I bought this because I have been on a listening glom of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency audiobooks and had no idea what bush tea was or what it tasted like, and I wanted to know. I wonder how many of us from continents other than Africa did essentially the same thing?
Anyway — this afternoon I am trying it straight up, my usual 2 bags to a pretty large cup (8-9 oz.) of microwaved water. I didn’t time it carefully.
I have tried it before with milk and with the famous fat-free half-and-half, and it’s growing on me.
All by itself, it smells earthy with a strong current of vanilla. More nutty than woody, maybe a bit like roasted pecans.
To me, it tastes almost NOTHING like it smells. All I can taste is the nuttiness. No flavor of vanilla at all. A much simpler taste than scent. Vaguely disappointing if I think of it that way, so I am now sipping it in a zen-like “be here now” non-judging manner.
It’s warm and comforting and I want to go back and sit with Mma Ramotswe while we sip.
Maybe more later, re-visited with something added to the tea.
Minor update: as the tea cools a bit, I’m getting caramel – maybe an echo of the vanilla.
I’ve tried a lot of new things because I read about them too.