Rooibos Pecan Pie

Another sample from greenteafairy! She sent me both the black and rooibos versions of Dammann Freres Pecan Pie. Of the two, this one is my favorite! The rooibos isn’t overly medicinal and the tea has a nice smooth, creamy mouth feel. The flavor is definitely nutty (more almond than pecan) and has a honeyed aftertaste that just hints at the syrupy sweetness of a pecan pie. While this isn’t pecan pie in a cup, it is a very nice caffeine-free nutty dessert tea. I would totally drink it again!

This is basically a murkier version of DF’s black Pecan Pie. The flavoring that so clearly came across as marzipan with the tea base is definitely here, but rather than pure almond paste it’s just faintly nutty and very sweet. The pistachio note I picked up on with the black base is absent here, as is any hint of pecan or pie. The rooibos is rooibos, woodsy but not too medicinal. It’s just okay, but definitely not something I’ll buy again.

This is an interesting one. The rooibos itself is lovely – the type of rooibos full of color and flavor. There is definite additional flavor here though. In a blind taste test, I’m not sure if I would call it pecan pie, but it would be tough to get that in a tea anyway. Oddly enough, there was some definite toasty nuttiness but only towards the very top of the cup that could resemble pecans. Otherwise there was an odd sweetness that clearly could be the sugary goodness of a pecan pie (my favorite!) The second cup the next night still had plenty of flavor, and steeping at boiling for a number of minutes didn’t seem to ruin the flavor at all. It will be a great late night dessert tea option!
Steep #1 // 1 teaspoon for a full mug// 10 minutes after boiling // 3 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 3-4 minute steep

I brewed 10 minutes with hottish water (just below boiling). It smelled a bit plain and like artificial pecan flavour, but it tasted much better. That caramelly buttery taste of pecan, as well as the butteriness, were present.