 | "The vanilla flavor here is a bit subtle, but paired with this naturally-sweet rooibos this still makes for an excellent dessert tea."
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Although I am familiar with many of SpecialTeas’ black and herbal blends, I must admit that Rooibos Vanilla tea is the first SpecialTeas rooibos blend I have tried. In my experience, SpecialTeas offers excellent products, and this rooibos tea followed the trend. Given the sweet, yet delicate, base of unflavored rooibos, adding vanilla seems like a natural choice, and SpecialTeas’ offers a fine product in their Rooibos Vanilla tea blend.
The aroma of the tea is very subtle, and I admit I could not actually smell much vanilla at all. To be fair, though, rooibos itself can have a very distinct aroma, which can mask other ingredients. SpecialTeas’ website says that “finest grade Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla” is used, although “flavoring” is also in the list of ingredients. After drinking the tea, I am not sure what exactly that “flavoring” is, or why it was needed.
My first cup of this tea was brewed for five minutes, then served without any sugar or milk. This cup was enjoyable, but not that memorable. While the tea itself was quite tasty, I could not detect much vanilla flavor to it. The tea was naturally sweet though, and had a mild, though pleasant, aftertaste. There was not much of a “mouthfeel” to it, probably indicating that I could brew it for a couple more minutes to get more substance to the cup. For my second cup, I brewed the tea longer, and added a teaspoon of sugar. The addition of sugar almost made the tea too sweet, since I find rooibos to generally need very little additional sweetening. I then tried adding a splash of milk, and this brought out the vanilla flavor just a bit more. Even though the vanilla was so subtle, I eventually found myself really enjoying the tea; this blend seems like one that is best enjoyed while relaxing with a good book and a nice comfy blanket.
Would I drink this tea again? Would I purchase this tea? The answer is yes to both. Although I do wish that the vanilla flavor was a bit more pronounced, as it is in the SpecialTeas “Vanilla with finest Madagascar Vanilla” black tea blend (which is a staple in my house), I still enjoyed this rooibos blend. I think this tea would make an excellent dessert tea, since the subtle flavoring will complement a large variety of sweets. And since rooibos is caffeine-free, this tea can also satisfy late-night sweet-tooth cravings.
— To purchase SpecialTeas Rooibos Vanilla, or for more specific information on ingredients or the story behind this particular blend, click here to go directly to the manufacturer's web site.
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