When people see the CaffiNation they assume I only drink Coffee. I love coffee, but I also tend to drink my fair share of tea as well. Not only do I enjoy a good cup of tea i think bad tea is worse by far than bad coffee.
I was approached about reviewing the Village Tea Company’s Rooibos. Specifically the Cherry Me Bloom Rooibos with Acai. First order of business with anything new is to check up on what all the fun words mean and apparently this tea like so many others is full of antioxidants and other bits of healthy goodness. Selling points of health marketing aside I wanted to know how it tastes!
I received a wonderful bundle containing a canister which contained everything i needed to get underway. When I knew that I had a tea tasting on its way I dug around to find my tea ball to handle the loose tea only to discover that the tea ball I been using was no longer in working order (Read as crushed in a drawer)
However the bundle saved me from having to go out and get another on the spot. As a wonderful time saved this shipment of loose tea came with two unbleached cotton bags used to brew an entire pot of the tea if I should choose and a packet of unbleached paper tea bags as well. This is a wonderful idea.
As with any tasting I run down the Basics
- Smell: The Start of your journey
- Taste: Obvious and penultimate
- Mouthfeel: Besides the taste how does it feel while drinking
Smell: This is a powerful smelling tea. It smells like a bucket full of cherries when you open the canister even the box it shipped in smelled wonderful. At this point however I was wondering on on how sweet and fruity the tea would be because the smell of cherries and fruit was so much stronger than anything else.
Taste: The surprises continued as i tasted the Tea for the first time it has a cherry taste, but not an overly sweet taste to it. it was a slightly bitter dark cherry taste with a very fine int of herbs beyond that. Overall it was a very pleasing cup of tea, not overly fruity, nor floral but a very full and satisfying cup. It had a very bold taste with a smooth finish.
Mouthfeel: This slightly bitter, but not unpleasant at all. The blend has a tangy mouthfeel with a light finish. Compare it to a similar feel from a good cup of Earl Grey, however with cherry notes instead of citrus.
Notes: Not a Caffeinated Beverage! In my house decaf is a dirty word, however I truly enjoy non caffeinated teas. This means that all of the herbs that went into making the beverage never had caffeine in them to begin with so there was nothing to DEcaffeinate, although beverages like this are technically herbal infusions not really teas’ as tea is strictly defined as a steeped product of the Camellia sinensis plant. Semantics aside this is a great beverage
Packaging: I already covered the packaging at the beginning of the article but I simply must reiterate that the people at Village tea have done everything possible to give you an all in one package to get you up and steeping in no time.
Cost: One container covers approximately 35-40 serving of tea and comes in at $13.95.
Conclusion: I love good quality beverages of all sorts, and this is certainly no exception. I could definitely see purchasing this again in the near future. A good quality tea is a wonderful alternative to coffee to have on hand to serve people who either are sensitive to caffeine, or just prefer it that way. The bold taste handles well no matter the condiment thrown at it so I am truly taken by this beverage. Good quality beverages are always welcome on my doorstep!
*Full Disclosure: I was sent a lovely care package at no cost by Stephen and Ashely care of Village Tea Company for review purposes.
Check out the Slide-show or Flickr for the rest of the photos of this tasting.
Thanks to Stephen and Ashely for sending this my way.