Taurus

This was labeled as Taureau on the sample. My first review was eaten, amazingly not by Steepster this time but my crappy internet connection. Sigh. Short version: To my fellow Steepsterites who weren’t sure they wanted to try this one because it’s rooibos – you really need to reconsider. First sip reminded me of a light cup of wild strawberry. Not tart. Instead it is kind of mildly green. At this point I added sweetener – OH WOW! I don’t care if you normally don’t you need to sweeten this! Totally amazing. The cup explodes with strawberries and cream. I do get a woodsy touch of rooibos in the aftertaste but it blends so well even rooibos haters probably won’t mind. This is a caffeine free tisane I would actually look forward to sipping.

Thank you for this free sample (among others) from Sophie and Laurent at Nina’s Paris USA.

Taurus is my zodiac sign so this must be the tea for me then. Even though rooibos is not my favorite, I have found that overall I don’t mind Nina’s Paris’ rooibos blends. They tend to be quite smooth and don’t have too much of a medicinal taste like some rooibos teas have.

The smell of the dry tea is very tart strawberry. The brewed tea smells more sweet, ripe strawberry with a slightly creamy scent. The brewed tea tasted like strawberries and cream! Just like it is supposed to. The strawberry does have a tartness to it, that I found became a bit astringent towards the end of the cup (and after it had cooled quite a bit). The creamy taste blends well with the strawberry. Initially I thought it tasted like strawberry, then a bit later it was kind of like cherry, but then back to strawberry again after a bit more cooling. You can taste the rooibos tea in the background, but it is not too strong, and I think it does a good job of making the tea smooth.

I’ve bee sitting on this sample for a little while because I wanted to be able to do it justice and finally my sense of taste is returning to normal after a summer of weird allergies and minor illnesses. ..

This nice reddish orange tea smells of bright strawberry ( a bit like cooked strawberry mixed with fresh ripe berries ), cream, and a touch of heaviness from the rooibos. However it does not smell woody or medicinal like rooibos sometimes can. It tastes of cream with strawberries mixed with compote and a hint of fresh banana which I think is a result of the rooibos. It’s Very good. The second steep tastes of vanilla scented cream with strawberries with a slight rooibos tang. The aftertaste is of fresh strawberries. I still prefer Gemini over this one, but this is very good.

Somehow, there was a mix-up and my samples got put in the wrong mailbox. So I finally received my samples after some lady down the street had it for like 2 weeks!
Thank you to Laurent and Sophie for these free samples!

This tea is lovely, creamy and fruity, I am getting a slight raspberry tone in here as well as strawberry. The rooibos base is maybe a little bit too heavy.
This is also delicious cold.

This cup came from Jennkay: thank you! I’ve really been wanting to try some Nina’s teas and this will be my first one.

As it brews this smells like…breakfast cereal? Kind of odd but it’s not a bad smell. Maybe that’s what happens when you mix rooibos and berries, because I noted something similar with the Provence Rooibos I got from MissB. The taste is like freeze-dried strawberries, and there’s a creaminess to the mouthfeel and the flavor. I’d be interested to taste the other zodiac blends! I wonder if my favorite would be mine (Cancer)? :)

ETA: This is now a sipdown as I gave the last cup to mom.

Thank you Nina’s Paris (Laurent and Sophie) for this sample. This is the first of the three samples they sent me that I’ve tried. Actually, this is the first Nina’s Paris tea I’ve ever tried and wow! This tea is sooo good. Hot steeped, it’s like sweet and tart strawberry jam with rooibos in the background. Cold steeped the rest of the packet, and this truly makes a great iced tea. This tea is definitely going to be on my buy list!

Once again a sample from Laurent from nina’s tea thanks again!

Opening my small sample ziplock bag i’m greeted by a strong fruity smell, couldn’t place it instantly but seems that it is strawberry!

Straberry’s are one off my favorite fruits ever, i eat kilo’s every week in summertime. So i’m very exited to try a tea that has strawberry flavor!

The rooibos pieces are looking straw like and nicely chopped, not to small not to big. I’m taking the whole sample for brewing.

The color of the brew is the typical rooibos color and smells strongly to strawberry. The smell reminds me a bit off strawberry yogurt. In my first few sips i’m 100% sure this strawberry flavor is very good. Its creamy, not overwhelming in taste… This drink is different then most flavored tea’s. I’m not sure if i would drink it daily, but its nice for every now and then if u want something new!

Lazy day so it’s this tea in my DT cup shaped filter tonight!
Thank you VariaTEA for sending this tea to me! I love rooibos so much, and this definitely had that woodsy smell to it. Don’t really smell the strawberries and cream so much dry, but once I poured the water in, the other non woodsy flavours came out :)
Right now it just tastes like water but SOOOON, I had a slight hint of strawberry so I’m excited for this tea!

Mmmm a very lovely tea. I can definitely taste the strawberries and cream, with a slight hint of wood coming from the rooibos!

So after ordering some Yummy from Lupicia, which is also a strawberry vanilla rooibos, I remembered I had this one in my cupboard and pulled it out to have tonight.

Does anyone know if it’s even possible to order Nina’s tea online anymore? There used to be a US website I think, and last time I was able to buy almost all of their teas on Amazon. Now the only online shop I can find is for Japan only… :(

Anyway, this is pretty tasty. The rooibos base is quite strong, but I find myself enjoying red rooibos more lately so I don’t mind. It has a pleasant woody taste with a hint of dark caramel. The strawberry is somewhere between fresh and candy, and has a lovely sweet flavor. I’m not sure I really get any vanilla or cream here, maybe a little bit? But honestly I’m okay without it.

Sigh… There are so many teas I never got to try from Nina’s, I hope they aren’t really impossible for me to get now…

ETA – I got a response from Nina’s Paris via Instagram:

“Hi! Thank you for your interest in our products. We are currently working to upgrade our online shop, in the meanwhile you may send your request to export1@ninasparis.com. Have a nice day!”

❤

Thank you, Laurent and Sophie, for a sample!

The aroma for this one is nice as well, a gentle strawberry. But the strawberry doesn’t stand out so much in taste. While the liquor was hot it seemed that the only ingredient was rooibos. I had to let the tea cool down in order for the flavor to take over. I’m a fan of rooibos, but the strawberry could have been stronger.