Root Beer Float Honeybush

I’ve been neglecting all the Butiki samples I got from Janelle, maybe partly because I’m afraid I’ll love them too much.

Anyway, finally pulled this one out. It’s a nice rootbeer tea, though the rootbeer is more distinct in the smell than the flavour, which is actually fairly mild. Slightly creamy. All in all a very enjoyable cup.

… I should have had a note about this one, as I’ve tried it once previously, but… apparently not. I wasn’t a big fan of it the first time I tried it, and I’m still not. Perhaps it would be better with some sugar, but I don’t particularly feel like adding anything to it. It certainly tastes kind of like creamy root beer, and it’s 1000% better than the DT version, but I’m starting to think that there’s an ingredient in root beer that’s too licoricey for my liking, as that’s how my brain is interpreting one of the flavours in here. So, not a fan of this one. Consequently will refrain from rating, since there’s nothing wrong with it.

This was refreshing iced last night when my AC was not working correctly. It even tickled my nose on the first sniff like real rootbeer sometimes does. I do prefer it hot most of the time. It has a light creamy root beery taste. I love that it is caffeine free with honeybush. When I first ordered it I was hoping my son would like it so we could share it until I realized it would not happen, he is a root beer snob and nothing will be as good as the ones he gets on special occasions.

Of course because I already placed my order I wish I got more, it was hard deciding. I was positive I knew what I was getting and I some how managed to spend 4hrs hours changing it multiple times and missed my chance for sleep.

Last of my Butiki samples.

This is a pretty perfect root beer flavor. Not sure I’m getting the “float” part of it. The slightly woodsy flavor naturally occurring in honeybush is just right for root beer. It’s kind of making my crave an actual root beer float. Maybe it’s just that I spent a nice hot afternoon in the garden. Ugh. Gardening should be done on cloudy days or mid-morning. Too early and you become mosquito food.

Is it too late to plant oregano seeds?

Anyway! Back to tea! Root beer always reminds me of my childhood. I remember one hot sunny day, dad picked my sister and me up from school. He carried our backpacks as we walked home. Halfway there, us kids spotted an ice cream truck and begged dad to get us something. Somehow he indulged us and we each got a giant (so it seemed at the time) cup of root beer float. I don’t know how much of it I had before I gave the rest up to dad. I had no appetite for dinner. That memory always makes me feel warm and loved. Dads are the best.

Stacy very kindly threw this in as an extra sample in my recent Butiki order, and I’m really glad she did. It’s not one I ever would’ve picked out for myself—I pretty much never drink soda and don’t think of myself as a root beer fan, although I loved it as a kid. And this really does taste just like root beer, just not sweet. It’s even sort of creamy, hence the float part. I tried this both hot and cold—I cold-steeped my leftover leaves—and, while hot root beer doesn’t sound great, I found this blend (surprisingly?) delicious either way. I don’t come across too many honeybush-based blends, but this one’s making me wish I did—it’s much smoother, far less woody, and maybe a bit sweeter than (red) rooibos.

VariaTEA’s review of this tonight reminded me that I have this one in my cupboard, and it sounded really good to finish my evening. I really like this one. I added a little sugar and milk, which I rarely do, but it was exactly what I wanted tonight. Really sweet and creamy. Nommy nom nom nom. The extra milk I added really made it extra creamy, which actually satisfied my very real desire for ice cream.

OH.
MY.
GOSH.
THIS FREAKIN TEA SMELLS LIKE ROOT BEER FLOAT. LIKE LEGIT ROOT BEER FLOAT. NOT REGULAR ROOT BEER, BUT IT SMELLS LIKE LEGIT ROOT BEER WITH A SCOOP OF VANILLA BEAN ICE CREAM.
THANKS A TON TO NAYLYNN FOR SENDING ME SOME OF THIS TEA BECAUSE OH MY GOSH I SMELLS AMAZING DRY AND AS IT STEEPS AND IT TASTES LIKE ROOT BEER FLOAT OH MY GOSH IT EVEN HAS THE CARBONATION FEEL TO IT
I’M GOING TO KEEP THIS TEA FOREVER AND I’M LEGIT GOING TO CRY IF I EVER RUN OUT HOW HAVE I LIVED LIFE WITHOUT THIS TEA

110% WOULD RECOMMEND. THIS TEA IS FREAKIN PERFECT

I recieved a sample of this from EvaGrimm awhile back. Thank you!

This is a nice sweet honeybush that hints of root beer. I usually like to make honeybush with a teaspoon of sugar and a splash of milk, but I didn’t have access to either. This was still an enjoyable cup. Thank you

I love free samples with my order! Thanks Stacy!
This tea didn’t smell like much when dry, but once steeped it is root beer explosion! The flavor is really dead on. I get a tiny bit of rooibos flavor and it seems to only add to the authenticity of the whole thing. I was enjoying it unsweetened and decided to add some sugar to amp it up. The amount I added didn’t make it better, but before the last gulp I added a little more and that seemed to work. It is like there is a sugar dead zone where it works in reverse making it less enjoyable. I’m liking this one and will have to consider picking some up on my next order.

Second soda-related tea of the evening! This one I’d not tried before, but it’s been lurking in my stash trying to catch my eye for a while now, and I figured it was time to give it a chance. I used 1.5 tsp of leaf and a piece of crystal sugar, and gave it 5 minutes. No milk this time, although it might be worth trying in future. The scent dry and while brewing isn’t putting me overwhelmingly in mind of root beer – I’m getting mainly rooibos.

I guess that’s why my first sip of the brewed tea is such a surprise. It’s a fairly dead-on recreation of a root beer float! The the slightly spicy, distinctive root beer flavour comes out in the initial sip, and then a delightful creaminess, just like vanilla ice cream, develops in the aftertaste. There’s also something that’s reminiscent of carbonation, a slightly bubbly fizziness on the tongue, although I have no idea how that’s achieved or where it comes from! This is a subtle tea, and the rooibos is relatively prominent, but the flavouring is just too good, and too accurate, for me to really want to quibble. This will be an enjoyable addition to my evening rotation, and possibly one I’ll look to restock.