African Autumn

This sort of tastes and smells like the liquid orange jello I’m drinking along side it (maybe that bit shouldn’t have been shared with the world). Although, this is noticeably more rooibos-ish than jello. It’s also less sweet. (excellent observations, Crowkettle). The finish is juicy tart- maybe there’s a little bit of hibiscus in this?

Orange jello isn’t my favourite jello flavour but it’s not bad. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to try this, BoxerMama!

My cupboard holds an ungodly amount of unopened rooibos blends. Most of them are autumn themed and from Della Terra. I’m going to drink them all this weekend. You can’t overdo rooibos, can you? This Easter is going to rock.

This tea has not gotten very good ratings on Steepster so far and after trying this sample I can see why. The aroma of it reminds me of orange kool-aid or tang. Actually it was not as tart as I was afraid it would be due to both the cranberry and orange element. It really reminds me more of warm juice than tea.

I do not think there’s hibiscus in here but it is very tart, too tart for me. Not sure if I will finish the rest of this sample or what I will do with it, barely drinkable IMO… to be fair the other cranberry orange rooibos I’ve had also had a similar effect. I just do not think those are two things I care for very much in tea anyway.

I’ve actually had this tea before – many, many years ago before I even knew what red tea was. I’m not really sure what I thought of it then, but I don’t think it was all that positive. Based on the smell, I don’t think that view is going to be changing any today. It basically smells like a lightly lemoned plank of soured, wet, moldy wood. The sourness in the smell makes my mouth water unpleasantly.

Okay, this is gross. Like, gross nasty made me gag a little when I sipped gross. The first taste is tart and unpleasant, then it shifts to woody and slightly less unpleasant and then it finishes with a sour and really freaking unpleasant.

Ever let a cat sniff toothpaste? For some reason one of my cats likes to sniff random things – toothpaste, nail polish, breath – and every time she sniffs toothpaste, she makes this really unpleasant face as she gets close to the source. She squints her eyes, flares her lips a little. Then she takes a big whiff… and promptly gags for the next few seconds.

Yeah, that’s me drinking this tea.

Maybe the sink will enjoy it more.

First Harney from the loose leaf order! I threw this sample in as a kind of throwaway to meet free shipping, and to have some more caffeine-free/decaf options in my house. I wanted to cry when I steeped this up, as I picked up the sample packet upside-down, open, and dropped about 3/4 of it all over the place.

:(

:( :( :(

But I managed to salvage most of it, and it’s back in the bag. Anyway, the tea smells delicious. Like cranberry and orange, with a little woodsy flair. It also looks pretty rooibos-ish, with little bits of orange things and whatnot. I used Adagio’s tea filters for the first time, since rooibos doesn’t need to expand, and I think it was a smart choice. The last time I made rooibos in the pot it got all stuck in the filter and was incredibly annoying to clean out.

So while cleaning the rooibos off my floor, I steeped this up for myself and the boyfriend. The resulting infusion is a very beautiful red color, rich and pretty. The boyfriend thinks this looks like cough syrup. WHATEVER.

Anyway, the wet leaves and the tea itself doesn’t smell as strongly as the dry. On the first sip, I was midly pleased. I could taste cranberry and orange, and under it all, as an aftertaste, that woodsy sweet rooibos taste that I’m really growing to like. But as my cup cooled down, things took a turn for the south.

I’m tasting hibiscus. I’m not sure if it’s really hibiscus, and it’s just my head playing tricks with me, or my tastebuds revolting, but it’s got that tart hibiscus taste that’s pretty different than cranberries. And now I can’t get that thought out of my head, and all this tea makes me this of is an upscale Celestial Seasonings Zinger. A type of tea that I’m definitely not a fan of.

I think there’s a lot of subtle nuances of flavor in there that elevate it above a typical Zinger, but the forefront of the flavor is pretty much that dreaded flower. Followed by some orange notes, and finished with rooibos goodness. It’s a bit tart for me, overall… this might actually be better iced, or gasp even finished with a bit of sugar to round it out.

Is it a bad tea? Not at all! I just don’t think it’s stellar, and I couldn’t imagine ordering more once this little sample packet is done. The boyfriend says that it’s good. “Very tart. Not a favorite, not very smooth. I can’t see drinking this all the time.”

Hmmm. . . I enjoy rooibos tea. This one doesn’t seem like anything really special. I’ll drink it, but not that often.
No flavour stands out, it pretty much tastes like rooibos. The smell is like cheap orange drink crystals.
My daughter liked it a lot.

I expected more. I’m mostly tasting the Rooibos with a little aftertaste of orange and cranberry. All of the other flavors take a backseat to the Rooibos. I’m a little let down. I drank half of my cup piping hot and the other half cold, due to my lack of interest. The hotter the tea, the more I tasted pure Rooibos. I got a lot of the sour wood taste and smell. When the cup had completely cooled, I began to taste the orange and cranberry a smidge more.
It’s an ok tea. It’s “Ehh”…with a little head nod to the side.

Tried this while at a friend’s house on a REALLY foggy day. We were originally going to go explore some caves in a provincial park near her place, but the fog was too thick to safely drive the 15 minutes to get there. So we made each other a cup of our favourite tea (I made her some milk oolong and she made me this)

WOW! I’m actually surprised I liked it so much! Not usually into cranberry, but something about the nuttiness of the red rooibos combined with the tart cranberry and sweet orange really worked for me. I sprinkled a bit of cinnamon on top and let it sit while it cooled, and it made me feel like it was Christmas all over again, especially with outside being so white (only with fog and not snow).

she didn’t like my oolong though and dumped it down the sink. It was tragic! I would’ve totally drank it for her!!

I decided to try this again for my evening tea, and drank it lightly sweetened. It really was not as bad as I remember. I do think there might be hibiscus in this blend, which is kind of unexpected. Anyway, I think I am going to try it iced next time….. But it will NOT be going on the repurchase list. I think hibiscus and red rooibos are just too much for me in one tea……one or the other is fine.

Grabbed a cup of this at Barnes and Noble, was excited to see they carried a tea other than tazo (because it’s starbucks inside). I’ve been looking for some herbal alternatives for evening tea, and thought this description sounded appealing. I tried a few sips and enjoyed the berry tartness of it. The rooibos really seems to do well with berry. I remembered enjoying a little cream with my rooibos teas I’ve tried previously. Adding cream, the tea curdled.

I don’t know what element it is in this tea, if it’s one of the ingredients, the fact the half and half is not super cold at starbucks, or possibly a reaction to the high heat of the water? This has happened to me with two rooibos blends before. Cream blends wonderfully with Tazo Vanilla Rooibos, but not the two berry blends I’ve tried. I remember raspberry syrup curdling in lattes when I worked at a coffee shop, maybe it is the cranberry?

Anyways, I took the tea home, tried a few sips and dumped it. I rinsed the bags and tried steeping a longer time 6-7 minutes with near boiling water. Taste was weak, barely there so I dumped it out.

Will rate again after I pick some of this up. I think its worthy of being an evening tea.

I don’t know what originally possessed me to put this tea on my Christmas wishlist, but boy am I glad I did! It’s not typically my cup of tea (pun intended) I don’t usually go for herbals, but have been trying to expand and explore more Rooibos. The no-caffeine factor won out and I decided to brew some up since it’s getting pretty late. It has a luscious tangy cranberry, that isn’t too overpoweringly fruity, and is a welcome departure from all the heavy, flavored black teas I’ve been on a kick with lately.

Reminds me why I went through my original tin of Cranberry Autumn by Harney and Sons so quickly this past fall.

l wasn’t sure about this tea. I took a sip and liked it, and then I took a sip and hated it. It kept reminding me of a tea I’d had before and as I got about halfway through the cup, I realized I’d grown up drinking this in the form of Celestial Seasonings Red Zinger. Blegh. The cool it got, the more I tasted the hibiscus, which is not a good thing for me. I like to drink my teas lukewarm or cold, so a tea that tastes bad the more it cools is not for me. I don’t think I’m going to finish this cup. It will be nice to have on hand when my mother visits, however. Thanks for letting me try this one, SimplyJenW! I had it on my wishlist and you just saved me money! LOL

If you like rooibos based tea, and if you like Cranberry Autumn by Harney and Sons, you will probably like this tea. One friend who only drinks greens and whites loved this one. I bought it so I would have a decaf option for evening, but in the evening I find myself longing for black tea, so I will mostly stick to Decaf Orange Pekoe and Vanilla Comoro. A good tea, though.

One of my favorite teas!!! I love this one. It’s naturally sweet, and is very calming to me. :)

Bleh. Usually I like Rooibos blends, but this sucks so bad not sure I’ll be able to finish the cup. I dumped a bunch of sweetener in the cup and it barely takes the edge off of the tart/sourness.

This is one of the few tisanes I like, while a little too tart for me at the start it mellows as it it slowly sipped while it cools. The cranberry orange combination is one I have always enjoyed and is mainly the reason why I chose this tea, the other is so that my grandfather would have something caffeine free when he decides he is going to steal some of my stash. Plus this rooibos will always be associated with one of my favorite professors who is always up for me dropping by her office with some of this and good conversation. So while it may never be a prefect “tea” flavor wise it will be memory wise.

I love African Autumn. It’s a wonderful evening tea with a delightful aroma. Very fruity and warm. It’s one of the few teas I don’t sweeten with a spoonful of honey.

Dig Rooibos, dig the packaging on Harney & Sons teas. In the latter sense, this is like a poor man’s Mariage Freres. In the former, this is not the greatest Rooibos I’ve ever had, but always suitable for impressing company with its fine aroma and appearance.

It smells a lot like fruit cocktail. There seems to be too much cranberry, and not enough orange. I’d like it better with spices. Not bad, but it would make a better juice.

I was at Barnes & Noble and the selection was limited, so this was my choice. I’m not usually a fan of fruity teas, so I don’t know why I was hoping this one would be different.

I found this to be entirely too sweet. Both the cranberry and orange were cloying to the point of nearly gagging me.

Had to make a stop at a Barnes and Nobles after work yesterday evening and ended up buying a cup of this sweetened with honey. Made for a pleasant reading experience.