Red Green Vanilla

I ordered a small pot of this in Birdman Eating, Melbourne. The teapot for 1 used by this hip cafe was way too lovely!!! :D

I must admit that I went to the cafe for tea more because of the beautiful teaware (this sounds really crazy, doesn’t it). I picked this tea sort of randomly from the menu, completely unaware of its nature. It’s only after my first sip that I realized it was something I had never tried before – green rooibos!

I am pretty new to rooibos and therefore I don’t think I have got a good grasp of its characteristics. But I am certain that green rooibos is totally different from rooibos, or anything else. It is very delicate… the flavour is hard to describe, which is sweet and perhaps slightly vegetal? Reminds me of wheat or straw. Not sure whether the sweetness is from the rooibos or vanilla though. I was definitely bewildered, yet I was also excited to have tried such an unusual tea! It’s not something I would buy for my cupboard, but it’s a pleasant drink for a lazy, quiet afternoon as it really puts you in a relaxed mood.

This is my first rooibos and as a huge vanilla fan I thought this would be a good place to start. I was looking forward to a caffeine-free vanilla tea to have at night and was told it was similar to black vanilla tea.

Having not tried other rooibos teas I am unsure if this is an indication of the range or simply reflective of this one tea.

I did not enjoy the tea – I found it tasted like weak, bitter black tea with a very slight vanilla scent, not taste. To have something that was both weak and bitter at the same time was quite odd and the fact that I couldn’t taste the vanilla certainly didn’t help matters. There was no vanilla after-taste at all rather I was left with a very bitter taste in my mouth.

I would not recommend this tea as it stands and would suggest if you’re interested in trying it to get a sample of it first to see if the taste suits your palate.