Thanks go to Andrew at Simple Loose Leaf who provided me with a $50 credit to use towards their subscription service. This was the second tea that I was sent in my six month plan.
I should have loved this tea. Rooibos, Honeybush and Rose… these are a few of my favorite things. Sadly I didn’t, in fact, I actually had a very negative experience with the tea which I feel isn’t just a matter of my tastes, but a fault with the tea itself. While some floral teas lean towards the delicate side and really showcase the ingredients I think this particular tea takes its floral nature to the extreme. Personally, I felt it tasted like potpourri which was incredibly disappointing because floral teas tend to be among my favorites. On the plus side, it does resteep well and I was able to make three cups of tea from one serving of leaf. However, even the third steep was undrinkable, the rose flavoring was still overpowering.
Ultimately the most drinkable cup I was able to produce with this leaf came about by accident. I somehow managed to misread the temperature on my hot water pot and steeped my final cup 195°F for 1m30s which is well outside the steeping guidelines I was provided. I still found it to be overly floral and not entirely appealing, but I was finally able to taste some of the sweetness from the honeybush base. Perhaps this tea has more potential with lower temperatures, but it will have to wait awhile before I find out. I still have 2oz remaining of this blend, so I’ll save that as a project for a rainy day.
Come read the full review on my blog:
http://www.notstarvingyet.com/index/2013/11/5/tuesday-tea-african-rose-herbal-simple-loose-leaf.html
If you’re considering an order with Simple Loose Leaf use coupon code NSYSELECTION25 to receive 25% off.
