Tea Time: Rooibos Cream Caramel

Rooibos Cream Caramel Reviewed by: Juturna F.
Type of tea Rooibos, loose-leaf	Flavor aspects and Aroma Flavor Aspects: Natural Aroma: Hot caramel
Where I got it Tin Roof Teas	Cost $8.17/100g
How I brewed it 3 teaspoons in a tea strainer in a cast iron pot. Water boiled in kettle until just whistling, then poured over leaves. Brewed 2-3 minutes, not timed.	Rebrewing notes Haven't rebrewed.
Review It brews a beautiful caramel color. I've always found rooibos to be interesting teas. They taste vaguely fruity to me without tasting fruity (yes, I know that makes no sense!). This red tea brews a rich caramel color, and smells like caramel heated to the point of almost but not quite burnt (I think that's the "creme"), but doesn't taste like caramel. It's not dissimilar to black tea in taste, but lacks the bite of the tannins that give black tea the black tea taste, and is just a tad tangier. And that's the best I can describe it. I feel like this tea would do very well with sugar, maybe a touch of milk or cream. It practically begs to be blended with other teas. I'd add it to an early grey, I think, to enhance the black tea scent, or a maybe a "sweet" tea like a chai or Teavana's Slimful Chocolate Decadence. On its own, I don't find it particularly extraordinary in terms of rooibos teas. It smells amazing, but the caramel flavor is almost unnoticeable as compared to regular rooibos tea. Not quite as caramel-colored with milk and sugar... But tastier! I did add milk and sugar my second cup, and it much improved the flavor. Normally I dislike sweetening my tea, but in this tea it really balances it out. I highly recommend having milk and sugar at hand if you plan to drink this tea without blending it with something else. Not my favorite tea, despite the smell. The scent sets up high expectations for the flavor, but the flavor falls short of the promise without sweetening it, and I like a tea that can stand on its own. On the other hand, sweetened it's actually quite good. I'd say it's best for blending with other teas. If you like fruity teas and black teas, but want to cut out the caffeine, rooibos might be a good match for you. Also, if you like Indian tea such as served at authentic Indian restaurants, you'll like this one.
Reviewed by: No second review yet.
Type of tea	Aroma
Where I got it	Cost
How I brewed it	Rebrewing notes
Review

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(Learning to Like Tea Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Guest Post: Types of Tea, Guest post: Getting the Best Cup of Tea)

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