Tag: Rooibos/Honeybush

Posted on

Dessert by Deb’s Orange Ginger Shortbread

Orange Ginger Shortbread by Dessert by Deb
Rooibos / Flavoured
$9.00 for 50g

First Impressions

I made a purchase with Dessert by Deb, and received Orange Ginger Shortbread as a free sample as part of my loose leaf tea order. So while Deb did not ask me to review this rooibos blend, I couldn’t help but decide to share my thoughts on it.

The sample of Orange Ginger Shortbread came in a clear sealed, resealable bag. The ingredients all easily visible through the packaging, which I do like. The aroma is very strongly of orange and vanilla – which is great because I’m not a fan of rooibos. I can smell a touch of rooibos in the background, but it isn’t enough to bother me too much. Orange Ginger Shortbread consists of certified organic ingredients: fair trade rooibos, vanilla, oranges, orange peel, ginger, maple and brown sugar.

Preparation

There were no steeping instructions on the packaging or the product page online, but I treat rooibos blends the same as herbal tisanes – I steeped Orange Ginger Shortbread in 100°C (212°F) water for 5 minutes.

First Taste

Orange Ginger Shortbread steeps to a deep orange colour. I can smell the orange with a hint of ginger. For the taste, I found that the rooibos was very much in the background – which I did appreciate. I can taste orange, ginger, and vanilla. It really does remind me of the namesake of the tea, since vanilla always reminds me of baked goods. There’s a nice sweetness to the blend, and I only found a little bit of an aftertaste from the rooibos blend (just a hint of medicinal flavour).

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Orange Ginger Shortbread once, but found that the orange, ginger, and vanilla notes were considerably less compared to the initial steep and I could taste more of the rooibos. So if you’re a fan of rooibos, I’d recommend resteeping it – but if you’re not, I’d leave it to one steep only.

My Overall Impression

I liked Dessert by Deb’s Orange Ginger Shortbread. I really loved how well the rooibos blend was created, the flavours were on point with the name/inspiration. I do wish that it had a heavier ginger flavour, because I do think that would have really put it over the top. I enjoyed the orange and vanilla notes, and think that it really did remind me of shortbread with the creamy vanilla notes. For those rooibos fans, I would suggest a second steep to get more of the rooibos flavour.

Curious about the cup rating system? Click here to learn more.

Posted on

Adagio Teas’s Chai Latte Concentrates

Chai Latte Concentrates by Adagio Teas
Black Tea, Green Tea, Rooibos / Flavoured
$9.00USD for 18oz (6 servings)

Adagio Teas has provided me with Chai Latte Concentrates.

First Impressions

I received the Chai Latte sampler from Adagio Teas when I was getting my samples from Masters Teas to review, and I figured I would review these as well! I got one pouch each of the Chai Latte, Green Latte, and Rooibos Latte concentrates. From what I can tell from the Adagio Teas website, you can buy each type individually as a 6 serving box, with the concentrates portioned out in the pouches.

The pouches that I received look like this, containing 3oz of concentrate for a single-serve cup of latte. Chai Latte is definitely the darkest of the three, with Green Latte being a reddish colour and the Rooibos Latte being a milk chocolate colour. From the product pages, I was able to find out that the Green and Rooibos offerings are meant to be called Green Chai Latte and Rooibos Chai Latte.

Chai Latte and Green Latte smell the same – both have a strong spice aroma to it. Rooibos Latte has a spice aroma, but also a very mild rooibos fragrance in the background.

Left to right: Rooibos Latte, Green Latte, and Chai Latte

Chai Latte consists of: water, cane sugar, black tea, and natural flavour.

Green Latte consists of: water, cane sugar, green tea, and natural flavour.

Rooibos Latte consists of: water, cane sugar, rooibos, and natural flavour.

As someone who loves Chai and doesn’t have food allergies, I’m not too put off by the fact that Adagio Teas doesn’t list the spices in the concentrates, but I know a lot of people who do have allergies, so I think it would be great if they updated the product pages with the full ingredients. I can definitely smell ginger and cinnamon in the concentrates.

Preparation

Adagio Teas recommends mixing 1 pouch of concentrate (3oz) with 1 cup of warmed milk, so that’s what I did with each of them – I used warmed unsweetened soy milk because that’s what I had on hand.

First Taste

I found all three to be sweet and spicy.

Left to right: Green Latte and Chai Latte

I found Chai Latte to have a good level of spice flavour, I can definitely tell that it has a black tea base and it reminds me of a sweeter version of a Chai Latte from Starbucks.

The Green Latte is a bit milder in flavour in comparison to the Chai Latte, which I think is because of the green tea base. I don’t really taste green tea in it though, as I find that the spices really overpower the green tea.

Rooibos Latte

Surprisingly, I found the Rooibos Latte to be tasty. If you’ve been following me for a while, you’ll know I’m not generally a fan of rooibos blends but the rooibos base in the Rooibos Latte is mostly covered up by the spice flavour-forward profile so I didn’t really taste the rooibos at all.

A Second Cup?

The Chai Concentrates are good for one-time-use only, so there were no second cups.

My Overall Impression

I loved Adagio Teas’s Chai Concentrates. I would say that my favourite would probably be the Chai Latte (black tea), mostly because I didn’t really taste the green tea or rooibos base in the other two (Green Latte and Rooibos Latte). I found that all three to be on the sweet side, which I think could be easily corrected by adding more than 1 cup of warmed milk to 1 pouch of concentrate. It’s very easy to prepare each of them, and I didn’t have any issues with the pouches. I think it would be great if the concentrates came in a more environmentally friendly packaging, since I’m not sure if the pouches are recyclable. A Tetra Pak-like carton, or glass bottle, would be a great option to sell in a multi-serving option for those who don’t want to buy single-serving pouches and would make it recycling friendly.

Curious about the cup rating system? Click here to learn more.

Posted on

Oteas’s Rooibos Vanilla

Rooibos Vanilla by Oteas
Rooibos / Flavoured
$6.95 for 30g (12 sachets)

Oteas has provided me with Rooibos Vanilla for the purposes of writing an honest review.

First Impressions

Rooibos Vanilla came in a shrink wrapped cardboard box that holds the 12 tea sachets – made of biodegradable material. There’s a bit of information on the box regarding the origin of rooibos – from the South African coast near the Cedar Mountains and how it’s been cultivated since 1930. There is a strong rooibos aroma, with light notes of vanilla in the background.

Rooibos Vanilla consists of the ingredients in the name: rooibos and vanilla. The strong rooibos aroma is medicinal to me, which is great for people who enjoy rooibos.

Preparation

Oteas recommends steeping Rooibos Vanilla in 100°C (212°F) water for 5 to 8 minutes. My initial steep of Rooibos Vanilla was for 6 minutes.

First Taste

Rooibos Vanilla steeps to a golden red colour. There’s a strong rooibos aroma from the steeped tisane. I found that the taste was primarily of the rooibos – it has a strong medicinal flavour to it. There was a light sweetness of vanilla throughout. I enjoyed the vanilla flavour, but not so much the rooibos base – but rooibos isn’t my favourite.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Rooibos Vanilla once, and found that the vanilla flavour was mostly gone in the second steep of the same leaves. I would have enjoyed more vanilla notes.

My Overall Impression

I thought that Oteas’s Rooibos Vanilla was just okay. I think the vanilla flavour was great, but unfortunately I’m not a huge fan of rooibos in general. I found that the rooibos flavour was strong throughout and it did resteep well with strong rooibos flavour in the second steep. For fans of rooibos, you may enjoy this one because the vanilla notes are very pleasant and the flavour of rooibos is smooth.

Curious about the cup rating system? Click here to learn more.