Ruby Red

Brewed a cup this morning, but got caught up with the kids – breakfast, getting ready for school, naptime. The cup went totally cold, so I threw some ice in it. Now that I’ve fished one of the babies out from under the couch, I’m sipping slowly enough to enjoy but quickly enough to be done in time to prevent the babies from finding some fresh method of getting hurt. Delicious!

This is not a good day for tea, apparently. Woke up late for the third time this week and had no time for breakfast tea. The beau did up my travel mug with Ruby Red to take me to work, but I get here and taste it and it tastes wrong. I don’t know what the problem is, but it does not taste like the Ruby Red I know and love. It’s too sweet (way too sweet!) and just..not right. Don’t think I’ll make it through this.

The travel mug was cleaned after the last tea I had in it, but this one, I’ve found, holds onto smells like nothing I’ve ever experienced. Hopefully that isn’t the problem, because there’s nothing I can do about that. My last travel mug was plastic, but I did NOT have problems like this with leftover tea smells. I want my proper Ruby Red back! : (

EDIT: I think the problem is that the tin wasn’t shaken up and rather than getting a teaspoon of Ruby Red there is a teaspon of fruit bits with a light hint of rooibos. That would explain the crazy sweet taste. After five brave sips, I’m pouring this out. Terrible morning.

Filled my travel mug with this to get to work this morning. I was a little uneasy at first, especially after my disaster with this a few weeks ago, so I had the beau make sure there weren’t too many fruit chunks in it (Maybe I can eat the extras??) and actually shook out the majority of the tea after about 10 minutes of steeping. Luckily there was a garbage can at my bus stop : )

I think the key to this for me is making sure that there aren’t too many pieces of fruit. I can’t be sure that was the culprit, but I’ve decided to err on the side of caution and am watching how many bits end up in my cup. Today, I was rewarded for this! A nice sweet fruity cup. Over time, I’ve come to find this a bit too sweet and generally enjoy Wellness more, but this is still a great treat in my cupboard, and one that I think will be delicious as an iced tea come warmer weather. In general I am not a fan of iced tea, but maybe this will be the year that changes. I think the sweetness of this tea will really pop.

Big mug of this to get me to work today. I forgot to put the water on in time so it didn’t get as warm as usual – but it was enough to get me through my -15 degree walk. I even missed the bus, but in a stroke of good fortune the driver stopped for me partway down the hill (there are advantages to taking the same bus every morning – Occasionally one lovely driver will take care to look for you!) Now I am finishing up the last traces of my delicious Ruby Red. I actually transferred the last bit to my regular mug as there were bits of rooibos floating around and annoying me, and when I transferred the tea I got a bit hit of pineapple. I can’t imagine why, but all of a sudden I seemed to be able to differentiate flavours. Magic!

Re-steep from yesterday. Despite having used half the appropriate leaf the first time around and adding none the second this cup is still really flavourful. It’s bordering on bubblegum sweet, but I am so impressed to get 2 solid cups out of half the required tea. I can’t wait for my order to arrive and drink proper strength though – get a little bit of everything in my cup. Mmm!

My lovely beau tucked the rest of my sample in my purse…I know I shouldn’t, but I’ve split it into two. I finished Wellness the other day, and I need a bit of emergency Ruby Red to hold me over until my order arrives. I’m so in love with this that I saved my T-Sac for a resteep, despite only having put half as much tea as I ought to have (FYI – still really strong! This is a FLAVOURFUL tea). Hopefully I can get the second steep. : )

Morning tea – No hesitation at all. I have a large lovely tin of Ruby Red and I intend to enjoy it. Even the beau got on track with this one – He forgot he’d had it before and went on about the amazing smell. It’s true! : )

Still so yummy…Going on a car trip, so brewed up a travel mug with the rest of my beautiful Ruby Red. Definitely doesn’t have all of the components in it, so it will be an interesting steep. As always, I look forward to the arrival of my order!! : )

I’m gonna start off with a complaint here. Why does Ruby Red never show up in the first drop-down list off options after typing Ruby Red in the search box? Teas that don’t even have those two words in the title come up first. Very annoying. Happens a lot with my teas. Maybe it’s based on popularity?

Anyway, I brewed up a mug of this to go as I wanted some loose leaf in my morning. I got a different mix this time, more tropical fruitiness. The rooibos is always there, but I love rooibos (apparently!) so that’s fine by me. I picked out an extra chunk of pineapple and threw it in my scoop, and I’ve been realy picking out a pineapple flavour, especially in the aftertaste.

Unfortunately, I’ve got a feeling in my throat that implies an impending sickness. This tea is making me feel happier, though I can see some Detox, mint and ginger teas in my future. For now, I’ll enjoy the lovely tropical Ruby Red (in which I continually want there to be grapefruit. I really want a good grapefruit tea. I don’t even know if that would taste right.)