Good Hope Vanilla (Red)

Curiously fruity when sweetened! This stuff doesn’t last a week when we’ve got it in the house. Beautiful.

I was hoping this would have more of a stronger vanilla taste, but it’s just…. eh. I don’t find myself reaching for it much because it’s not very remarkable.

Bought at Wegmans. I first enjoyed this in a Republic of Tea sampler last year. A nice rooibos tea with hint of vanilla. Good for an afternoon cuppa.

Arby Advent Day 9
I actually said “yay” when I saw this as my tea for the day. It’s one of my favorite liglty flavored rooibos blends. The rooibos is so full and tasty, and the vanilla is a lovely addition. I love this tea!

I’m really just not a fan of the vanilla in this. It tastes very weak and not as sweet as I might want it. However, it is a pretty decent bagged rooibos, especially for the price. Definitely not my favorite RoT tea. I could really take it or leave it with this tea.

See my full review here:
http://fullysteeped.blogspot.com/2015/12/the-republic-of-tea-good-hope-vanilla.html

I have tried a few different rooibos blends, and, so far, I feel like vanilla works best with rooibos. The vanilla flavor smooths out the rooibos without dominating or completely masking the rooibos, like a lot of fruit or chai rooibos blends. I would put this slightly above the Celestial Seasonings vanilla rooibos, and pretty much on par with a loose French vanilla rooibos I purchased from a local tea store in Fredericksburg, VA (they didn’t mention the brand, maybe Simpson and Vail?). This is the first time I have tried anything from Republic of Tea. Their teas seem kind of overpriced, but they were 40% off at World Market today. I’m starting to bring rooibos teas back…tons of antioxidants, basically impossible to oversteep, and caffeine-free, making them great for evenings! I will definitely purchase this one again when I run out…if it’s on sale. :P

I figured a warm cup of tea would go nicely with the light rain this afternoon and I wasn’t disappointed! This is a nice vanilla rooibus.

I actually got this as a loose leaf at Schuler’s Books in a french press. I really enjoyed it (and need to find better verbs than “enjoyed”). The day was frigid in East Lansing, and I was hanging out with one of my friends in desperate need of warmth and conversation. I got both while drinking this tea.

Rooibos is an interesting one, being an herbal, but also being naturally sweet and almost citrusy, yet oddly smooth and maybe creamy like a candy. The vanilla adds more cream to it, and while Vanilla is either overused as a flavor or just the right accent, it was a good pick for the rooibos. It’s vanilla profile was also enhanced by having actual vanilla beans with the flavor.

I would be willing to buy this if I was looking for a good Rooibos that I could afford, but I wouldn’t immediately go to this one. I linger back and forth from this to an Early Grey version if I could find it. There might be other vanilla rooibos that are better, but this one is still pretty good.

This is my go-to tea in the evenings. Its really easy to drink, has a pleasing smell, and like other people have mentioned it is hard to really over-steep it. You can drink it alone or you can add milk if you like.