Feb 26
Geoff’s Teaview Snapshot
 | "The liquor brewed to a lighter amber-green with a taste I could clearly recognize; nutty overtones with a leafy kickback and a hint of sweetness."
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9.5/10
Red rooibos is to tea what O'Doule's is to beer. That's the way it is. The drink was popularized as an alternative to tea when the real stuff couldn't be delivered. While it is healthy, nourishing, and a full-bodied base for thick herbal blends, red rooibos will always have the stigma of "caffeine wuss" attached to it. Even the way it's marketed targets folks who desire to drink tea without any of the negative stimulant side effects.People like me.
Green rooibos is the unfermented version of this. Like green tea from the Camellia sinensis, the oxidation is stopped. The plant is immediately cultivated, leading to a lighter, leafier brew. The slightly nutty tastes associated with red rooibos is still there, but overshadowed by a more vegetal profile. Kind of like a sweetened sencha, if one needs a comparison. I swear by the stuff, yet it can't be mixed with much.
A distant cousin of rooibos, honeybush has a similar color and cut to red rooibos but with a far different flavor profile. Both scent and taste have a strong honey-esque overtone to it. The namesake is deadly accurate. My only complaint with a plain honeybush brew is the aftertaste. When the nectary sweetness subsides, I'm left with a very spinachy aftertaste. Not exactly better, just very...herbal. By itself, that wouldn't be bad, but when compared to the richness offered in mid-swig, the finish is anticlimactic.
I came across Numi's Sweet African Red on pure happenstance while trolling the Web. My hunt for a bagged green rooibos was proving rather fruitless until I happened by their site. Lo and behold, they had green rooibos teabags for the picky person on the go! Well, sorta. The green rooibos was cut with honeybush, likely due to the expensiveness of it. However, the sources were organic, so that was a plus. My only worry lay with how the two stubborn herbal ingredients mixed. How would they blend?
In a word: perfectly.
When first piercing open the bag, the honeybush boldly announces itself with a creamy pungency. The rooibos raises it's shy, aromatic hand for an herbal finish. I steeped the back for roughly five minutes in my favorite travel tea mug. Once I popped the lid open, I took in the fragrance once again; silken honey-ness all around. The liquor brewed to a lighter amber-green with a taste I could clearly recognize; nutty overtones with a leafy kickback and a hint of sweetness. Honeybush's garden-spun aftertastes was thankfully missing...even after the third steeping. As close to perfection as a teabag can get.
Special Offer! For a limited time, Numi is offering deep discounts on their product line. If you're interested in purchasing this tea or others from Numi Tea, shop now by clicking this link: Shop Numi Organic Tea
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February 26th, 2009 at 7:27 pm
[...] THIS STUFF is my go-to blend. [...]