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“another tea from the lovely cteresa though i must admit i’m glad there aren’t’t many more since between her and ysaurella/dinosara i’m looking at moving to europe so i can drink the teas i want,...” Read full tasting note
“My first Thé o Dor tea – and when I got more time I must write about my prejudices with that brand ( 20 euros for a fruit infusion tin! Site with music! the preciousness, particularly the...” Read full tasting note
“I am not a big fan of rooibos. I drank this tea by mistake…the cup was for my daughter, she wanted to try this one before me !…I took her mug in place of mine (full of Queen Catherine) This tea is...” Read full tasting note
“Thank you Cteresa for this sample. It sure is a win. This is a very mellow rooibos, a bit sweet and so easy to drink that the pot shows up empty before I could even realize it. The almond flavor...” Read full tasting note
Flavoured red rooibos with major notes of red berries, almond and sugared almond.
Ideal brewing time: 4 to 6’
Water temperature: 90°C (194°F)
another tea from the lovely cteresa though i must admit i’m glad there aren’t’t many more since between her and ysaurella/dinosara i’m looking at moving to europe so i can drink the teas i want, when i want!
I actually thought that i would like this more than i did. I am not a rooibos hater – i have both enjoyed it and not, depending no how it’s blended. In this particular instance the rooibos is wonderfully blended with the almond and red berry flavours….and that’s slightly the problem. I’m pretty certain that the RED BERRY flavour is just not something i generally like in french teas. I like ONE specific berry flavour and when there are multiple, i don’t enjoy it nearly as much. Now, having said that, i still drank my cup insanely fast and loved every moment of it…but it’s not as deliciously amazing to me as i’d hoped it would be for want of more non black blends in my cupboard haha
Thank you again cteresa
My first Thé o Dor tea – and when I got more time I must write about my prejudices with that brand ( 20 euros for a fruit infusion tin! Site with music! the preciousness, particularly the preciousness of not getting a description of the tea on its main page but a wordy totally random bit of prose with does NOT put me in the mood to order anything but instead dream of too much preciousness being considered a criminal offense!).
But had a chance to buy some of their teas by the weight and was dazzled by the scents – wonderfully tempting scents and prices were much more reasonable to try something – prices depended on tea, this was a bit over 7 euros for 100 grams which is on the higher end cost but not too shocking. They sold a minimum of 100 grams, so I had to ruthlessly stick to just one rooibos though all their loose leaf teas smelled divine.
I think I brew this slightly too cold and while it turned out a bit weaker than I usually like (mea culpa), it was still exquisite. It´s a red fruits (strawberry for sure, maybe some raspberry as well) with sugared almonds rooibos. The sugared almonds taste totally different than i would expect – nothing like bitter almonds (like Amaretto, or Pleine Lune), nothing like either normal “Jordan” almonds, nothing like toasted almonds, instead a sweet taste of raw almond nut (no inner skin taste!) except even better. Truly unusual and melding wonderfully with the red fruits and the rooibos base. The rooibos itself was noticeable, wonderfully woody and with a sort of caramel note some rooibos has. Exquisite blend (though do not follow my preparation details, I got to tweak how I brew this!)
I am not a big fan of rooibos.
I drank this tea by mistake…the cup was for my daughter, she wanted to try this one before me !…I took her mug in place of mine (full of Queen Catherine)
This tea is an exception…cteresa you won ! you found a rooibos I like ! sure there is strawberry and sure some raspberry as well, totally agree with you.I get the soft almonds and caramel notes.
And all these flavours are working fine together.
The dry leaf itself is noticeable it looks like little needles, so cute and rare.
LOL, oh I am sneaky like that – and also a believer on good rooibos. Pity what most people know is bad rooibos which indeed is not very nice. But Thé-o-dor uses a wonderful rooibos base and puts some wonderful flavourings on it.
I got a theory the better the rooibos the cuter the little needles look, the bigger and more defined they are, but not sure if that how one really grades rooibos!
I’m pretty sure between cteresa and you, I’m going to need my parents to pack an extra suitcase if they ever make it to France…just for my tea.
LOL, indeed France is a great tea shopping experience (it´s my number 1 shopping priority next time I am there). Theodor is my favorite right now, Mariage is always a favorite – I really don´t know why it is France which has so very many so very interesting tea blenders.
But a big vote for a space for Carpe Diem in your luggage (and their Milky Oolong!)
@ Sil : sure they should bring you back a full suitcase of French teas !
@ Teresa : I have an hypothesis …we want to beat England on its own field by proposing so much quality teas :)
Thank you Cteresa for this sample. It sure is a win.
This is a very mellow rooibos, a bit sweet and so easy to drink that the pot shows up empty before I could even realize it.
The almond flavor is really surprising, as if only the most tender center part of it had been used after being peeled and scrubbed. I really wonder whether there’s not some vanilla in there to make the brew feel so creamy.
Strawberries and rapsberries, I think so, but it’s an undertone to the sweet almond.
I also brewed a cup of rooibos des vahines, almond-vanilla, to compare it to Carpe Diem. Carpe Diem has more subdued flavors and those are a bit more diversified. The almond is definitely way sweeter and less bitter. And I can really taste a stronger vanilla flavor in Carpe Diem than in the other.
I’ll definitely go and buy some during my next trip to Paris.
It is a favorite for me as well, been reaching it for it all the time, nearly finished. It´s going to be a rebuy no matter how tempting new teas seem!
I can definitely see it. In a way, it’s similar to Marco Polo Rouge, always tempting, automatic reach, a guaranted pleasant moment and a brew perfect for anyone.
I’m not really a fan of rooibos, but reviews such as these are pushing me to (re)considering trying a rooibos from Theodor.
Yes, precisely, Marco Polo – and both a bit less intensely fruity than Berry Berry Nice (or Raspberry Vanilla), my holy trinity (or quartet) of rooibos (well and there is Nil Rouge as well). It´s a bit more subtle than the others, but love it and love how many notes it seems to have.
Barbara, I am a rooibos evangelist I guess, my theory is good rooibos bases are different and nice and lovely, while bad (cheap and sometimes not so cheaply sold) rooibos is nasty. I had two Theodor rooibos, carpe diem and marabout and they are both excellent, maybe the best rooibos base I have had yet (though carpe diem is almost finished and marabout is a bit more full so I guess I love carpe diem more). But other brands which got good rooibos – Mariage Freres, Yumchaa, some random bagged rooibos called Carmien I got in some supermarket which is from south africa. But bad rooibos is eurgh no.
Lafleuerbleue, I did not get any specific vanilla notes on carpe diem, but I have had it so often now I seem to just perceive it as a whole and not individual tastes. I have a theory that vanilla even in tiny ammounts goes sublimely well with rooibos (like vanilla going so very well with cocoa so almost all chocolates have a bit).
@Barbara if I like it it means you may like it because I am not a rooibos fan
Good to know! :-)
@ Cteresa: the major success of this blend is that it’s all perfectly rounded and the flavors all melt together to make them very difficult to distinguish individually – exactly like Marco Polo; it has the subtlety of taste that my favorites MD blends have.
Not that I do not also enjoy a blatant fruity flavors like Yumchaa’s. But those play in a different category in my mind.
A friend bought this and didn’t like it, so I’m giving it a go. Not a fan of red rooibos, so it has that against it from the start. It has the faintest scent of spices. Cinnamon? The flavors are almost soapy on the sip. Generic floral? I couldn’t name any fruit in this mix. There is a little bit of rooibos woodsiness in there, but the strange flavor covers most of what I dislike in rooibos. Something in it is making my throat tingle, like the beginning of an itch that makes you cough. Not for me, but glad to have tried it.
if i were to swallow a few socks would you take me as carry-on luggage?
this is really a very lovely rooibos and I am not a rooibos fan ! come come Sil for a French tea tour ! and if JustJames is still hungry after his socks dinner he can try a Mariage Frères Brunch …all the food is made with tea, fantastic
hahaha that would be AMAZING ysaurella…i will for sure let you know if i make it out to france!
james – i hate socks. ;)