Hibiscus Rose

A new brand to me, Vadham. This one’s an herbal tea, which I am approaching cautiously since I personally do not like anise or fennel.

The ingredients are: blend of Hibiscus, Cardamom, Fennel, Chamomile, Star Anise, Rose Petals, Blue Corn Flower and Rose Extracts.

It brews to a nice pinkish colour due to the hibiscus and smells strongly of fennel/anise. The scent reminds me of a high-class room freshening spray, the sort that comes in a small glass bottle from a fancy boutique. Oh dear.

Despite the aroma, the hibiscus and rose are the dominant flavours. The fennel and anise are very present, though. The cardamom is barely a whisper. If you like these notes, this would be a solid choice. It does get quite an ashy taste as it cools, so it’s best done piping hot.

While anise and fennel are two of my most-disliked ingredients in tea, I managed to make it through this cuppa. It’s a nice quality, even if not to my personal taste. I am looking forward to trying their other selections.

Vadham also states they are climate neural and plastic neutral, as well as donating 1% of revenue towards education in India, so that’s a nice bonus.

I had a sample of this tea from the advent calendar. I was kind of nervous to try this tea because of the combination of ingredients. I usually do not like rose in teas but I love the rose teas from Vahdam. The rose is not strong at all. It goes really well with the hibiscus and chai spices.