Creme Caramel Rooibos

So this was an unexpected purchase today, I went into the store wanting to get 4 teas, and then the clerk suggested this, I smelled it, and wanted to try it. Was stuck between this and the creme brulee, but thought I’d give this a shot for now, and maybe try the other one at a later date.

The dry smell is sooo yummy, quite caramelly, not much rooibos. Steeped, there is definitely rooibos in this tea, but the caramel reminds me more of a flavored caramel coffee, but without the strong coffee smell, if that makes sense? (Just read another review after writing that, yes, caramel macchiato is what I failed at describing lol)

The taste is quite smooth, definitely the rooibos is at the forefront, but there’s a lovely sweet caramel flavor that emerges and lingers in the aftertaste. Yum. Creamy. This feels like I’m eating dessert, but I’m not! I would like to eventually try a cup of this sweetened with hot milk to see how caramelly it tastes, maybe I will add some to the end of the cup. But for now, this is hitting the sweet spot, and is probably the most desserty tea I have drank to date.

Overall, this is quite true to the name, creamy and caramel, with definite rooibos. This satisfies sweet cravings wonderfully. Pretty good, I would maybe try steeping it a bit longer next time just to see how the caramel develops. Happy the salesperson recommended this one, it will definitely be drank happily!

so uh this was supposed to be a tasting note…and on the way to get here i stopped by a conversation on FB and then i had to draw a picture…let me tell you…MS paint is a PITA! anyway i digress… i got to thinking..I dunno how many people remember that whole geocities thing where there were chat rooms you could hang out in and sometimes you had to wait to get into them and what not. wouldn’t that be fun if steepster had one? except then i probably wouldn’t get ANY work done… anyway that was a nice visit down memory lane :)

so this tea? not bad and i’ll certainly enjoy drinking it while i have it but it won’t be a re-order. The caramel is slightly artificial tasting to me and it makes me want my caramel black! Oh! this came by way of Joon through Cavocorax so thank you both! love trying out new teas :)

Thanks to TeaEqualsBliss for sending me this gem! While I don’t tend to favor rooibos blends, one sniff and I knew this would be good. It smells like a caramel macchiato! I know there’s no actual coffee/espresso flavor in here, but it’s got an earthy richness that reminds me of fancy coffee house drinks.

I cold brewed this, which I really hadn’t thought to do but someone recommended it and I just had to try it out. I was hoping it would cut out some of the medicinal nature of rooibos, and lo and behold, it did! All the good woodsy, earthy aspects are brought to the forefront but the parts that make me nauseous are gone. Wellll almost, there’s just a teeny teeny bit of the medicinal-ness at the very end that I am willing to overlook because this is so yummy!

It is definitely caramel, and quite strong at that. Maybe not caramel candies, but caramel syrup: not heavy and rich, but light yet deep on flavor. It really really tastes like coffee too, I just can’t get the association out of my head. Iced caramel coffee, delicious! This is REALLY good, and I think I might actually be buying a rooibos blend of my own free will once my generous sample runs out.

Have you smelled this tea? Well, have you?? If you have this tea in your possession go smell it immediately… it’s okay, I’ll wait.

…

I know, right? A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! My sister suggested this to me after hearing about my trouble with Alpine Punch and how I was Jones-ing for a flavourful replacement rooibos. At first I was skeptical, the brewed tea just tasted like plain old rooibos. Then I added some milk + sugar and SWEET MERCY it’s like liquid caramels, for reals! Liquid. Caramels. Why have I not tried this tea before?

One cup away from a sipdown!

This is a comforting bedtime tea, with warm caramel notes embracing me like a hug. It’s time to bed.

I’m bringing my kindle. I just loaded up tons of fic. :O The last one I read made me bawl my eyes out but… it was pretty obvious that was going to happen when it’s about Sherlock dying of a brain tumour while John is helpless. /0\

Evening cup of tea. This is actually from The Traveling Tea Box that I didn’t have time to sample before I mailed the box to Claire. I’m becoming somewhat more tolerant of rooibos blends, mostly because I’ve had so many lately that the rooibos flavor wasn’t noticeable in at all. The dry leaves for this tea have a sugary caramel aroma with a hint of rooibos. The steeped tea is rooibos and sweet caramel. Sadly, the rooibos is definitely noticeable in the taste. It’s a smooth mediciney kind of flavor with a candy caramel taste. The aftertaste is light and creamy, but with a lingering rooibos note. Adding milk and sweetener makes for a nice, creamy cup but does little to dull the rooibos flavor. I really want to like this tea, but the rooibos aftertaste just doesn’t do it for me. I’m glad that I got to try this one, though!

-Dry blend has red rooibos with pieces of caramel.
-Dry leaves smell of sugary caramel with a hint of rooibos. Tea liquor aroma is of rooibos and sweet caramel.
-Tea liquor is a clear dark reddish brown color.
-Smooth mediciney rooibos and candy caramel flavor and finish. Light creamy aftertaste with a lingering note of rooibos.
-Best with milk and sweetener.
-Fair tea. Creamy caramel flavor with an unfortunate lingering rooibos taste.

I was thinking I needed something strong and black to coax me awake today. But, I found myself reaching for this old fave instead.

It’s sweet and gentle and doing the trick. The red rooibos taste is definitely present but mixed with delicious caramel. I’m mixing it up today by adding a splash of milk. The scent alone is making me less cranky!

Sipdown! No caramel bits, so not as good as I remember , but still a decent rooibos.

Thank you to Taite for this tea. Boy, am I in love with this one. I’ve tried quite a few rooibos dessert blends, and perhaps a couple of caramel rooibos teas. My favorite was TeaPig’s version before I tried this one. Yummy! It’s smooth, sweet and perfect to have after dinner before bed. I’m getting a lovely mix of caramel & vanilla — it’s sort of like a sugary frosting. The finish is nice and memorably smooth. The characteristic rooibos wood flavor comes out at the tail end of the sip. This is so good. I’ll definitely be buying a bag when I’m out!

Time for a second pouring of this Creamy Caramel Rooibos so I put on my fuzzy long robe and fixed a tray and hit the good movie I had selected (want to know don’t you)…so…ok the movie was Mao’s Last Dancer…true story of a Chinese ballet dancer who came to the U.S. in the 1980’s…his life and all that. Beautiful movie and no subtitles. I ditched the new double glass tea cup in favor of a mug so that I could feel the heat and press it against my cold cheeks (-1 outside). Love the warmth and the scent of caramel and the taste of the oozy creamy tea all sweet with milk and sugar. Willy Wonka would approve of this dessert!