This alone got me through all my presentations for finals week.
The mix of rooibos and MeiLu green tea means a naturally sweeter cup with lower caffeine. I make it both hot and iced depending on the weather. I do have a lot more fun smashing the dehydrated berries after they’re heated though, and watching the indigo lines swirl into my peach colored brew. This tea also has a great resteep value, hot and iced, although I seemed to get more hot brews.
It looks like there is a lot of lemongrass in the dry mix, but my first impression of the infusion is the inviting berry scent. It tastes like a summer shandy, crisp and fruity. It leaves my mouth feeling refreshed with a mellow lemon aftertaste – aha that’s where it went!
Yep, now I’m seriously considering brewing this in beer later this summer.
I’m all about supporting local Pacific NorthWest businesses and This company is literally right up the street from my school, so win-win!
The Mad Hat Tea Shop is celebrating their 10th anniversary right now, as if you needed another excuse to visit.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Rooibos/Green Tea
Where to Buy: Mad Hat Tea
Description:
We don’t know who came up with this one, but we are glad they did. Blueberry and Lemongrass taste amazing together and with the backbone of Mei Lu Green you have a terrific cup of Tea. The Rooibos gives it a richness that rounds it out nicely. Besides, how many times do you have the opportunity to taste Blueberries and Lemongrass. You’re welcome.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Treat Yourself to #SmoothSensualitea from #CupOfLove
Having a hard day? The hours at work getting too long? Did you get doused by a car passing through the rain puddle? Just need something to make you relax? It’s hard to go wrong with a tea named Smooth Sensualitea from Cup of Love. That’s a tea blend that you know will treat you right.
So kick off your shoes, hang up your coat, and breathe a sigh of relief: it’s tea-time. This rooibos blend is naturally caffeine-free, good for when you need to keep your cool or if you want to brew a cup at bedtime. This blend is all creamy vanilla bean coupled with sweet herbal marshmallow. The mallow flowers do bring a certain tone of sweetness to this tea, not to mention they look good with the cornflower blue-purple petals, a lovely contrast to the orange-brown dry leaf of the rooibos.
There’s a hint of orange in this blend, but it is mild, just a kiss of sunny citrus to go with all the easy-going creaminess. Overall it’s a winning vanilla blend, smooth, and creamy, and comforting.
Treat yourself to a Cup of Love tea.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Cup of Love
Description:
A naturally decaffeinated tea, African Rooibos, has a distinctive and plentiful-tasting red leaf. Blended and infused with the sweet allure of orange crème and a heartwarming vanilla, this tea is highlighted by the magnificent color of Mallow and Cornflower petals, that steeps a smooth and delicious flavor.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Carrot Cake from Tea Taxi. . . .
I am a carrot cake fiend. Like I have an insane amount of love for carrot cake. All things carrot cake. In fact, when I go to the Cheesecake Factory, I almost always leave with a piece of carrot cake and a piece of carrot cake cheesecake. Once I got home from the Cheesecake Factory and noticed the carrot cake slice was smaller than normal and we complained and took the slice back. We got yet another piece of carrot cake and another piece of carrot cake cheesecake as an apology for making us drive back there and I practically cried over leaving the “small” (if you ever got a slice of carrot cake at the cheesecake factory, you know that even half a slice is huge) slice there. I was 22. Oh and did I mention I was on a diet at the time? One that focused on portion control, so yeah, I am a little carrot cake obsessed. That means I had high expectations going into this as I do all teas named for this beloved dessert.
Though the scent here is creamy and cinnamon, this misses the mark just a bit. It nods at carrot cake without actually capturing the flavor. It is creamy but bland. There is a thickness that lends itself to the cream cheese icing but lacks the tang. Carrot sweetness is present but just doesn’t blend with all the other components in this blend. And the nuttiness, though having potential, is layering on the rooibos base gesturing toward the idea of baked goods but ones that have maybe soured just a bit.
If anything this is carrot muffin. Carrot cakes younger, more annoying brother who pretends to be as awesome as carrot cake but just isn’t. This one was disappointing though in fairness it was up against some pretty high standards.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Tea Taxi
Description
Ahh, carrot cake… A classic that makes you melt inside everytime! The good news is, you can now enjoy it on the go thanks to our delicious flavorsed rooibos!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Gingerbread Rooibos from Market Spice. . . .
I was a little nervous about this one. Like I’ve said before, I don’t usually like ginger. So I definitely approached this blend with trepidation. I wasn’t sure if it would be too spicy, like ginger sometimes is. I also don’t usually like rooibos, it sometimes has too much of a woodsy taste, too earthy. My hopes for this tea was more of a gingerbread cookie with icing.
My wish was granted! Once steeped, this blend smells like I am baking gingerbread cookies and mixing vanilla icing in my kitchen! I was so happy because the rooibos is basically undetectable. Its super smooth and sweet with a hint of cookie. The ginger is less spicy and more sweet, like the kind of ginger you taste in gingerbread cookies. I did add agave which definitely cut the spiciness and added some sweetness, but this blend definitely was reminiscent of cookies regardless.
I finished my cup in less than 5 minutes that’s how delicious this was. It was smooth and reminded me of those little gingerbread man cookies covered in vanilla icing. I actually love this blend so much that I wish it was caffeinated so that I could have it in the mornings. If it had caffeine I think it would be one of my favorites, especially in the fall/winter. I would really recommend trying this even if you don’t generally like rooibos because it definitely wasn’t a typical rooibos tea. Very yummy! This was the first blend I tried from Market Spice, but I will definitely be trying more in the future!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Market Spice
Description
This tea doesn’t appear to be available now but click below for rooibos blends that are.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
For Lemon-Lovers – #Limoncello from #TheNecessiTeas
Heads up for you lemon-lovers out there, this tea is definitely for you!
The namesake of this tea, Limoncello, is an Italian liqueur made from the zest of lemons. It’s known to be a sweet drink, despite the yellow citrus fruit’s sour reputation. This tea definitely tastes like distilled lemons and keeps the perfect sweet-tart flavor balance of citrus and cream, very much like tart lemon dessert bars with powdered sugar.
In the dry leaf, this tea smells strongly of citrus, but the lemon myrtle in the blend keeps the flavors natural and herbal, rather than smelling too much like lemon cleaning products. Along with all the zesty fruit flavors, there is something creamy and dessert-like in blend as well. Sweetness comes in the form of almost-caramel, brown sugar notes. This tea reminds me of the classic lemon drop candies or even luscious lemon meringue pie.
Despite being a green rooibos tea, this blend still brews up potent and flavorful. This would be a great iced tea lemonade companion, or a great surprise sweetness in an unconventional cocktail. I had to pucker up and kiss this tea goodbye after I blew through my sample size. Order a good size package of this sweet tea, you won’t regret it!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green Rooibos
Where to Buy: The NecessiTeas
Description:
The Italian dessert drink has made its way into a tea. Imagine lemon meringue teasing your taste buds, while sweetly melting in your mouth with a blend of vanilla and brown sugars. The lemony brightness shines through with lemongrass and a sprinkling of golden marigold petals, all topping a green rooibos tea.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!