African Autumn

Dig Rooibos, dig the packaging on Harney & Sons teas. In the latter sense, this is like a poor man’s Mariage Freres. In the former, this is not the greatest Rooibos I’ve ever had, but always suitable for impressing company with its fine aroma and appearance.

It smells a lot like fruit cocktail. There seems to be too much cranberry, and not enough orange. I’d like it better with spices. Not bad, but it would make a better juice.

I’m afraid I couldn’t make myself drink this one .. It smells nice, and it brews into an incredibly pretty colour, like a stunning orange sunset! But the taste, well it was simply unpalatable to me, even with sugar ..

I should note that after emptying my cup I actually tried two other Rooibos teas and had a similar experience with each, so I won’t bother giving a numerical rating – it’s just not my thing ..

I also found it a bit sad to pull a deflated sachet out of the cup after all the puffed out tetrahedrals the black & greens produced .. Call me odd but I think there’s a little bit of magic in watching tea leaves rehydrate, but this started & finished looking dead :(

But again – very pretty infusion colour!

I was at Barnes & Noble and the selection was limited, so this was my choice. I’m not usually a fan of fruity teas, so I don’t know why I was hoping this one would be different.

I found this to be entirely too sweet. Both the cranberry and orange were cloying to the point of nearly gagging me.

Had to make a stop at a Barnes and Nobles after work yesterday evening and ended up buying a cup of this sweetened with honey. Made for a pleasant reading experience.

This tea smells amazing, you can smell the cranberry and the orange subtly again the lovely red leaf tea. I have now tried this tea both hot and iced – it is fantastic either way. It only needs a bit of sugar when it’s iced, when it is hot it is fine without sweeteners of any sort. I recommend this for rooibos tea lovers as well as those who love the fruitier teas.

Had this tonight at Barnes and Noble. It’s good, but not as good as Mighty Leaf’s African Nectar!

while steeping it smells really nice but I felt it was lacking on flavor. I might have not steeped long enough & water might have been too hot. going to have to give it another try

Except for the fact that it’s only early September and it got up to 90 degrees this afternoon, today was kind of a perfect fall day. I went for a walk in the woods in the morning, I baked a loaf of fresh bread when I got home, and this evening I sat down with a tea that’s named after my favorite season.

But what a letdown! First of all, let me say that I love hibiscus. It’s one of my favorite flavors, and all other things equal, if I have to pick between a tea that does have hibiscus and one that doesn’t, I’m going to go for the hibiscus. But in this blend, it gets in the way.

For the first couple of sips while the tea was still piping hot, the hibiscus was all I could taste, and somewhat faintly at that (although the cup was tart all the way through). There was a brief window at a warm-but-not-hot temperature when I got a faint hint of orange and a little of the woodsy body of the rooibos, but once this mug reached room temperature, it was back to hibiscus water. I can’t say I ever tasted the cranberry.

This tea smells beautiful in the tin and I do love hibiscus, so I’m not giving up yet. I’ll play around with how I brew it, but my hopes are not high. This is what I get for trying to rush Mother Nature.

I typically enjoy Rooibos tea well enough as I can’t handle caffeine after 2-3 pm and need decaf/low caf teas. I found this steeped nicely with the type bags Harney and sons uses. But for me it was overpowering in flavor. I’m sure some will love it.