Rooibos

Today was date day! Ben and I tend to go out once a week on his day off, which also happens to be game day (not a coincidence) but he got two days off this week meaning we got to spread things out. Makes me happy because the sum of outings on Thursday (other than gaming) would be to my doctor, blech. So, we went to an Ethiopian buffet and walked around River Market, which I found out today is at the very end of the main bus line. Now that I know both a Chinese market and a farmer’s market is at the end, I foresee many adventures in my future, maybe yours truly will get over her silly phobia of taking the bus solo!

So, today we are going back to the beginning, by that I mean Adagio Teas! They were the first company I ordered from (really kickstarting my love of tea to full blown obsession…at the time I was apprehensive about buying online because I wanted to sniff the tea first, an apprehension that very quickly went away) and the first tea I reviewed on the blog, back before it was a tea blog and was just a me rambling blog. Even though I have since branched out massively, I still have a great love for Adagio, it is much like a homecoming. Today is all about Rooibos Tea, the legume from South Africa whose leaves make a delightfully red colored cup of tea! The aroma of the little red leaves is sweet and woody, exactly the way I expect Rooibos to smell! I do not drink it unblended nearly enough, which is tragic because I love the stuff. There are also notes of caramel, a touch of honey, the tiniest hint of pepper and much to my surprise and ending hint of pie crust, which is fun!

Giving the leaves a steeping (yay they didn’t fall out of my steeping basket, tiny Rooibos leaves tend to do that) the aroma that wafts out of the leaves is sweet and woody, like caramel and dried sticks with a little bit of straw. The liquid is very similar, notes of wood and caramel, but with the addition of honey and just a tiny touch metallic.

Onto the sipping! When I logged this tea in my notebook (a grand total of like three days ago) I was feeling a bit queasy, I found out when I was recovering from an ulcer that Rooibos is great for nausea, apparently it has anti-spasmodic properties, so that is probably why. Sure enough drinking the cup settled my stomach, as it has many times in the past, so yay for that! The taste is very typical Rooibos, it starts caramel woody sweet and has a dry finish, though I have found that brewing the tea at just under boiling will make it less dry and more sweet, so if you are someone who dislikes that dryness there is a little tip. I love the woody aspects of rooibos, the closest wood I could compare them too is dry reeds, and yes I know what that tastes like, I am a weirdo. Unlike most Rooibos, this one has a tiny hint of smokiness at the finish, making me wonder what a smoke roasted Rooibos is like. Ah, it was good to have a Rooibos again, must not let myself run out again in the future!

For blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2015/02/adagio-teas-rooibos-tea-tea-review.html

Got this in the rooibos sampler pack and I must say, it tastes like cough syrup to me. I just can’t get past the medicinal scent and taste, and adding sugar just makes it taste more like cough syrup. I definitely need to give this a few more tries, but be warned if you’ve never had rooibos before: you might not like it.

Also, this ruined my silicone Tuffy Teaspot Steeper along with being absolutely terrible to use since it’s so fine. My strainer now smells like rooibos and imparts a very unpleasant taste to my more delicate teas. Only use this in something that you know won’t absorb flavors.

I enjoy this, particularly iced. That said, I don’t have much basis for comparison when it comes to unflavored rooibos.

At first when I brewed this herbal I didn’t like it very much at all. I thought it was too wood-tasting and smelt too much like tobacco. Upon brewing it more and more I’ve actually come to really enjoy this herbal. The deep, smokey, full-bodied taste of a strong brew of Rooibos is great for me. I think at first I was brewing it too light. Now I put just a bit more Rooibos in the tea pot and steeped for an extra 30 seconds. I think that really brought out the real flavor of the drink for sure. Also, the price for Rooibos isn’t bad at all when you buy the 16oz, has a great value (at like .08 cents per cup I believe).

Personally, I find herbals to be perfect for evening/nighttime teas, and this one is probably my favorite at the moment, right next to Chamomile!

The health benefits from the herbal are right up there as well, so why not try this one?

This drink is quite interesting. The scent might be compared to marijuana, but the flavor is quite woody. Delicious.

Starts off with a light woody taste. Slightly sweet/smokey aftertaste. Very unique woody smell.

I brewed up a cup of rooibos last night before bed mixing in a small amount of adagio’s lemongrass to enhance the flavor profile. Quite Nice.

My first Rooibos. Heavy aroma of cheap cigars. Not horribly unpleasant, but i certainly didn’t want to keep drinking it.

Very nice red tea.

This is my favorite “base” tea. It is great with other flavors – but nothing really beats the original. Make a big pot for guests – they will be surprised!