Tee-Maass
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When I first posted about this, Hello.Kiki suggested trying it as a cold brew. I thought that sounded like a good idea, so I did.
It works very well as such! It’s very elderflower-y and sweet, reminding me of elderflower cordial. Give it at least 48 hours, though. I tried a little yesterday and it’s definitely better today.
I’ve found that rooibos blends haven’t generally worked so well as a cold brew for me, because they tended to be mostly rooibos-y and not very much of whatever it was flavoured with. Now I think maybe it’s just because it requires far longer in the fridge before drinking than I thought.
From the queue, written March 23rd 2014
This came from the EU TTB, round 2. I’ve never had this flavour in… anything before, so I definitely wanted to try it. I’ve had elderflower, I believe, but not champagne. Certainly not together. I greatly enjoy elderflower cordial, so it was a natural pick for me.
It smells like rooibos and elderflowers. It’s quite a sweet smell and reminds me strongly of aforementioned cordial. Or rather, if one had steeped dried elderflowers in some straight rooibos. Equal parts elderflower and rooibos here. I’m not really getting much in the way of champagne, except perhaps a slight sour-fresh twinge here and there. Nothing that really screams bubbly, though. My primary thought is that this is a good thing.
The flavouring seems quite subtle. It’s closer to unflavoured than flavoured if you see what I mean, but it’s not unpleasant. Unpleasant as in I don’t really care for unflavoured rooibos. As it cools a bit, the elderflower and champagne flavouring comes out more, but it still strikes me as somewhat subtle. Unlike in the aroma, it’s the champagne that dominates and the elderflower that takes the background.
I have to say I was expecting more from this. I’m a slightly disappointed, but again, it’s not actually boring and it’s definitely not unpleasant. It’s just… not what I imagined.
I bought this tea because I am (almost always) looking for good new rooibos, it was not pricey (5 euros), and the package was very cute. I had absolutely no idea what the rooibos was about, package exclusively in German which I do not read. It smelled berry like and due to the name was hoping for some kind of champagne grape-like note.
With the help of google translate, it´s elderberry rooibos! Google says, Rooibos, elderberries, elderberry blossom (?), carrots, rosehips, aroma. What a lovely idea for a rooibos mix, elderberry is one of those unappreciated berries.
In reality, it smells nice enough though I would probably never spot any champagne or be able to be more specific than “berry” from its flavour. I will drink whole of it with pleasure but it´s rather a meh mix. The rooibos base underneath is not quite to my taste, no way around it.