OYGFIB?*

Backlog:

OK, I’m seldom “excited” to try a rooibos blend, and even though Frank is a genius when it comes to blending I can’t say that even his rooibos blends are something that elicits excitement from me.

That said, I still received this tea as part of my subscription, so I gave it a try. And it’s not bad. It tastes a lot like a smoothie. If you drink it warm, it tastes like a warm smoothie which is a little weird, so this is one that I think tastes better iced, if for no other reason than the smoothie aspect of it.

The orange dominates, the banana is a little less distinguished. A casual sip gives off a flavor that is kind of creamy like a banana but not a definite banana taste. When I slurp, the banana is stronger. I think that this blend would benefit with a little vanilla, just to enhance that smoothie thing.

Good … I enjoyed it.

Well, I’m glad I’ve now finished this one up. It was stale and had that stale orange peel/old rooibos flavour that wasn’t my favourite. There was not a lot of banana or any other fresh fruit, only orange rind. After 20+ cups of this, I’m glad to free up some space for new fruity herbals.

Another tea from the EU TTB round 3 return.

Orange and banana in a rooibos…interesting! I often love Franks banana blends so I’m looking forward to trying this one.

The raw blend smells oh so orangey but then sweets into oh so banana! Strange but oddly nice, though the rooibos is a little thick. The orange is waxy and bitter while the banana is ripe and sweet, top that with a wooden yet floral Rooibos scent and you have the scent foundations for this blend.

As soon as my husband poured the tea (I asked him nicely while I searched for some empty zip lock foil bags for tea) he asked “What’s that smell of?”. I forgot to mention we would be having a fruity tea. I declared orange and banana flavour Rooibos, he said he would never have guessed that.

I can taste the banana :D Sweet, very ripe, almost creamy, then the orange with it’s touch of waxy bitterness, then the Rooibos kicks in with it’s ahem..unusual..natural flavour. The banana wins the show for the most part, and the Rooibos I can put up with. No where near the awesomeness of my beloved Breakfast Smoothie blend but this has it’s charms.

Sipdown!

I’ve had this a lot but never seem to get around to logging it. My tea drinking has dwindled lately to after dinner, so caffeine-free options work the best for me and this was an open packet of rooibos. Easy choice.

Honestly? It’s not my favorite tea. I don’t taste either orange or banana, and the rooibos is particularly woody. I think the fruit flavors that are supposed to be in this sweeten the whole thing up, but sweet wood that gets oddly slick as it cools just doesn’t do it for me.

I won’t be sad to see this one go.

Off-topic to this tea: does anyone have a 52Teas subscription? It’s something I’ve debated getting in the new year, but I’m not sure about. If you do have a subscription, how do you like it?

Yeah, this blend does seem a little bananas. Orange, banana, rooibos? Eh… I won’t say no to a banana blend from 52Teas anyway! But they have so many banana blends I wouldn’t necessarily go for this one. The dry leaf is super strong scented. It’s mostly rooibos but one fruit piece went into a T-Sac. It’s supposed to have both oranges and banana pieces. The flavor isn’t bad… equal parts sweet orange and sweet banana… I think the orange should at least be tangy to counteract the sweet banana. Maybe this one would be interesting iced.
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 tsp // couple min after boiling // 1 1/2 min steep