Living in the Midwest has spoiled me, you guys. I recently left my full-swing-of-fall homestate for a business trip to Texas, and was shocked when I stepped off the plane and was greeted with a wall of thick humidity the likes of which we hadn’t seen near the Great Lakes for months. You see, the second the first cool breeze and slightly orange-tinged leaf make their first appearances here in September, I’ve busted out my entire (vast– trust me.) collection of scarves, colorful tights, and obviously– autumnal teas 🙂
This limited 
edition autumn blend from Plum Deluxe hit all the necessary checkpoints for a perfect seasonal blend– spicy? Check. Slightly sweet? Yessir. Caramel-y smooth? Done and done. Upon first blend, my cup is evocative of an afternoon in the orchards– the apple notes are present and delightfully smooth. I will say the second steeping loses the apple for me, but the cinnamon remains, and it certai
nly can carry this tea on its own. Whether autumn is in full swing where you are, or you’re sweating it out in the sunshine and greenery, this tea is a great one to carry you through the season!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Plum Deluxe
Description
Nothing says fall flavor better than apples and cinnamon — and we’re taking it to the next level with the addition of fresh spices and a splash of caramel, to create the perfect tea paired for enjoying freshly harvested foods, carving pumpkins, going on a walk in the fresh autumnal air, or savoring your own special fall moments.
Even better, our spiced caramel apple cinnamon tea only has a pinch of organic rooibos tea as a base, making it caffeine-free, so you can enjoy it as an after dinner treat or a lovely bedtime companion.
This is a limited-edition tea available until Dec 31st, or while supplies last.
All Plum Deluxe teas are hand-blended and infused with love in Portland, Oregon. Each 1 oz tea packet makes 15-20 cups. All organic ingredients — no sulfites, no artificial chemicals, non-GMO.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Falling Leaves from Fava Tea Company
Today is finally the day! I have had so many new teas to try lately and because of a pesky cold I couldn’t taste any of them. However, the cold is finally (mostly gone) and I can taste tea once again!
Before I get to the taste of this particular tea, I want to talk about the adorable dry leaf. Falling Leaves is definitely accurate because the cute little leaf sprinkles among the rooibos leaves actually looks like an Autumn leaf pile. It is quite fun and makes me that much more excited to start sipping.
Speaking about exciting, the maple smell that fills the air as soon as the water hits those little leafy sprinkles is mouthwatering. Even the dry leaf has a great maple scent.
That maple does transfer to the taste of the tea as well, albeit not as strong as it is in scent. Unfortunately it gets slightly muddled among the sugar sweetness of the melted sprinkles. In addition, the rooibos base is adding a sort of honey-like flavor which is just adding yet another layer of sweet with a slight bit of wood lurking around the bottom of the sip. With that said, that woody component helps balance the other flavors and keep it from becoming cloying. It is smooth and dessert-like but I just find myself wanting a more concentrated maple flavor as opposed to the collection of sweets I am getting here. As a whole, it is coming off more generic than maple.
This is the same issue I had with the very similar blend, Oh Canada! by DAVIDsTEA. The two teas are very similar, though the DAVIDs tea had a stronger rooibos base from what I can recall. In light of this comparison, it would be interesting to see how this blend fares cold brewed which was my preferred method for prepping Oh Canada
All in all, this is by no means a bad blend just a little lackluster when compared to the decadent smell. However, if you are looking for a nice and gentle sweet tea, you will find it here.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal/Rooibos
Where to Buy: Fava Tea Company
Description
This an outstanding seasonal blend is a festive combination of rooibos tea and rich maple flavor! Colorful sprinkles add to the fun. Enjoy this on cool fall and winter evenings. It’ll warm you right up, and make you smile!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Caramel Walnut Shortbread Rooibos from Simpson & Vail
Ahhhhh…Caramel Walnut Shortbread Rooibos from Simpson & Vail…you fill my nose with wondrous aroma and my heart with incredible joy!
Caramel Walnut Shortbread Rooibos from Simpson & Vail is a Flavored Green Rooibos from their new line of Dessert Teas and I am so happy we are one of the first ones to try it here at Sororitea Sisters!
Both dry and wet the smell of this Caramel Walnut Shortbread Rooibos from Simpson & Vail is one for the record books! It’s completely reminiscent of shortbread! And if you are a fan of walnut flavored green teas give this one a whirl because it’s darn comparable sniff-wise and without the caffeine! There is a sweetness and a bit of green taste to it too thanks to the Green Rooibos – I’m sure! I think that it’s AWESOME that they used Green Rooibos in this offering instead of Red Rooibos.
I feel Red Rooibos is being over used most of the time and companies aren’t using enough of the Green Rooibos. Oddly, I prefer Green Rooibos over Red. Okay, Okay…rant over. YES I’m excited they used Green Rooibos for Caramel Walnut Shortbread Rooibos from Simpson & Vail can you tell?
The flavor of Caramel Walnut Shortbread Rooibos from Simpson & Vail is super, too! It’s very dessert-like and helps with not only sweet tooth cravings but potentially carb cravings! YUM! And Caramel Walnut Shortbread Rooibos from Simpson & Vail is tasty hot or cold! SCORE for S&V!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green Rooibos
Where to Buy: Simpson & Vail
Description: Featuring another delicious caffeine-free addition to our Dessert Tea line. This new blend was easy for us to agree on. This green Rooibos blend brews to an amber cup with a nutty, buttery taste and deep caramel overtones. A delectable brew that needs no sweeteners.
When I asked Jim for his feedback on this blend he gave it to me along with this “4 out of 4 people recommend this. I know usually it’s 4 out 5 but we didn’t like the 5th person’s comments so we threw his results out and him in the quarry”. I think this caffeine free blend might be just what Jim needs this afternoon!
Ingredients: Organic Green Rooibos, flavoring, safflower blossoms, and orange blossoms.
Brew tea at 212º – steep for 5 minutes.
Caffeine Free. Certified Kosher.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
#MusicAndTeaMonday: Pina Colada Rooibos Tea from Steeped Tea
It’s not to hard to predict which song I am pairing with this #MusicAndTeaMonday: Pina Colada Rooibos Tea from Steeped Tea. That’s right…Rupert Holmes’ Escape (The Pina Colada Song)! But first let’s get to the tea at hand!
It’s funny but I usually don’t care for Pina Colada drinks. I LOVE coconut and I LOVE Pineapple. So why don’t I LOVE Pina Colada? I guess I am just that complex of a person. Having said that…Pina Colada Rooibos Tea from Steeped Tea wasn’t too shabby! I think it was because it wasn’t overly aromatic. Maybe that is why I’m not usually fond of Pina Coladas…I think they smell like sun tan lotion. Blah! Pina Colada Rooibos Tea from Steeped Tea does NOT smell like sun tan lotion, thankfully. It smells like pineapple and coconut.
The taste of Pina Colada Rooibos Tea from Steeped Tea was first – the red rooibos – but the coconut and pineapple fit in lovely. It was creamy, too! This was definitely one of the better Pina Colada drinks overall I have tried let alone a rooibos! You probably have to like Red Rooibos to enjoy this, tho, because the flavor of the rooibos is prominent. It provides a sweetness to it but I enjoyed it.
The only thing I would change about the dry contents of this would be to have pineapple chunks verses pineapple slivers. But then again that would probably change the overall flavor so I’m not married to that idea. Pina Colada Rooibos Tea from Steeped Tea was a nice surprise and a great song connection for #MusicAndTeaMonday so without further aahhh-dooo…Rupert Holmes’ Escape (The Pina Colada Song)…enjoy! Also…let us know if you participated in our #MusicAndTeaMonday in comments!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Steeped Tea
Description:
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Pineapple Bacon Rooibos from 52Teas
My husband (type B, carnivore) and my brother (type A, vegetarian) are friends, but they don’t agree on many things. One of the few they agree on: me. I’m great and they know it.
The other thing they both like: facon. (Fake bacon.) They adore this strange compromise between bacon and fantasyland.
I’m not much of a facon person, but I think this tea is fascinating. This facon/rooibos/pineapple tea is totally unlike anything I’ve ever had. It’s juicy, salty, and throaty. It’s lush.
It’s also a little bit peculiar.
I decided to take it and shove it in people’s faces. My roommate says it smells like “green olives.” My husband says it smells like “throat soothing medicine.”
I don’t know if it’s something I’d purchase, but I am so glad I got a chance to try it. This tea is so original. I’ll enjoy the rest of my sample.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description
This tea was reblended by request from one of our start-up Kickstarter contributors. I started with organic red rooibos and added bacon and pineapple flavors. I also added freeze-dried pineapple bits and vegan bacon bits – this blend is 100% vegan but I can’t be 100% certain that it’s 100% gluten-free. I’m not sure if the vegan bacon bits are gluten-free and the packaging didn’t assist me in finding out. The company that I ordered them from wasn’t any more helpful. (Sorry!) So if you’re one who needs to avoid gluten, I wouldn’t recommend this tea. I do take very special care to avoid cross-contamination – so the other teas are fine – but this tea, I’m not 100% sure of it’s gluten-free-ness.
The original description of this tea goes like this:
Did you think we were done playing with bacon teas?
So did I. But check this out: I was thinking about how much I enjoy a Hawaiian pizza or just a nice ham with a pineapple glaze and nice juicy pineapple rings baked on it… My wife is of the opinion that meat and fruit should not be mixed, but… well, nobody’s perfect, right? Anyway, I was thinking that if ham and pineapple is good, pineapple and BACON would be even better. And when I was thinking about what base tea to use, it occured to me that the woodiness that I personally somewhat dislike about rooibos might go well with pineapple and bacon, and oh boy does it! Juicy pineapple, salty bacon and refreshing rooibos are an amazing combination. Not to mention that it’s a guilt-free indulgence.
I stuck pretty close to the recipe for this blend. After reading my review of the original blend – read it here – I seem to recall the original blend tasting a bit too sweet, kinda like pineapple bubblegum with bacon flavoring which is just a little bit weird. Fortunately, I’m not really tasting that now which I’m grateful for. I taste pineapple – it’s the strongest flavor component and I taste bacon. The bacon flavoring does lend a certain ‘salty’ factor to this blend but you might want to add just a teeny pinch of salt to the cup to enhance that salty bacon flavor. But I don’t taste “bubblegum” or that sweet, sugary note that a ‘bubblegum’ description would seem to imply.
I am enjoying the balance of flavors better here than I think I did with the original blend – so overall, it’s a win for me. And hopefully our contributor enjoys it too and it’s a win for her!
Taster size is approximately 15g.
organic ingredients: rooibos, freeze-dried pineapple, vegan bacon bits and natural flavors.
