Adventure

mmm this is tasty…well that’s what i remember thinking but then i got distracted on my conference calls tonight and forgot to pay more attention to it. I picked this up in my swap with Scheherazade and i still have a bit mroe to have again so better tasting note then i promise!

My third and final Yumchaa red for today. I have to say that these are taking me by surprise quite a bit. The ingredients I think I’m least likely to be able to pick out are the ones that seem to come across most strongly. This tea is a case in point. It’s got a lot of ingredients, some of them, like hibiscus and rose hip, quite powerful in terms of flavour. Despite this, it’s the caramel and apple that I can pick out most clearly in the brewed tea. It’s no bad thing, I’m just surprised that they come across so well in quite a complex blend.

Anyway, that said, the dry mix is another busy, pretty one. There are quite large pieces of apple, kiwi, hibiscus, and rosehips, and generous fragments of almond. The smell is quite spicy — mostly cinnamon or nutmeg, I think, although neither are explicitly identified. It’s quite a clean and refreshing scent despite this, though, and if I inhale deeply I can definetly identify the apple and kiwi.

Similarly when brewed, the spice is the first thing I can smell, and then a slight frutiness. The biggest surprise is the taste. Looking at the ingredients list, it’s the kind of tea that shouldn’t work at all. Somehow it does, though. There’s a mild, background tart sweetness from the hibiscus and rosehip, and then a decided frutiness from the apple and kiwi. It all ends with a savoury, nutty twist from the almonds, and the deep richness of the caramel. All of which is held together by the spiciness that runs over and above it all.

I’m glad I saved this one until last, because it’s certainly an odd, complex tea. There are a lot of facets to the flavour, and I feel like it’s taking me a lot of time and concentration to absorb and appreciate them all. It’s so aptly named, because it absolutely is an adventure for the tastebuds. A unique and interesting tea, this is one I’m going to take the time to get to know properly. A great, if intriguing, first acquaintance!

It’s the second or third time I brew this and I’m not that impressed.
The dry tea looks lovely with the dried apple pieces, the almond pieces (I thought those were hazelnuts), some bark of rose hips. The spices include cinnamon and others, as of now unidentified.
The taste is rather pleasant, though I’m not a huge fan of cinnamon or spices in drinks. The almond flavor makes for a strong basis, but there’s a sour tanginess which strikes me at first, with the spices, that I’m not so fond of.
A very good quality rooibos that I most probably will never rebuy as it does not really correspond to my tastes. It’s definitely not an auto-pick from the cupboard, as there are so many others that I almost hear screaming my name and see jumping in their bags waiting for the teapot.

Fiiiinally working through my collection! The more teas I drink, the closer I get to buying some on my shopping list and opening ones I’ve already bought! My mouth is watering just thinking about the Jardin Bleu I have in storage, but first, let’s get through all these teas I’ve amassed over the months!

Last year I placed an order with Yumchaa for their Wanderlust but there was a delay in posting the tea, so to apologise, they sent me a bag of this tea, as well. I’m not much of a fan of rooibos with spices but the fruit and almonds included really piqued my curiosity – and hey, it was free, so why not?

This is my last serving, and in the effort to empty out the bag entirely, I may have brewed it a little stronger than I would normally for rooibos. First off; the aroma is POWERFULLY fruity. Strong citrus, probably helped along by another of the spices, but the scent is so juicy I feel like I could be approaching a fruit tea! And certainly the apple and kiwi come out very strongly in this one; the spices and almonds kind of round off the flavour, but the fruit are definitely the star of this tea. Not much going on in terms of spicy mouthfeel, but I’m glad for that.

What an excellently fruity tea, in any case. Thank you for this adventurous experience, Yumchaa! :D

Like all yumchaa teas, it is very fragrant, all natural ingredients and not aromas, and very pretty to look at. This combination is lovely on itself, the hibiscus does not overpower the rooibos and the seemingly random flavours meld in a lovely way. I would rebuy.