Sixteenth tea for March Mad(Hatter)ness! This is for the rooibos tea round, going against 52Teas’ Rocky Road Rooibos/Honeybush.
Oof, the dry leaf has a strong cough syrup medicinal smell. This doesn’t bode well… Steeped one perfect teaspoon in 350ml 205F water grandpa-style.
Thankfully, it smells better in the steeped tea. The aroma smells less of that sweet, floral cherry I associate with sakura, and is more of a tarter red berry scent, ripe cherries and raspberries. As the tea starts to cool, it actually is starting to smell more sweet and floral.
The flavor is more along the lines of red berries, leading with the raspberry with cherry following. A sweetness sort of fills out later in the sip, a bit from the sakura but also that sort of honeyed/vanilla note from the rooibos. The fruit starts out nicely tart, giving the impression of something ripe and juicy, and when the sweetness comes in, it becomes more of a candied flavor. A subtle saltiness from the sakura leaf comes out late into the cup, and the impression of sakura flavor starts to pop more. I’m enjoying this way more than the dry aroma led me to believe! It’s a bit fruitier than I expect of sakura, but it’s also a really good fruitiness. I’m honestly shocked I’m not just tasting cough syrup.
This is a tough one, but I think the sakura just edges out the Rocky Road! Sakura Rooibos moves on!
Flavors: Berries, Candy, Cherry, Cherry Blossom, Fruity, Honey, Raspberry, Rooibos, Salt, Sweet, Tangy, Vanilla, Wood
