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.
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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.
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.