Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Shanti Tea
Tea Description:
A light, fresh tasting Rooibos which is quickly withered and steamed to prevent oxidation. This allows it to retain its green color. It has a grassy aroma similar to sencha, and tastes mildly sweet. Studies have shown that green rooibos has more anti-oxidants than red rooibos, bringing closer in line with green tea.
Learn more about this tisane here.
Taster’s Review:
As most of you are aware (and as I’ve said many times here) I’m not particularly fond of red rooibos, although I do find quite a few blends containing red rooibos that are quite tasty. Green rooibos is another matter entirely, and I can’t think of a green rooibos blend that I’ve disliked. Pure green rooibos though, like this one from Shanti Tea … well, I had my doubts.
So let me start by saying this: It isn’t bad. Not my favorite tisane, but it’s tasty. It has a light, somewhat fruity taste with hints of grassy tones to it, but a little different from the “grassy” taste you might expect from a green tea. This is more like a grassy/woody/nutty flavor with a touch of sunshine and fruit mixed in. Reading that back I realize that sounds kind of hokey, like a commercial describing corn flakes or something.
I don’t mean it that way.
What I mean is … you know that certain sweetness that comes from fruit that you only get when you’ve picked it fresh from the tree when it’s perfectly ripe? That kind of sweetness you can only get when the fruit has had time to reach maturity in the summer sun. That’s the kind of fruit sweetness I taste here, melding with the vegetal tone to create this unique grassy kind of flavor that seems to sparkle on the palate.
Overall, the flavor is light, with a background of nutty wood tones and a foreground of the aforementioned sunny/grassy/fruit taste. It is sweet, but it is a light sweetness to match the overall lightness of the cup. It doesn’t have that almost-artificial-tasting sweetness to it the way I notice in many red rooibos tisanes. The flavor here is very natural and pure.
It’s a pleasant tasting, enjoyable cup, reminding me once again why I prefer green rooibos over the red variety.
A Raspberry in Paris Rooibos from Bernideen’s
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Bernideen’s
Tisane Description:
Spritely notes of raspberry come to the fore with light overtones of rooibos. Perfect raspberry jam finish.
Taster’s Review:
Another tea (or, in this case, tisane!) from the lovely Bernideen in Colorado City!
I’ll be honest, I wasn’t really looking forward to trying this tisane. I’m not big on rooibos, as I’ve professed many times. But, again, to be honest, lately it would seem that I find more rooibos blends that I enjoy than those that I do not. And this is one that I’m really enjoying!
But what makes this so enjoyable is not the rooibos, but the raspberry. This IS raspberry! I don’t think I’ve tasted a tea or tisane that has been more true to the fruit than this. This tastes like I just bit into a fresh, ripe raspberry. All that’s missing is the seeds (which I don’t like anyway, so I’m not missing them at all!)
That’s not to say that the rooibos is not at all present in this cup, because I do taste a light woody tone of the rooibos. But what makes this tisane work so well, I think, is that the raspberry flavoring seems to have brought out some of the subtle fruit notes of the rooibos which are often missed in other rooibos blends.
This tastes sweet with just a hint of that berry tartness, and the sip seems to sparkle on the tongue, reminiscent of homemade raspberry jam! YUM!
Birthday Cake from David’s Tea
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: David’s Tea
Tisane Description:
What’s the best thing about birthdays? It could be the presents, or spending time with loved ones, but let’s be honest. It’s all about the cake. With vanilla icing, and lots of sprinkles. And this sweet and festive rooibos blend brings the taste of birthday cake to your cup any day of the year – sprinkles and all. Best of all, not only is it low in calories, it also has all the goodness of rooibos. Talk about having your cake and eating it too.
Learn more about this tisane here.
Taster’s Review:
I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this here before, but, those that know me well know that I have a thing for cupcakes. I see a cupcake shop, I get all giddy – and even giddier when my husband indulges me and stops to let me shop for one or two. I even have a cupcake scented lotion that I use daily and it smells so much like cupcakes that my family perks up when they smell it, asking “something smells good. Did you make cupcakes?” Of course, they’re disappointed when they find out that I’m just softening my hands and not baking dessert.
And there’s no doubt in my mind that if I were not the only one awake in the house at the moment, that my family would be coming in here asking me where the cupcakes are … because this tisane SMELLS like cupcakes!
It tastes like a vanilla cupcake, too! It tastes sweet, creamy and like it should be about a thousand calories! However, according to the little nutrition label on the back of this pouch, it is about 1% of that – Just 10 calories! (If my math is way off, forgive me, mathematics has never been my strength). Of course, if you are one who generally sweetens your tea, you’ll be adding more calories to that count – but with just 10 calories in the tea and just 16 calories in a teaspoon of sugar, you’re still at just 26 calories! All that said, the truth is, you don’t NEED to sweeten this. It is sweet and delicious without the sugar.
I’m thrilled that I don’t taste much from the rooibos. Maybe a hint of nutty flavor in the background, but nothing too overwhelming. The same is true of the honeybush. I don’t get a lot of the woody/nutty taste of the honeybush, but I do taste a slight honey-like tone, which enhances the flavors.
But mostly, what I taste is CUPCAKE! This has a rich, creamy vanilla flavor, maybe just a hint of butter, and a distinct freshly baked kind of taste that rounds out the overall birthday cake flavor.
I like this. I like this a lot!
PecaMint from Design A Tea (Also Known As PeacaMint)
Tea Type: Rooibos
Where To Buy:
Design A Tea
Product Description:
“PeacaMint” Tea – Was our 2008 Holiday Blend. A smooth mix of earthy pecan flavor with that seasonal and traditional peppermint hint, makes for a “manly, yet soft” concoction. Blended in a Rooibos base and being naturally caffeine free, this holiday blend is PERFECT for cuddling up on a sofa and watching the snow fall outside your window. Which is always better than watching it snow inside your house I guess!
Tasters Review:
I’m assuming, although I don’t know for sure, that this one did so well, they now offer it full-time! What once started as a holiday blend – seems to have people talking year-round! OR…at least it has ME talking about it year-round! I LOVE THIS Flavored Rooibos!
This has some hearty peppermint on top of a decent amount of pecan and rooibos which makes for a unique combo of flavors! If you have tried Pecan Butter and then had something pepperminty afterwards you might get the idea of this flavor, here! It has ‘just enough…EVERYTHING” for my personal palate! It’s refreshing – yes! But it’s also quite fulfilling, too, like you just had a nice dessert! The peppermint lingers long after the cup is finished.
I think this is just dandy!
Fairy Dust Rooibos from Tealish
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Tealish
Tisane Description:
Drink this tea and you’ll feel like you’ve just been sprinkled with fairy dust, it’s so good. With notes of strawberry and kiwi, this blend of green rooibos, apple, strawberry, kiwi, orange blossoms, elderflower, and mistletoe, is our favourite way to escape to never never land once (or twice) a day.
Learn more about this tisane here.
Taster’s Review:
This is really REALLY tasty!
As I’ve said once or twice (or perhaps thrice!) before, I prefer green rooibos over the oxidized red version. The green rooibos is slightly fruity in flavor (as opposed to the woody notes of the red rooibos), and it has a light, almost sparkling kind of taste to it. I think given the name of this tea (Fairy Dust) I think that green rooibos was the perfect choice as a base for this blend.
The strawberry and kiwi are the two strongest flavors, with floral notes filling out the background. The rooibos doesn’t offer a strong flavor, but, I do taste it, and it marries with the fruit tones in this blend very nicely.
The strawberry tastes fresh and authentic, tasting like I just bit into a bright red, ripe, juicy berry. YUM! The kiwi is a nice flavor to accompany the strawberry as I’ve often thought the kiwi tastes a bit like a cross between a strawberry and a melon. It enhances the delicious strawberry taste, and adds a pleasing dimension to the cup.
I sipped my sampling of this tea (sent to me by a friend) hot, but as it cooled, I noticed the fruit flavors emerged even more, so I suspect this would be an absolutely AMAZING iced tea. One that you can serve to kids as well as adults without worry that you’ll be overstimulating anyone with caffeine (as it’s naturally caffeine free). A great summertime tea!