Rouge Bourbon

This tin is nearly empty, and it’s had a hard life. The vanilla’s waning. But keeping with “use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without” (thank you Ma Ingalls), I tossed in a fingertip sized pinch of cacao nibs and a pinch of calendula leaves. That added a little twinkle and a little sweetness.

I have two quart jars of calendula leaves. At one small pinch per steeping experiment, my supply could well outlive me.

Note to self: when endeavoring to get through large numbers of tea in a day, perhaps it is not the wisest course of action to use the 12oz cup. And if the 12oz cup is selected, perhaps second steeps should be avoided. And perhaps caffeinated teas should be alternated with decaffeinated teas. The alternative is shaky hands, twitching and a desire to dance like a Muppet.

I typically save rooibos for nighttime but for some reason, it seemed like a good idea to try this one now. I’m still on the hunt for rooibos that I enjoy and Doulton was nice enough to send me a sample of this one to try. Which is awesome because I would have hated to have actually purchased this as I conducted my search. Because this? Is like concentrated rooibos. The smell is sweet and faintly vanilla-y and fully rooibos-y. But when I take a sip is when it really shows of the rooibos-ness. I think it is the sweetness of the vanilla that accentuates the taste of the rooibos because it pretty much beats me over the head with rooibos ickiness. Even with the aftertaste, it is still beating me while yelling, “DIE! DIE! I AM ROOIBOS, FEAR ME! DIE!”

Okay, maybe I’m being a tad bit dramatic (let’s blame all of the caffeine today, shall we?) but still, this is so freaking rooibos. It’s a floof of vanilla on top of concentrated rooibos. It is the essence of rooibos. It is the epitomy of all the things about rooibos I don’t like. Sweet, sour wood. From smell to aftertaste. For someone that doesn’t like rooibos (that’d be me), this is not fun.

Backlogged from earlier tonight.

Went to Faubourg with some friends tonight, a French patisserie in downtown Vancouver. They sell Mariage Freres tea there, and this was the first one that caught my eye. (For the record, they also sell them in the tins, however 50g is $38… Holt Renfrew is $24).

I found the smell of this tea to be standard rooibos, however the flavoring was very vanilla-rich, almost like a custardy booze. I re-steeped it twice with zero flavor loss, however I still wanted more out of this. More… bourbon? I dunno. I guess I just expected more from such an expensive tea, and one that’s hard to find here. I’ll order it again if it’s around, however I’ll likely never buy any loose for the house.

Rouge Bourbon is a tasty vanilla rooibos tea. I’m just not sure that I’m WOWd. The flavor is pleasant but I was hoping for something a little more bourbon… or special… or interesting. I get that vanilla extract is (often) made with bourbon, hence there’s (often) a bourbon flavor in the vanilla, but I still find myself wanting more from the flavor of this tea.

I’m a lucky girl because SimplyJenW spoiled me with an XL sample of this baby so I can give it a few more tries. Hug/ smacks to you my tea-friend :)

The flavoring is too subtle for a rooibos in my opinion. I felt it almost tasted like a plain rooibos…which I enjoy…but not what I was going after this evening. You know I love vanilla, but it was a barely detectable flavor. When it comes to rooibos, I do prefer the knock you over the head ones rather than the subtle ones. I feel that you could save your dollars and get a nice, plain organic rooibos and have it taste very similar. Still, a nice warm late night cup.

Thanks so much to Doulton for this sample!

I’ve really gone off rooibos teas. Somehow I can’t get the sense of sawdust out of my mind. I purchased this tea before I knew that I had to limit the rooibos in my life. It’s a superb rooibos with no false flavors and a strong vanilla taste. I am not certain about detecting the bourbon or any kind of liquor—maybe next time I’ll watch for it more closely.

So far Eros is winning my Mariage Freres top-affections. But this is nice and very vanilla-y for an evening tea.

http://instagram.com/p/X3IZz4Ic2Q/

The first few times I drank this tea, I was not wowed, though I found it very pleasant. But then, I realized this brew was one of those I picked the most easily from my cupboard, knowing I will enjoy it whatever my mood and taste preference are.
What I really like about it, is its simplicity : it taste like rooibos, with just the right hint of vanilla, which is never overwhelming, hence a very suble blend. For those of you wondering about Bourbon, it’s actually the brand name of the vanilla, grown in the Indian ocean (Mauritius, Madagascar or Ile de la Réunion); no link with the US whiskey.
I also have used it for making ice-tea (after a hot brew); it is absolutely perfect, both refreshing without any bitterness or aftertaste; the vanilla taste gives a smooth flavor, as if it were lightly sugared.
A favorite of my husband as well.
Very nice with honey, to doctor a cold or a sore throat.
I will soon have finished the pack and will definitely buy it again sometime.

Rooibos + vanilla is an unbeatable formula and rarely goes wrong. Rouge Bourbon, i.e. MF’s rooibos vanilla, achieves a perfect balance between rooibos and vanilla. You can taste both the candy-like sweetness of vanilla (Bourbon Vanilla, according to MF) and the unique earthy flavour of rooibos. MF has again done a amazing job, though as a vanilla lover I actually won’t mind some imbalance… haha ;P

A box of sachets of this tea was my Valentine’s gift.

This was nice, and calming. A good evening tea I think. The vanilla isn’t terribly strong but the rooibos is a very nice one.

Also, the sachets are ridiculous/amazing. There were no tins of this tea loose and I feel like bags take all the fun out of making tea, but the fancy little muslin sachets made up for it.