Cinnamon & Orange Rooibos Caffeine-free

I received a full-sized bag of this from Alana as part of her Secret Santa gift – thank you! I love cinnamon, so the big whiff of spicy scent I got on opening the package put a smile on my face. The cinnamon is definitely foremost, though the orange is trying to hard to hold its own. I don’t notice big chunks of orange peel or cinnamon bark in the dry leaf, so either it’s finely ground and mixed in, or they used flavoring.

After 7 minutes of steeping, I’ve got a deep reddish-brown liquor with a warm and inviting aroma; now both cinnamon and orange are equally present. I’ll take the first few sips without additives, and note that the cinnamon is nice and strong – hot and slightly numbing to the tongue. The citrus note hits more at the back of the tongue and is a nice counterpoint. With half/half and sugar, this is a very yummy decaffeinated drink – great for the winter months.

Packaging: The tea was shipped to me in a wonderfully designed box for each individual blends I received. Inside each box was a bag full of tea leaves, much like the image above. It’s not resealable, but we did have air tight tins handy so it wasn’t a problem for us.

Smell: Before I say anything about what I think of the tea I would like to say that my cat seems to love the smell. I spilt a little on the floor and she wouldn’t stop smelling it. When I smelt it I didn’t blame her it smells DELIGHTFUL! It does seem like I have lit a candle because the fragrance has filled the room and it is quite lovely. Definitely a great blend to fill the air with a safe, fire-less “candle” ;)

First Sip Thought: “Wow….CINN-A-MON!”

Taste: To carry on with the previous category, you can taste the orange and rooibos quite well but I would say the most predominant taste is the cinnamon itself. Which to my boyfriend, is excellent because he knows what rooibos taste like and if he’s looking for a rooibos fusion he doesn’t want the predominant flavor to be rooibos. If he wanst that flavor he will just steep a plain rooibos. I would actually describe this tea as phenomenal. It is quite good and I highly recommend it. I do prefer tea that you do not have to add milk or sugar and this tea is quite good by itself (obviously with hot water). I am struggling to explain the unique taste of this tea but it certainly is unlike any other so I have nothing really to compare it too so I would just suggest that you try it yourself to find out. I think this blend would also be amazing to try iced! I’ll be sure to stock up on this blend when the weather warms up. When you try it out, make it fun and get creative with the endless possibilities.

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Was not a Rooibos partisan before or after this particular blend, but I must say it is the most delightful Rooibos I’ve ever tasted. Blended almost perfectly, the cinnamon and orange blend with the rooibos to produce a unique taste that lingers slightly. Excellent breakfast tea and also useful as a gateway to new converts to loose-leaf (a big crusade of mine..)