Green Rooibos Key West

How is the weekend halfway over? Ok so we kind of slept until half past 10 and then played Lego Marvel Superheroes until like 1 and I broke the salt shaker and set of the smoke alarm attempting to cook sole meuniere. Good day. I need more weekend than this. Booooooooo.

As for the tea, it’s nice having a tropical fruity solution when you want citrussy goodness with sweet sunshine and absolutely no coconut. The green rooibos base plays very well indeed with fruit, and this is a perfect example of that. And it’s also really nice when you leave the last third of it until it’s stone cold. This will serve me well in the summertime, I think.

Oh man, waiting for a possibly life altering doctor’s appointment is tiring! In two days I go to a GI doctor to find out whether or not yes, that rather ill thought out dismissal of me having Celiac disease after an unplanned biopsy when I was 21 was correct of not. Actually this will be a lot of looking at medical history and bloodwork and scheduling a new biopsy. I have been pretty gluten light for years (out of fear!) but lately I noticed that gluten makes me feel like death, so to prepare I have been gorging on the stuff, I feel like a corpse, but it is for science!

But enough about me, how are you? Fine I hope, enjoying some nice sunny weather while sipping tea? This is a good time of year for lounging on a tropical beach while sipping teas, but if you are like me and live too far away from beaches, you can evoke the feel with Green Rooibos Key West by Adagio Teas! With a blend of Green Rooibos, Marigold Flowers, Natural Passionfruit Flavor, Orange Peel, Mango Pieces, Natural Mango Flavor, and Natural Apricot Flavor, it is certainly a tropical party. The aroma is a great blend of tropical fruit and apricot, citrus, a touch of floral, and a tiny hint of woodiness and bamboo. It certainly lives up to its name as of sniffing the dry leaves, which is always a good sign.

Whoa nelly, steeping the dry leaves has turned the Tea Lair into a tropical paradise, minus the coconuts that I usually associate with the tropical things, but that is ok. Sniffing the now soggy leaves inside their little basket reveals some tantalizing aromas of fruity sweetness, primarily mango and apricot, there is a hint of floral in the middle, and at the end there is a nice zing of citrus. The liquid without its basket of leafy bits has a sweet and mild fruity aroma, very tropical, a fusion of citrus, passionfruit, and mango.

Tasting time! The first sip starts off a little dry and mild then all of a sudden a tropical fruit stand explodes in my mouth like a Jamaican Kool-Aid Man busting through a beach bungalow. It is not overwhelmingly sweet, more like delicate nectar of mango, passionfruit, and orange…this fades to a gentle floral and fairly delicate apricot taste that lingers into the aftertaste. The rooibos is there, but it is more like a guidebook on a tropical tour than part of the actual scenery, useful as a base but not overwhelming.

I am a shame to my proud Southern upbringing as in I rarely make traditional iced tea anymore, when I want iced tea I just cold brew it in my fridge for a few hours using my handy travel mug. Actually I am a shame to my upbringing even more because I just do not drink much iced tea, but some days are too hot and I want something cool. This tea seemed like a perfect candidate to cold steep for an evening sip (on my perpetual quest to find more evening teas that I love) plus iced tropical teas are just where it is at, yo. Remember that dryness and bursting in of fruit flavor? Totally gone as a cold brew, instead it is a smooth fruity sweet transition to a cool relaxation, it starts out with mango, then to apricot, then orange, until finally I am left with the afteratste of passionfruit. Why the apricot and passionfruit get reversed in cold steep is beyond me. Usually when I cold steep teas I just mention it as being good and if it had any awesome qualities, this is one of the few times that I think it is better cold. The flavors are more subtle and relaxing, it is like the difference between a busy afternoon and sunset. And with that, I am going to go lounge in bed fanning myself while sipping my cold tea, because it is HOT!

For blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2014/07/adagio-teas-green-rooibos-key-west-tea.html

Hi Steepster-
This is a sample from Adagio I decided to finish off today in my iced tea pitcher. It’s a good one to drink iced because the green rooibos is mild and the tropical fruit flavors come through. It’s refreshing and almost make me feel like I’m drinking punch. I wouldn’t mind getting this again if I routinely ordered anything from Adagio (I seldom do).

The Persimmon Tree has one like this which is also good called Peach Picnic. I may have to try some more of my rooibos blends as iced teas!

I’ve spent some time in Key West and have some wonderful memories of the place so I was very intrigued by this tea, and pleasantly surprised. It’s not so much that it smells like Key West or that it taste like something you’d drink in Key West, but it certainly brings the place to mind. It has a gentle flavor that builds through each sip, tropical notes you can’t precisely pin down but in a pleasant way. It has become my go to relaxation tea, easy going and a bit playful yet never dull. I would caution not to add too much sugar as it can overwhelm some of the more delicate notes. Very much a must for my tea cabinet!

The hubs says this “tastes like Key West” I think that’s a bit harsh…Duval Street can be a bit nasty depending on the time of day…haha.

But I agree with the sentiment. It does remind me of the tropics. The leaves have a light and fruity aroma which carries over to the brew. I find this one relaxing, and very enjoyable before bed or snuggled up with a good fic.

I’m loving the green rooibos sampler! This tastes nice and tropical, and a little perfumey. Must be the marigold flowers which is new to me. Not quite sure how I feel about that part yet :P

First time reviewing a rooibos, very excited.

The smell of the dry leaves was very fruity and pleasant. After brewing, the aroma is hard to place. It’s very distinct… It’s earthy, very floral. There is a very sweet smell that resembles the smell of a berry.

Upon first taste, my thought is how sweet it is. Not having added any sweeteners, I was surprised by the delicious berry taste on top of a usual green tea base. Delicious! There doesn’t seem to be much more from this tea, but it’s already one of my favorites.

I found that the fruit notes were rather mild, not overpowering as reviewed previously. The green rooibos has more of a hay or grass-like taste to me, but adding sugar to this tea really brings out the fruity notes. It’s really delicious!