Blueberry Rooibos

Meh incarnate.

I bought this tea several months ago from Rishi, but never got around to try it. I’m not the hugest fan of blueberries, but I figured it might be a nice caffeine-free alternative on the days when I’ve had too much to drink. It’s cold and icky here in NYC, so some hot blueberry goodness seemed right up my alley.

Man, when you open this package, the blueberry, it just hits you. A wall. SO aggressive! It smells tart and sweet and full of flavor. Blueberry concentrate. Blueberry incarnate. There are bits and pieces of blueberries mixed in with the rooibos, which is always a nice touch.

So I steeped this one up, and my entire kitchen began to smell aggressively like this tea. Seriously. It still smells. It’s hours later. My parents were freaked out when they came home. “WHAT IS THAT.” “teaplz, what did you do now?” Yeah, made some tea. They thought it smelled like perfume. And you know what, there is this undercut of floral notes. But for the most part, it smells pretty fruity, with a bit of a sour edge.

The color of this tea is pretty intimidating as well. Combine the reddish rooibos brew with the purple contrast of the blueberries and you almost get this bruise-like color in a cup. It also stained around the edge of the ceramic. This is some hardcore stuff, y0. A blueberry chain gang.

So I cuddled up on my sofa to watch some Buffy and Angel this morning, and took the first hesitant sip.

And man, is this TART. And SOUR. And… hibiscus-like. Yes, I am one of those people that can taste hibiscus almost immediately. The flavor profile on the first sip is not unlike Celestial Seasoning’s Lemon Zinger (or any of their Zingers, for that matter). There isn’t much body, and it’s just… BAM. I am here! There’s really not much of a rooibos, woodsy-hippie flavor going on here.

What kept me drinking was the aftertaste. Blueberry. Blueberry muffins! That’s exactly what the aftertaste was. It lingered on the tongue, the same way blueberry bear does (which is delicious, by the way). It was alluring. The faint wisp of what this tea could have been. Rich and succulent with an almost baked-buttery edge.

But again, it was only the aftertaste. And most of drinking tea is about the entire sip, from the moment it hits your tongue, through the body of it, finishing with those final notes. Ultimately, it was most of the sip that doomed this tea for me. I just couldn’t take the sour. The aftertaste pay-out wasn’t good enough. It’s like one of those movies that you watch for two hours and only the last five minutes are worthwhile. You admire what they did with those last few seconds, but you want your money back.

So unsatisfied, I dumped about 1/3 of the cup down the sink. The horrors, I know! Maybe with a shorter steep time, or some sugar, or even some milk, this one will mellow out. But for now, the blueberry dragon has defeated the teaplz.

You wake up to the sound of your alarm, and reach over to hit the snooze button. But you realize that your alarm clock is a blueberry. Confused, you sit up and reach to turn on the light, except that the light is a blueberry. You reach to pull back the duvet, only it has been replaced by a sheet of blueberries. Panicked, you run into the bathroom to look in the mirror, and…YOU ARE A GIANT BLUEBERRY.

Open the package and take a whiff, and it’s like every single entity in your realm of consciousness has been replaced by blueberries. The scent is strong, young Skywalker. Luckily, I like those little blue pellets, so this is an enjoyable experience for me.

The scent continues to waft up sweetly when the tea is brewing. The taste is a similar to the blueberries as well – slightly tart, but with an unmistakable sweetness [if you get good ones, that is]. The sweetness in this tea arrives in the finish and lingers in the aftertaste.

For me, the rooibos in this is almost unrecognizable. When I do taste it, it’s in the aftertaste, but it’s not strong.

I’m curious to try this iced.

So far so good, Rishi. You’re two for two. Can you keep it up? CHALLENGE EXTENDED.

Tea from last night.

I picked up this sample from the folks at Rishi while at World Tea East and I figured why not try it before bed last night. Well, I hardly got the package open before the smell of blueberries filled my senses! I enjoy blueberries and trust me the scent was there in a big way. So much that I wondered if I would get any of the rooibos in my tea.

The tea smelled a bit like the old Boo Berry cereal from way back. Which had my hopes up for a great cup as I used to love that cereal. But I was a bit disappointed in the taste. It tasted a little tart, but the blueberry flavor still seemed to get lost or not mix well with the rooibos. My husband tried it and he liked it…another first for him. But this one is not for me.

So, before I get into this tea, I’ll walk you through my day and how this tea comes into play…

Today was pretty amazing…. Spent the day golfing and drinking…. So I’m a little tired from walking through the golf course and whacking balls, plus drinking alcohol just dehydrates you more…. So throughout the day I’m slowly losing more energy bit by bit…..

This was followed up by the Blues’ final home game of the season. Keith Tkachuk’s final game…. And what a game it was…. such an unforgettable night….. The Ducks are a pretty decent team, and have been somewhat evenly matched against the Blues….. I could tell it was gonna be a good night…. Huge hits all night…. Crombeen beat the snot out of Brown… This got the energy flowing… Then two of the rookies the Blues picked up this season… Eller and Junland… Eller’s 2nd goal of the season, assisted by Junland (he got two tonight) was reviewed for a possible high sticking… called the goal good… Energy just keeps building and building… Brewer gets a goal, I dislike him as a player, but whatever, it’s a goal, I’ll take it…. Energy is slowly building…. Ducks got a goal, my energy level is put in check for now… Ducks get another goal, now it’s 3-2… My energy slowly starts to fade… Blues come back, Andy Mac to Tkachuk to Colaiacovo, GOAL!… Walt gets an assist in his last game!… Energy comes rushing back to me… But then stays at bay because not much is happening with the game…. Then McClement gets a goal, I’m so hyped up at this point because we are leading 4-3… Not even 20 seconds later, Perron to Tkachuk to Andy Mac, GOAL!… Oh my GOD I’m going crazy! Big Walt has 2 assists! What a final night for him!… Then my boy Backes gets goal 6 to put the nail in the coffin of the Ducks! (6-3)… Oh man, energy is RUSHING through my veins… In the final minute of the game everyone stood up and just started chanting…. KEITH TKA-CHUK! KEITH TKA-CHUK! KEITH TKA-CHUK! KEITH TKA-CHUK! The buzzer goes off, the crowd goes WILD… Tkachuk picks up the puck from his final shift in his final hockey game…. I’m so full of energy at this point….. Everyone keeps standing and just applauds Big Walt for a few minutes as he takes a final lap around the ring with his kids….. He gave a few words and there was a tribute video to him and his amazing hockey career…. I’m floating on cloud nine at this point….. Thanks for all the memories Walt…

So, after my not-so-short babblings I’ll get to where the tea comes in…. So I get home from the hockey game and realize I’ve gone all day without tea! And I need to quit drinking because I have a meeting at work at 7am and I can’t be hungover… So I wanted to end the night with some nice tea…. But it’s about 11…. I’ve already got all of this faux energy from the hockey game… so I didn’t want to stay up due to the tea… But I didn’t want a chamomile tea that would put me to sleep… I just wanted to be able to enjoy a tea and ride out this natural high that I was on… So I decided to give this a go since I just got my first Rishi order in a few days ago….

This tea smells amazing in leaf form…. The blueberry is definitely noticeable… The brew is a deep almost maroon color… Man… did this tea hit the spot…. Naturally sweet from the berries, and caffeine free rooibos… Typically when I have had berry teas in the past, they have been somewhat tart… but not this tea… not tart at all for being fruity…. Definitely soothing, but not like a chamomile or other nighttime teas that will leave you snoozing…. This is just a nice relaxing tea without all the caffeine and stuff… What a great way to end my awesome day…. with an awesome tea…. I’m glad I chose this as the first Rishi tea to drink…… I’d highly recommend it…

(P.S. has a second steep to it, but not nearly as flavorful and colorful… but still good)

(P.P.S. Sorry for the extremely long blurb for this tea)

(P.P.P.S. I think I’m just doing this now to see if I can get on anyone’s nerves by taking up their entire dashboard page….)

(P.P.P.P.S. Ok, I’m done now… Time for bed, g’night)

Once upon a time my little brother was nice to me and gave me some herbal tisane that had the most amazing blueberry flavor. I adored it and I drank the whole 3 cups worth he gave me. Sadly the store he got it from closed before I had the chance to restock a lifetime supply and he had thrown away the packaging leaving me without hope of ever finding it again. Many years passed but my desire for a delicious blueberry drink was still deep inside of me. One day, I came across this Blueberry Rooibos and figured I would try it and see if it would live up to my beloved memory.

This story has a happy ending because this is all I wanted it to be! I shall forever cherish this rooibos and hold it close! I will NOT be sharing this with my brother.

Mmm. I’ve been dying for some blueberry tea… for days. So yesterday I checked my mailbox and found a surprise tea package from Lizbet and it smelled like blueberries before I even opened the package. I’m so happy to have a cup of blueberry tea today. Thanks Lizbet!!!! I think I’ve tried this one before and I like it a lot more this time.

Update – I’ve been thinking about this one since I had it a couple of days ago and plan to buy it when I hit Whole Foods tomorrow.

This tea smelled so lovely! Just like blueberry pastries or pancakes. Upon first sip, there is a strange tangy, almost savory taste that I’m not too fond of. The smell makes me expect a perfectly smooth and sweet rooibos blend, but there’s that almost jarring flavor just waiting to pop out! I would have loved a smooth, sweet blueberry muffin flavored rooibos, but this just isn’t it. Thank you so much to oOTeaOo for letting me try this!

I absolutely love this blueberry tea- the scent is just overwhelmingly blueberry! Blueeeeeberryyy goodness. I love the freeze-dried pieces of blueberry. I won’t lie and say that I cannot taste the (organic) rooibos, but I actually like the taste of rooibos so this is fine. I do seem to be the only reviewer who could make it out though, so perhaps it’s in my mind. Do be mindful not to oversteep this one or it quickly veers into medicinal territory- berry teas tend to do that to me.If you’re getting a hint of the cough syrup, tone down the steepage. I love the Rishi flavors, I really do. Mmmmmm.

As soon as you open the tin of this tea a sweet blueberry smell hits you in the face(In a good way of course..). It’s very strong and as it’s hanging out and steeping it makes your entire kitchen smell like blueberries :] It made me SO hungry sitting there and smelling it. The taste isn’t so bad either. A bit tart but it’s very light. It reminds me of blueberry pie! Honestly.. I REALLY wanted a scoop of vanilla ice cream with this wonderful rooibos. I really liked it :]

Ooh, this is gooood. This truly does smell like blueberry muffins, as most of the other reviewers have stated. The taste is pretty great, too; I can taste a bit more of the rooibos than I’d like, but it blends well with the natural sweetness and tartness of the blueberry. I love that they use real baby blueberries in this tea!

I have a hard time drinking this straight, but mixed with some honey it is great. I look forward to trying this iced in the summer. The taste is of real blueberries, not that artificial candy blueberry flavor. It can be very tart if overbrewed.

This tea tastes artificial and very fruity; and, unfortunately, the taste of the Rooibos is overpowered by the other ingredients. The resulting brew is intense and flavorful, and slightly tangy.

The blend noticeably includes many real dried blueberries.

From the product’s label: “Ingredients: 100% Organic Fair Trade Certified rooibos, 100% Organic blueberries, 100% Organic schizandra berries, 100% Organic hibiscus, natural blueberry and strawberry flavors.”

Surprised to say, I love this. Makes my whole office smell like blueberry muffins. I do not like blueberries or fruit tea, but somehow rooibos has saved another concoction. On second steep I taste more of the hibiscus, so I’d avoid that unless it’s your cup o’ tea.

Oooooh, this tea. This tea, this tea, this tea. I am halfway through my cup and still not entirely sure how I feel about this tea. When I opened the package from Kristin (thank you!) this afternoon, I immediately opened this one and smelled it. And then again…and again. I love the way this tea smells.

I made myself wait until this evening so I could try the caffeinated ones earlier and it is a nice cup to round out my day with. It’s tart, but not too tart, sweet, but not too sweet, and just…juicy. That’s the word I’m searching for. Juicy.

I think I like it, there’s just a hint of something that makes it not 100%

This was the first tea that lead me to Rishi – I found it at a local coffee shop where I would spend lots of time doing homework. Kept going back because I didn’t know where else to get it!
Hot I add a bit of honey… but is also magnificent iced. A local cafe where I like to grab lunch is trained to bring me a glass of ice each time I order it :) Even my friends who “don’t like tea” or those who claim they “don’t like fruity tea” cannot get enough of this.
And what aren’t blueberries good in? Seriously… tea… beer… mmmm…

I got this tea from the lovely Four Seasons Hotel Houston while visiting their spa. (Don’t I sound fancy-schmancy? It’s totally an act.) Blueberry is one of my favorite scents and flavors so I wanted to like this tea, but ultimately it just didn’t do it for me. As I’ve seen in some of the other reviews, I also got an unpleasant tartness verging on puckery sourness from this tea. And weirdly, it smelled and tasted like artificial blueberry flavoring more than real blueberry. I double checked the ingredients and it doesn’t appear there’s anything artificial in it – in fact, the first couple of ingredients are organic and all that jazz. But there was just something generally displeasing about the tea that is making me not so interested in another cup. I did see someone else’s suggestion that perhaps this would be a tasty iced tea with a little sweetener added and maybe a wedge of lime. I’d be willing to try that. But as far as trying it hot again… No thanks.

I went to a local cafe today with a friend that has a decent selection of Rishi teas and decided I wanted to try something different. They said this one was a real crowd pleaser but I was wary because I had Teavana’s Blueberry Bliss and couldn’t stand it. But I gave it a try and boy am I glad! I didn’t get the chance to smell this rooibos dry but wet and in the cup the smell of blueberries wafted up and it was pleasant, not overpowering and I could still smell the red rooibos through it. When it cooled enough for me to sip it I was even more pleased, the blueberry and rooibos are blended so well together, so perfectly balanced and the blueberry wasn’t tart either. This is one of the best flavored rooibos I have had and I intend on trekking out sometime soon and adding it to my stash.

I first had this tea at a local cafe. I loved it! I’m already a fruit tea fiend, and this took the cake. I later found it at WF for a high cost, but bought it anyway. I was happy to see that I made so many cups from one container. This was my first time buying loose leaf tea ever. The smell that it gives your atmosphere once steeping is delightful! I always leave my carafe open to have the blueberry smell linger.

I like to add a little raw honey or tad of sugar in the raw to knock off the tart taste. This def reminds me of blueberry muffins, and it also tastes great w/ muffins too. I’ve noticed this tea to be a wonderful diuretic. I too did a second steep and its good, but not as potent as the first cup. To date this is on my list of top 3 teas, and I’ve been a ‘drinker’ for over ten years.

I’m not normally into Rooibos blends(because Rooibos is great by itself), but this one is a blast… of blueberry!

I love blueberry tea, but this one just didn’t do it for me. When you open up the package it smells like blueberries and it made my mouth water. I was a bit let down once I started drinking because it was pretty tart and I’m not a fan of tart teas. I did find that once I added sugar it was better. I also steeped this one twice and the second time around it wasn’t nearly as tart and much more to my liking.