swirled with the sweet tartness of exotic red hibiscus sorbetto"

‎Among the faux pints were some safe flavors like their Madagascar Vanilla and South American Chocolate. I decided to take a different approach and go with the flavor that sounded the most unique/intriguing/scary to me: Pear Hibiscus Sorbetto. Now I love pears and can't believe how underused they are in frozen desserts. This might actually be our first review involving pears out of the over 1000 products we've covered. On the other hand, I have no idea what Hibiscus is. It sounds like a fruit to me...oh wait, it's a flower...that is used for tea... if you don't know me, I hate tea. I honestly can't stand it and now I'm more scared than I am intrigued.

Hey at least the hibiscus makes this flavor look pretty. That pretty swirl continues all the way down the container as well. Now first I'd like to say I have tried Ciao Bella's sorbetto before but that was long before writing for On Second Scoop. Long story short, all I got was a Blood Orange brick of ice and I wasn't too pleased. Thankfully, that's not the case here. While not as creamy as other sorbetto I've reviewed, it's still smooth enough to make you question if this product is actually dairy free.

I decided to go with the pear first for obvious reasons. The flavor is fresh and reminiscent of your typical bartlett pear you can pick up from your local grocer. There’s nothing artificial or complex going on here, just a light refreshing treat on this hot day. Seriously, why aren't pears shown some more love?

As for the hibiscus, well it's something. The flavor is sort of floral with those qualities tea have that I just don't like. It's obviously not my cup of tea (sorry, I couldn't help myself). Getting both flavors on my spoon was a terrible idea for me. The resulting taste is something similar to applesauce. You know how I hate tea? Well I can't stand applesauce at all. It is beyond vile to me. If I want an apple, it better be crisp and juicy. Not some pile of mushy sadness. Thankfully it's easy to avoid the hibiscus and I’m able to enjoy the bright pear flavor unadulterated.

I can see this one appealing to a large group of people as a whole. As for my dislike of tea and applesauce, I'd rather just have the pear sorbetto alone.

Verdict?  Go for it if you like the aforementioned flavors.
Buy Again?  If I could get the pear alone, yes. As is, I need to acquire a taste for tea first.

Dubba's Note: I can understand if Nick doesn't like tea.... but I was tempted to disown him after his applesauce confession....young whippersnapper.... apparently he's never had homemade applesauce, that stuff can't be beat.