Rooibos Suite

Thank you to TeaEqualsBliss for sending me some of this rooibos blend.

I kind of chuckled when I re-read your tasting note on this… it’s kind of funny that the tisane “left you wanting more” and the name of the tea is “I Want Some More.” An ironic name for a tisane, then, yeah?

Anyway… I have to admit that the description of this tea scared me just a little bit, and it’s got me hoping that it’s just coffee flavoring. I don’t want to be up all night (it is 12:45 am!) and I don’t want to start feeling sick around 3 am from drinking coffee. But I didn’t happen to read the description until after I actually started brewing the tisane, and I’m not one to toss a pot of tea unless it doesn’t taste good.

First impression: Eh… this is alright. It’s not bad … but it’s not really good either. It’s just very average. Very mediocre. Kind of blah and boring. Not at all what I would expect from the name of the tisane … unless what its meant by it is that whomever this “I” is indeed wants MORE flavor from the tisane. They want something more than what they’re getting. Because I can’t imagine actually asking for more of this, as is. Not with a world of teas and tisanes that are actually much tastier.

It also seems to me that the description is a bit off. It suggests that the sip starts off with a “creamy” coffee note. Well, I get coffee, but I don’t get a creamy coffee taste. I just get coffee. And the coffee is not followed by a “fruit crescendo” but more of like a jumbled flavor that is very difficult to describe. I still taste the coffee … but it is no longer a concise coffee taste, it is more like left over coffee notes from the start of the sip that have been clouded (Clouds in my coffee, hehe! Oh, yes, I do think that this tisane is making me a bit silly), anyway… the roasted coffee notes are sort of jumbled by a woody, funky taste that doesn’t taste at all like fruit. The finish does not taste like amaretto, either. It tastes nutty, but not amaretto.

It’s just kind of weird. And the flavor doesn’t really improve as the tisane cools, either.

Just very average, and not something I’d really ever want again. Kind of blah. It’s kind of like taking a vacation at the in-laws instead of going somewhere fun – it is still nice to get away and have some time off, but, there are numerous things you’d rather be doing. This tisane is like that. It’s alright and certainly drinkable, but there are other teas/tisanes I’d rather be drinking.

Thank you to TeaEqualsBliss for sending me a bit of this rooibos… it is really quite nice. I agree though, it does take a little patience. The first couple of sips were very rooibos and nothing else, but, after the second or third sip, I noticed the flavors of chocolate and pineapple emerging.

The chocolate becomes stronger as I continue to sip. Never really a STRONG chocolate note, but it adds a nice, chocolate-y creaminess to the cup and melds nicely with the nutty tones of the rooibos, which is now not quite as strong as it was in the first couple of sips. The pineapple could be a stronger flavor as well, but, it does brighten the overall cup.

A very pleasant cup.

This is ok…pleasant enough. I can taste the Amaretto Likeness but the Mango is lacking. The Sour Cherries only come out to play when it cools and only at the end of the sip. The Yogurt – I guess it added to the overall flavor but I couldn’t really tell it was in there stand-alone. I would certainly say it’s more Rooibos than flavoring. Like I said it’s pleasant enough but I was left wanting more of the flavors in the description.

Hmm… this is an interesting tea. It is tasty enough, certainly, but it doesn’t really have a strong, distinctive pomegranate flavor to it. Vanilla is a warm, creamy note, but not really strong… but it is certainly a more distinct flavor than the pomegranate. I taste more lemon here than I do pomegranate (interestingly enough, in this blend there were large, freeze dried lemon slices … why? I don’t know, but they did impart a distinguishable lemon-y note to the cup).

The black tea base is a strong flavor, relatively smooth and even-toned. My guess is that it is a Ceylon.

It is a delicious tea, even if it does suffer from an identity crisis of sorts. Even though I’m enjoying it, though, I can’t give it a really high rating because I was really hoping for more pomegranate.

I’m over committed and a little overwhelmed. Life has officially driven me to THE DUST! Not that dust… Fairydust. Maté is my drug of choice when my energy dips and there’s still much to get done. If I close my eyes, take a sip of Fairydust, and think happy thoughts all of my troubles will still be there when I open my eyes. However, the maté in Fairydust might just give me the boost I need to start kicking some serious arse!

Fairydust is a gorgeous herbal mélange with large slices of ginger, dried lemon pieces, peppermint, green mate, lemon grass, and premium gynostemma. This winning combination makes for the perfect flavor balance of fresh lemon and cool mint. It’s as soothing as it is uplifting. Yum!

I’m glad I gave this a few sips before starting my review :) It got better as I continued to sip!

At first I thought it just smelled and tasted like regular Rooibos but after cooling at room temp for a few minutes the flavors really started to pop!

The chocolate gave it a creamy type texture and taste which was nice but I wouldn’t call it an over the top Chocolate contribution.

The pineapple didn’t come out to play until it was a little warmer than luke warm. Once it cooled a bit more I could taste something like tropical fruit – but again – nothing overly intense.

It leaves an interesting floral/nutty combo for the end sip and aftertaste and was quite smooth the entire time.

This is pretty good! Tasty! I would love to try it with MORE chocolate AND pineapple tho…