Bourbon Street Vanilla Rooibos

This is my first rooibos. The smell worried me at first. It was like vanilla pipe tobacco that my grandfather used to smoke. But I was pleased with the taste. Very smooth and sweet. I need to get a different strainer because mine aloud a lot of leaf into my cup, it must not be fine enough.

I have been cleaning out my tea cupboard, and this is one I found that I had less than an ounce left. Surprisingly, I do really like this one. I do have several that are of similar flavor and probably won’t need more for a while, but when I am in the market for a vanilla rooibos again, I hope I remember this one.

I know this is a variety from Metropolitan Tea. I have seen it offered many places. The vanilla is on the strong side. It does have almonds and maybe a light almond taste. I am thinking I like this one better than Red Rocks from The Tea Spot. I will have to try a few more for comparison. (I think I have 4 vanilla-ish varieties of rooibos in my stash….sounds like comparison time!)

Hmmm,
not to sure what to think of this tea… when I first opened it, a strong strong scent of vanilla came out… I like my tea strong but it was almost to much or it smelled fake.. but it looked beautiful with slices of almond and the flower petals! On the second whiff you could smell the Rooibos or what I assume was the rooibus, woodsy kind of like you are walking into home depot where all the wood is :)

I brewed it and the woodsy scent came out more but it still was really really sweet smelling. I tasted it and thought that it would have had a stronger taste… it was curious. I let it cool a bit and then i was able to taste the vanilla and the rooibos. But it was still pretty weak compared to the smell. I may have to try this one again and let it steep longer! Towards the end I was kind of overwhelmed with the smell since it was so strong. It was ok but I don’t think I would purchase again.

This tea is everything I was looking for in a rooibos. It’s thick and sweet and beautifully vanilla-y. The taste reminds me of something, but for the life of me, I can’t figure out what. It tastes like a really delicious cookie you never want to stop eating. I love this tea. Might have to try and figure out a way to order it. Thank you so much, SimplyJenW!

CORRECTION: The tea I have is not a rooibos. It is a China black.

I’m still on the fence with this one. I received a year’s membership to the TeaTable.com tea of the month club and this was the first tea they sent. It’s really pungent. I can’t decide if I like the aroma or not, steeped and straight from the bag.

I think in the end it does taste better than it smells, but I’ll have to give this one another go. I got hooked on the Belgian chocolate rooibos and left the Bourbon St to the wayside. I’ll edit my review later this week.

I like this tea a lot, but some may find the vanilla in this tea to be too strong. Which is fine with me, I prefer my tea to be on the stronger side. It’s not overpowering, just very noticeable. It’s smooth, very sweet, and aromatic. I would recommend this tea to anyone who has a bit of a sweet tooth and doesn’t mind their flavor a bit on the strong side.