Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Georgia Tea Company
Tisane Description:
Rooibos, which means Red Bush in Afrikaans, is only grown in South Africa and contains about 20 times more antioxidants than green tea. Caffeine free naturally.
Ingredients: honeybush, rooibos, flavoring, raspberries, sunflower blossoms.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This is a tasty tisane. I love the base. I think that the combination of rooibos and honeybush together tastes so much better than either one on their own. The two seem to work harmoniously together to bring out the best in each other. And let’s not forget the real star of this cup: the raspberry! A strong, vibrant raspberry note. YUM!
The honey sweet flavor and nutty notes of the honeybush and rooibos base are not overpowered by the strong raspberry flavoring, but I like that the raspberry comes through loud and clear. And I like how the flavors of the honeybush and rooibos play with the sweet-tart notes of the raspberry. The herbals are a little earthy and sweet. They taste smooth and nutty. The raspberry tastes bright and sweet and tickles the tongue with a tart note at the finish.
I steeped this in my Breville One Touch tea maker. I used 3 bamboo scoops of tea to 500ml of water. Then I set the parameters as follows: 195°F for 10 minutes. With the honeybush/rooibos base, I don’t have to worry about bitterness. So steep it a little longer and get a rich, delicious flavor out of it!
This is good hot, but it is even better as it cools. It makes a really good, refreshing iced tea that is naturally caffeine free. This is one I can enjoy with my daughter – she loves it.
Rooibos Cinnamon Vanilla Tisane from Tea of Life
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal
Tisane Description:
Pronounced “roy-boss” and means “red bush” in Afrkaans, studies have shown this tea is comparable to green tea in the amounts of EGCG it contains. Rooibos is totally pure and natural. It contains no colorants or preservatives.
And Rooibos tastes divine! It is less bitter than most teas.
Learn more about Tea of Life and Amazon Teas here.
Taster’s Review:
I confess that the first time I had a cup of this tisane, I accidentally oversteeped it. I had started it brewing and walked away and forgot about it. Some twenty to twenty five minutes later, I remembered it. Fortunately, it’s a rooibos blend and rooibos doesn’t get bitter the way a tea (Camellia Sinensis) would.
However, I didn’t figure it would be a fair assessment to write this review based upon that steeping, so I waited until the next evening (tonight!) to try brewing it for my usual steep time for a rooibos tisane (ten minutes) and this time actually setting a timer for it.
And while this review will be based upon my cup from the 10 minute steep, I will also add some thoughts on the cup that steeped longer. (Both cups were steeped with 195°F water.)
This is a very flavorful rooibos blend. It seems a simple enough combination: rooibos, vanilla and cinnamon. This combination makes me think “Snickerdoodle” and well, it does have a snickerdoodle-ish taste to it. The rooibos has a sweet, nutty flavor to it, and when combined with the vanilla and cinnamon, the result is a taste that’s a lot like the classic cookie.
The cinnamon is a warm but not spicy cinnamon taste, and one that marries well with the sweet, creamy notes of vanilla as well as the warm, honey-like sweetness of the rooibos. It’s a pleasant cup of tea that’s not too sweet, but makes a nice late-night snack if you’re craving something just a little sweet but don’t want to wreck your diet by indulging in a real snickerdoodle cookie. This tea makes a tasty and healthier substitute.
Rooibos Chocolate Coconut from Tea of Life
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Learn more about Tea of Life and Amazon Teas here.
Tisane Description:
South African Red Bush or Rooibos Tea is a pure and natural herbal blend. Freshly harvested and finely chopped rooibos goes through a process of oxidation with the aid of the oxygen from the atmosphere and subsequently dried int he sun to produce a deep mahogany red cup of which is one of the most popular and healthy herbal drinks today.
“Tea of Life” is proud to introduce five New Naturally Caffeine Free Rooibos Teas combined with Dark Chocolate with delicious natural fruit and mint flavors for your enjoyment – all day and into the evening.
Taster’s Review:
The scent that is coming out of my teacup right now is evoking thoughts of chocolate coconut cake! Yep, my mouth is watering right now, just thinking about chocolate and coconut! Mmm! Some of the most difficult moments of my life are those few minutes that I wait after I’ve brewed a cup of tea and I’m waiting for the cup to cool a little bit so that I can begin sipping. I mean, I don’t want to burn my tongue, but, this smells so yummy that I’m growing impatient.
But the flavor is worth the wait. As I’ve said on numerous occasions, I’m not big on rooibos, but, I’ve actually found quite a few that I enjoy. And I’ve really been enjoying these Dark Chocolate blends from Tea of Life. This one features luscious notes of Dark Chocolate and sweet and creamy notes of coconut. Yum!
As you’d expect, this is a sweet tisane. The chocolate notes are deep and rich and bittersweet. The coconut notes are a little more subdued than the chocolate, but, not by much. There is a pretty good balance of flavors between the two components here. Lots of chocolate and lots of coconut.
What I’m not getting lots of is rooibos flavor and that’s alright. I do get some warm, nutty tones from the rooibos and some of the sweetness of the cup I also attribute to the natural sweetness of the South African herb. But overall, there isn’t a strong rooibos flavor to this cup. This tisane is all about the chocolate and the coconut, and you won’t get any complaints about that here. Chocoholic: satisfied!
Rooibos Chocolate Vanilla from Tea for Life
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Learn more about Tea of Life and Amazon Teas here.
Tisane Description:
South African Red Bush or Rooibos Tea is a pure and natural herbal blend. Freshly harvested and finely chopped rooibos goes through a process of oxidation with the aid of the oxygen from the atmosphere and subsequently dried int he sun to produce a deep mahogany red cup of which is one of the most popular and healthy herbal drinks today.
“Tea of Life” is proud to introduce five New Naturally Caffeine Free Rooibos Teas combined with Dark Chocolate with delicious natural fruit and mint flavors for your enjoyment – all day and into the evening.
Taster’s Review:
These dark chocolate rooibos blends from Tea of Life are really good. The chocolate is rich and dark and there’s a good amount of chocolate flavor to the blend. I’m really enjoying this Rooibos Chocolate Vanilla blend – LOTS of chocolate flavor with a sweet, creamy vanilla undertone.
I taste hints of honeyed, nutty sweetness from the rooibos, but, I like that the flavor of the rooibos isn’t as pronounced as the dark chocolate notes and the notes of vanilla. Normally, I want the flavor of the “tea” to be the star of the cup, but, since this is rooibos and I’m not particularly a big rooibos fan, I like that I am only getting a little bit of the flavor of the rooibos.
Plus, we’re talking chocolate here, and when it comes to chocolate, more chocolate is always better. I really can’t think of any instance when that isn’t true. And this has a strong chocolate presence. The sweet notes of vanilla give this cup an almost “milk chocolate-y” sort of taste, and I like the way the two – chocolate and vanilla – meld together in this cup.
A really tasty cup.
Chocolate Chai Rooibos Blend from Red Leaf Tea
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Red Leaf Tea
Tea Description:
This red tea combines the tangy flavor of ginger with the citrus notes of cardamom, to produce a chocolate chai with a taste like no other. With an inherent sweetness that is perfectly blended with spicy warmth, chocolate chai offers the dark sumptuousness of chocolate chips with the smoothness of rooibos tea. With two well-known antioxidants, this is a dessert tea that is a treat in the evening or in the morning!
Learn more about this rooibos chai here.
Taster’s Review:
Hmm … this Chocolate Chai Rooibos Blend from Red Leaf Tea is tasty. It isn’t an overly spicy tisane, but the spices are warming and certainly agreeable on this chilly autumn day.
Let’s start with the chocolate, shall we? Because, if you’ve read many of my articles, you are probably well aware of my fondness for chocolate. Here, the chocolate is not as rich as I would like it to be. Then again, seldom do I find a chocolate tea that satisfies me with it’s level of chocolaticity. (Yes, it’s a word, I just made it up.) That said, there is certainly some chocolate notes here but it isn’t as rich and decadent as I would want a tea that calls itself a “Chocolate Chai.” But I am enjoying what chocolate there is here.
The spices are pleasing. I think that the spice level here is one that most people could enjoy – even those that tend to shy away from spicier teas. This isn’t what I’d call hot or spicy. There is some peppery warmth from the ginger, and the cardamom adds an exotic element to the cup.
The rooibos base is nutty and adds a nice dimension of flavor to these other ingredients. I’m not always happy when I can actually taste the rooibos flavor in a blend, but, here it’s working for me. The nutty tones work well with the earthiness of the spices and the sweet, creamy notes of the chocolate.
A tasty blend. Not my favorite “chocolate chai” that I’ve tasted, but, it’s pretty good, and a nice cuppa to cozy up to on a chilly evening when you don’t want to be drinking a more caffeinated beverage.