New tea, who this?
If I’m being reallllyyyy honest – I’m surprised this is the first time DT has carried a jasmine rooibos. I would have very much expected this to be the kind of bordering on “classic” sort of tea profile to have made its way into the collection sooner. If I’m continuing with the honesty… this isn’t what I would have pictured that classic profile to look like. Based on the name, I really would have expected a quite simplistic blend of majority rooibos with some jasmine oil or flavouring and maybe some flower petal accents.
Simple. Classic.
Does that mean I dislike this tea? No – definitely, not. It’s just not what I’d have expected. I mean, it does taste very jasmine forward – a more fresh and sweet jasmine than a super heady/perfumey one in my opinion. I actually don’t taste rooibos – I know for many that’s actually a good thing but any time “rooibos” is in the name of a tea I personally feel like the taste should be a bit more present. Not overwhelming or anything, but there – y’know?
Aside from that more fresh and dewy jasmine, there are other things going on in the blend – a touch of apple sweetness and, more interesting to me personally, a lovely light orange blossom undertone. I actually adore orange blossom as a flavour and I think it’s really highly underrated so I LOVE the addition of it here, even though it doesn’t fit with my idea or preference for a “straight forward” jasmine rooibos. More than anything else though, it just strongly makes me want a new orange blossom tea where THAT is the star ingredient/flavour…
I guess the only other thing maybe worth throwing out is that I find this tea very similar to Sleepy Lychee, minus the lychee flavour of course. It’s the same style of jasmine though so if you liked that little bit of jasmine in Sleepy Lychee then you’ll probably really like this one where it’s much more front and center. It’s a nice option for those seeking a caffeine free jasmine, all in all.
Friendly reminder that I do not numerically rate DAVIDsTEA blends as I’m currently employed there and it would be an obvious conflict of interest. Any blends you see with numerical ratings were rated prior to my employment there. These reviews are a reflection of my personal thoughts and feelings regarding the teas, and not the company’s.
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Well, Ros, you can count me among the rooibos-indifferent. BUT I, too, adore orange blossoms! The scent of them takes me back to being 5 years old and wandering through the blossoming orange orchards of Southern California with my mother. Yes, there used to be orange orchards there… hence Orange County, home of the mouse. Well, since there is an Orange County in New York, too, I guess that doesn’t track. But orange blossom fragrance is such a joy! Are there many teas scented with it? Can you (or others) recommend any?
I was envisioning this as you had described – quite plain. Interesting that it’s not, but still sounds like a tea I can happily pass on. Hah.
An orange blossom tea would be delightful. I’m not sure if they exist and I’ve missed them or if it’s difficult to use or something so companies just don’t. Maybe when I finish tasting new teas my next project will be experimenting with adding orange blossom water to cups of different unflavored teas to see which ones it works best with. I knew I’d need that orange blossom water eventually!
I’ve definitely spent some time brainstorming this week about what a potentional orange blossom time might look like… I know I’ve seen a few before, but blanking on where from. MTC does an Orange Blossom Oolong but it’s not actual orange blossom – just a floral tasting orange & oolong blend.
Well, Ros, you can count me among the rooibos-indifferent. BUT I, too, adore orange blossoms! The scent of them takes me back to being 5 years old and wandering through the blossoming orange orchards of Southern California with my mother. Yes, there used to be orange orchards there… hence Orange County, home of the mouse. Well, since there is an Orange County in New York, too, I guess that doesn’t track. But orange blossom fragrance is such a joy! Are there many teas scented with it? Can you (or others) recommend any?
I was envisioning this as you had described – quite plain. Interesting that it’s not, but still sounds like a tea I can happily pass on. Hah.
An orange blossom tea would be delightful. I’m not sure if they exist and I’ve missed them or if it’s difficult to use or something so companies just don’t. Maybe when I finish tasting new teas my next project will be experimenting with adding orange blossom water to cups of different unflavored teas to see which ones it works best with. I knew I’d need that orange blossom water eventually!
I’ve definitely spent some time brainstorming this week about what a potentional orange blossom time might look like… I know I’ve seen a few before, but blanking on where from. MTC does an Orange Blossom Oolong but it’s not actual orange blossom – just a floral tasting orange & oolong blend.