20

Oh, rooibos, how I dislike thee. But green rooibos? I’ve had a couple green rooibos blends that I liked, so it was time to give the straight green rooibos a chance. Brewed as directed, Western: 3 g leaf in 8 oz boiling spring water for 5 min. The aroma was unusual and unidentifiable. And the liquor was bright pumpkin orange (in full sunlight). It didn’t strike me as being sweet, so much as lacking sourness, astringency, or bitterness. And as others have written, the flavor of the hot tisane was mild and nondescript. I didn’t get pine, but perhaps the slightest note of cedar, so I’d say more like a non-oak hardwood sawdust. Perhaps maple? (Perhaps Aspalathus sp. sawdust?) As I continued sipping and the liquid cooled, I noticed notes of red rooibos, which is reminiscent of dill, kalamata olives and spent coffee grounds to me. And, actually, I thought there were some darker flecks in the powder, possibly accounting for that impression. Okay, this stuff is definitely not my favorite by itself. However, I can see how it can make a good base for blending, and even work as a carrier for flavoring agents. I will not choose to drink it again my itself, and must rate it lower than my starting spring water, as a 20. Nothing greatly offensive, but nothing much more than sawdust, either. Can’t recommend it. No fault of Adagio, however!

Flavors: Cedar, Dill, Kalamata Olive, Sawdust

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 0 sec 3 g 8 OZ / 236 ML
rosebudmelissa

Green Rooibos isn’t something I often drink alone but I do on occasion so Iust enjoy it a little more than you. It’s wonderful for blending, and I often have it with about 1/2 tsp of rose water. The Green Rooibos definitely adds something in a blend that often makes it taste more well rounded without stealing the spotlight.

TeaEarleGreyHot

@rosebudmelissa: if it were possible to click a “like” button for your comment here, I would. ;-)

Skysamurai

I top find those odd dilly notes.

TeaEarleGreyHot

@Skysamurai, yeah, I have been describing it as dill pickle, but it’s not a perfect match for that. There’s not a vinegar component like a pickle would have. And dill isn’t quite right. I realized this evening while eating my salad that it’s somewhere between dill and the cured Kalamata olives, which were on my salad. :-)

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

People who liked this

Comments

rosebudmelissa

Green Rooibos isn’t something I often drink alone but I do on occasion so Iust enjoy it a little more than you. It’s wonderful for blending, and I often have it with about 1/2 tsp of rose water. The Green Rooibos definitely adds something in a blend that often makes it taste more well rounded without stealing the spotlight.

TeaEarleGreyHot

@rosebudmelissa: if it were possible to click a “like” button for your comment here, I would. ;-)

Skysamurai

I top find those odd dilly notes.

TeaEarleGreyHot

@Skysamurai, yeah, I have been describing it as dill pickle, but it’s not a perfect match for that. There’s not a vinegar component like a pickle would have. And dill isn’t quite right. I realized this evening while eating my salad that it’s somewhere between dill and the cured Kalamata olives, which were on my salad. :-)

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

Profile

Bio

Life is too short to drink bad tea!
Pan-American: Left-coast reared (on Bigelow’s Constant Comment and Twinings’ Earl Grey) and right-coast educated, I’ve used this moniker & Email since the glory days of AOL in the 90’s, reflecting two of my lifelong loves— tea and ‘Trek.

Now a midwestern molecular biologist (right down to the stereotypical Hawaiian shirts), I’m finally broadening the scope of my sippage and getting into all sorts of Assamicas, from mainstream Assam CTCs to Taiwan blacks & TRES varietals, to varied Pu’erhs. With some other stuff tossed in for fun. I enjoy reading other folks’ tasting notes (thank you). I’ve lurked here from time to time and am now adding a few notes of my own to better appreciate the experience. Note that my sense of taste varies from the typical. For example, I find stevia to be unsweet and bitter. My dislike of red rooibos may be rooted in the same genetic palatum divergence, which impacts perceptions of many flavors, from asparagus to stevia to cilantro.

I don’t work for any tea vendor, and I’m not a tea sommelier. And I don’t taste every nuance, hint of flavor or note of aroma, nor am I trained to describe those that I do detect. But I taste enough to have opinions, and do my best to be descriptive. Sensory preferences can shift from day to day and person to person, so numerical ratings are kinda bogus, especially between and among various people. But there are individual trends, and I try to reflect that. As reference points for my ratings, I give Lipton Black Tea bags “orange pekoe and pekoe, cut black” a score of 65 because it is widely available and profoundly consistent. I view it as just okay. I would give plain, hot, quality spring water a rating of 25, and I buy Crystal Geyser brand for brewing because my local well water is stinky and discolored, and my filtration & softening system leaves it salty and unpleasant. Tea should make the commercial Spring Water better, not worse, so a rating below 25 speaks for itself.

I am conversationally friendly but absolutely not here looking for dates or money, nor to sell anything. If I’ve started to follow you, I don’t mean to be creepy, it only means you recently posted something I liked reading, or it was about an interesting tea or event. And I’ve recently discovered that the Steepster system only notifies me of new posts written by people I follow. If you follow me, I won’t assume anything. If I do not follow you, it isn’t a snub—you’re still a good human being!
_______________
Avatar:. Arrival in Athens, Greece, on vacation.

Location

Chicagoland-USA

Following These People

Moderator Tools

Mark as Spammer