Pure Vanilla

OMG…did I just find a Rooibos that I really, really enjoyed!? Better still, did I just find a magical ingredient that took that nasty rooty/smoky aftertaste that I usually get from drinking a Rooibos?! I think I did!!!! Vanilla!!! I don’t want to get too excited till I drink more, but I am very happy with my discovery and I may just buy a tin of this magic potion!

Sipped this warm with milk before bed tonight. I went out for wonton soup and hunan beef with friends tonight then came home for some tea and TV. Currently watching Showtime’s The Affair (I love Ruth Wilson – she was amazing in Luther if you haven’t seen it). I have 3 episodes to watch until the season is complete.

Anyhow – this tea is a favourite bedtime treat. It is smooth, creamy and semi-sweet. I swear all of this pre-bed rooibos is making my skin glow ;) I add a bit more tea leaves to this pot and steep for longer than usual (I add 2 mins onto the recommended time)

Definitely taste the vanilla in this tea.
But it’s kinda a weird vanilla. It’s like an artificial vanilla. D: Kinda disappointed with this one to be honest :( And it was really strong too.
Disappointed with this one :( Glad it was only a sample.

Thank you again for the great tea package, Beorhthraefn! I love the idea of a vanilla rooibos — the perfect comforting nighttime cup. I used the entire sealed sample from Davidstea… probably closer to two teaspoons. I didn’t actually see anything that I would call vanilla in the blend… it just looked like rooibos and marigold petals to me. The flavoring is certainly vanilla, but at times it seems like it has an odd aftertaste. Maybe that’s the rooibos though. A delicious cup full of something like vanilla, but I would have liked if it was more of an authentic vanilla, or at least tasted like it to me. Maybe rooibos just doesn’t pair well with vanilla… I don’t think I’ve ever had a vanilla rooibos before. Very dessert like anyway! The second cup held up well to the flavor of the first.
Steep #1 // just boiled // 2-3 min steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // few min steep

A red rooibos blend with yellow flower petals. The Mariage Frères version of vanilla rooibos is still fresh in my memory, so I can’t help comparing the two. This one has a similar vanilla aroma, and brews to a slightly less scary red color. In terms of flavor, it’s typical red rooibos, woodsy and warming, with a touch of vanilla cream. The MF version set a pretty high standard with the quality of both the rooibos and vanilla, and comparatively this one is not as rich or complex, but it’s still decent and enjoyable.

The cold evening calls for more tea, but I’d better stick to herbals as I have to get up early tomorrow!

Upon opening the package, the smell was vanilla caramel mixed with musty hay. And something I can’t quite place, though I’ve just recently been introduced to rooibos so that could be why.

The taste of this tea was a lot better than the smell. The first sip was straight, the vanilla taste was most def stronger than the smell. Still a slightly musty caramel flavor. I added a bit of light cream and sugar, and it was a little better. I’d maybe be interested in keeping a little more of this tea (like maybe 2 sample packs), but wouldn’t want to order 50 grams it.

Update: Oh but I did, ordered 2 ounces of it. Wanted a rooibos to share with the kiddo (since its kid friendly) because he loves stealing sips of mommas tea.

Dry Nose: Strong fragrance of imitation vanilla.

Taste: Weirdly chemical taste to this one. I’m never a fan of vanilla flavoring unless it’s from an actual vanilla bean. It just tastes like there’s something missing.

PTS TTB

There was some vanilla in there, but the rooibos really ruined it for me. I added some coconut creamer to my cup and it kinda just took over. It tasted good, but I think it was mostly the creamer I was picking up on. The second cup I made I drank straight, but enjoyed it more for the heat since I’m on the verge of getting sick and it felt a little relieving. It is a rare case when rooibos wows me these days.

Figured i need to start working on getting another round of sample sizes ready for me yo work through over the next month, so i’m trying to drink things that are close to being sipdowns but will take at least 2-3 more times drinking it. That includes the few teas i picked up from David’s this past weekend along with my iced pitcher. :)

This one isn’t too shabby. I don’t get a lot of “ROOIBOS” taste in this one, instead the vanilla comes across quite nicely. I think it might be fun to blend this with LB and cacao shells at some point just for funsies :) overall not a bad blend.

Another sample.

I made this one last night in my tea pot as the Davids rooibos sample packets tend to have too much tea in them for my usual mug (learned that the hard way with Gingerbread … YUCK!). This smells more like alcohol in the bag than vanilla and I didn’t notice any off smell when I steeped it – thank God! It steeps up to a dark red. Tastewise, it’s not really vanilla, just smooth and sweet, the sort of tea you can drink without having to think about it.

I don’t mind this … not sure it’d be worth purchasing in anything bigger than a sample quantity though.

Edit to Add: I put some of this in the fridge to drink later and, for giggles, tried it cold. Vanilla frosting. Vaguely vanilla, but I like it nonetheless.