It’s getting to be that time of year again when I crave warm tea with cozy spices like cinnamon and ginger. It’s nice to have a chai option that is also caffeine free as most are made with black tea.
The first thing I noticed about this tea is that although the usual chai spices definitely stand out, I can still taste the earthy Rooibos. I’ve had a few other chai rooibos blends and usually the spices kind of takeover.
I’m enjoying my delicious chai with a splash of coconut milk and a little brown sugar. All I had was brown sugar and it actually goes really well with the tea! This would be a wonderful dessert tea since it is caffeine. But it’s also a nice tea to have in the morning.
The spices help wake up your senses, and it’s a nice gentle way to bring on your day. This is also safe for those who don’t like really sharp, spicy Chai blends. This has flavor, but it’s definitely on the gentle side.
I really enjoyed this tea, and I love to have Chai in the winter. This will definitely be in my regular rotation. This tea is also organic, free of pesticides, and fair trade which makes it taste even better in my opinion!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: TopQualiTea
Description
Masala chai (“spiced tea”) is a beverage from the Indian subcontinent made by brewing tea with a mixture of aromatic Indian spices and herbs. By itself, chai is merely the generic word for tea in Hindi and many other languages around the world, and was adopted into British slang as “cha” or “char”. The added ginger and other spices give the Rooibos tea some warm and spicy taste nice in the cold evenings with milk and honey but also loved by many at any time of the day.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Vivacious Vitalitea by Vampyre Tea Company (Cup of Love). . . . .
Steeping: 3 g at 212° in 1 cup for two minutes. . .
This is my first tea of the day so let’s hope it lives up to its name! It’s a rooibos-based blend, but it does have green tea as well so it’s not caffeine-free.
As the tea steeps, I’m watching it and catching a sniff here and there. I’m catching some whiffs of rooibos fragrance and, leaning closer, some honeylike flavor as well (which I at first thought came from honeybush, although I later discovered honeybush does not seem to be in the ingredients list). The liquid is turning dark reddish orange and I notice that a few bits of tea have escaped the mesh as well. (I would recommend using a finer mesh if you don’t prefer having small bits in your tea). It also smells a little bit acidic. The first sip has an interesting hint of flavor that I can’t quite place – citrus maybe? Or perhaps it’s from the rose petal I saw in the tea leaves before steeping. The overall flavor is sweet and not bitter at all or very astringent either; the flavor is welcoming but not too exciting. It doesn’t need any sugar, though, because it’s already so sweet. This tea could be a nice intro to rooibos; it does have some other flavors such as rose petals too, but they’re not too overpowering so you can still taste the rooibos flavor.
It’s good with milk too! Adding milk was actually a very interesting experiment because it ended up bringing out a completely different side of the flavor profile. I’d almost think that I was drinking a totally different kind of tea! That doesn’t happen often (and I do almost always add milk to my tea so I have plenty of experience).
Overall, I’d say this is a great, enjoyable rooibos combination with plenty of sweetness, perhaps a little citrus and/or rose flavor, and definitely no need for sugar. And according to the label it’s also organic and fair trade!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Cup of Love
Description
A revitalizing blend of herbs, flowers, and Green & Rooibos Teas to give you a boost of energy throughout your day. Its effervescent flavor is smooth without the bitter crash of an energy
drink. It leaves the body feeling clean, refreshed, and renewed for all of life’s adventures.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Lemon Raspberry Rooibos from Simpson and Vail. . .
If I were going to name this tea, I’d name it “Lemon Lemon Lemon Raspberry Rooibos,” because the lemon is really the main feature here. It’s the spotlight-grabber. It’s the one that turns ALL the chairs around on The Voice.
It’s a very zesty lemon. Not fake or sugary. Like someone actually squeezed out a lemon into a bowl and allowed you to drink some. It’s the real deal. If you like lemon, welcome to the main attraction.
The raspberry is the slacker younger sibling. When it arrives in class, its teachers are like “we expect great things from you, just like your big sister Lemon!” But Raspberry always shows up to class late, in the aftertaste. And it’s a bit underwhelming. There’s nothing wrong with Raspberry; it’s just meek and doesn’t always turn in its homework. We don’t taste it all the time. To be fair, it never really had a chance against ALL THAT LEMON. Perhaps if it’d been born to a different tea, it would have been able to hold its own.
The rooibos adds a bit of sweetness to the ensemble. It’s behind the scenes.
If we’re going with this school metaphor — and I feel like I’ve committed to it by now — rooibos is the mom at home. Rooibos sends the children out with their lunches neatly packed. The influence of rooibos is there, very delicately. But it’s clearly the least of the influences, even behind poor Raspberry.
If you love lemon, and want to go to the Lemon Show, by golly, come on over. She loves all that attention.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Simpson and Vail
Description
We have blended this “miracle tea” with black teas and herbs to create a wonderfully refreshing beverage. Enjoy hot or cold.
Ingredients: Black teas, Rooibos, organic lemon peel, organic raspberry leaves and natural flavors.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Peach Melba from Traillodge Tea. . . .
Caffeine doesn’t bother me as much as it does for some people but now that I have to go to sleep at a decent hour most nights to get up early for work, I try to make sure I have a selection of caffeine-free teas for the evenings. So now I am always on the lookout for good caffeine-free options. That is why when I saw this Peach Melba tea by Traillodge Tea in a traveling teabox, I had to give it a try.
This tea is made of organic rooibos, organic honeybush, organic apple bits, organic raspberry bits, organic marigold, and natural flavor. I decided to cold brew it overnight because more often than not, cold brewing tames the base flavors and allows the other ingredients to shine. That was my hope for this tea.
That doesn’t necessarily seem to be the case because there is a lot of honey notes from the rooibos and honeybush. The flavorings are subtle so they are taking back seat to the base which luckily is not medicinal or woody. I do get some raspberry but honestly I am just left wanting more. More raspberry. More peach. Just more flavor overall. If I had blindly tasted this tea, I don’t think I would have determined it was Peach Melba.
As far as rooibos and honeybush teas go, this is not bad but the flavors leave something to be desired. It was an okay drink but by no means Peach Melba. I don’t think this will be added to my line up of caffeine-free teas but it was fun to try.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Rooibos/Honeybush
Where to Buy: Traillodge Tea
Description
This is a Trail Lodge Exclusive tea. The inspiration for this herbal tisane came from eating a peach melba sundae, and just like the desert, this tisane is a refreshing treat. The sweet taste of fresh peaches combines perfectly with the tartness of raspberries. It’s as if summer has been captured in a cup of tea. This tisane is great hot or iced. Ingredients: organic rooibos, organic honeybush, organic apple bits, organic raspberry bits, organic marigold, and natural flavor.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Happy Zombie from Design A Tea. . .
This tea accompanied me to this season’s Game of Thrones premiere. I figured that the show is on at night (it’s a rooibos!) and has an army of the undead (the title has zombies!). SPOT-ON. THE NORTH REMEMBERS.
This tea’s spicy oranges taste a bit like mulled wine. It’s a little savory, a little sweet, and puts a dash of twinkle in your eye.
I don’t know if this is the influence of the show, but I could imagine this being served at a sturdy, rough-hewn wooden table. Maybe a tavern. Plotting to kill your enemies. Amassing a group of ragtag soldiers, arguing about where to ride the dragons to next, et cetera.
So next time you need something to sip while you’re cuddling your dire wolf, give this a whirl!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Design A Tea
Description
A crisp tropical Orange will jump out (no pun intended) with hints of cinnamon. Don’t know if it will make you want to embrace the next zombie while at the beach… but who knows. But PLEASE take warning-If he does want to snuggle against your neck… just run away really fast!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!