African Red Tea is 100% Organic and Kosher

As the weather cools, my Rooibos drinking increases.  There are some days I can’t sit down to drink tea until later in the evening.  I’m fortunate to be nearly immune to caffeine, but with my tight schedule I don’t like to risk it.  Rooibos is a great tea alternative.  For those of you new to tea and Roobios, tea and rooibos are completely different.  Rooibos is a South African herb known as bush tea.  In fact, it continues to gain aliases – Red Tea, etc.  Just remember, it’s not tea.  Having said that, it still contains a high level of antioxidants.  With tea, you’ll often hear debates about the quality of loose leaf tea compared to the dust and fannings found in most store-bought bagged teas.  Rooibos, in my opinion, is better in a tea bag.  It’s finely chopped and far less of a mess when prepared with a tea bag.  Another major benefit of Rooibos is the fact that it is naturally decaffeinated.

I like to brew the Rooibos until it has produced a deep-dark color in my cup – typically 3-5 minutes.  The beverage is naturally sweet, and it has a unique herbal flavor that creates a pleasant drinking experience.  Rooibos has a very low tannin level; which is another great benefit for those that cannot drink beverages with higher tannin levels. The Rooibos I’m drinking tonight contains Sceletium.  African Red Tea describes the tea/sceletium as: “This red tea has Sceletium powder added to it. An all natural and very effective anti-depressant, Sceletium elevates mood, decreases anxiety and tension. Sceletium is also known to reduce addictive cravings particularly with regard to nicotine and lessens the withdrawal effects of alcohol. Consult with a doctor before taking. Do not take during pregnancy.”

A Rooibos that comes with a warning…  I’ve had several cups, and I feel fine. Anything that decreases anxiety and tension is worth a try for me (as long as it’s safe).  I don’t detect much of a flavor difference between the Rooibos with Sceletium compared to the original Roobios.  Please research Sceletium before trying this product.

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Mark “dr. tea” Ukra continues to both educate and entertain us with his knowledge of tea.  His recent book “The Ultimate Tea Diet” has reached out to thousands of potential and current tea drinkers.  The book details tea’s (cami’s) many health benefits, and how you can incorporate tea into your diet to help with weight loss.  He is a compliment to the entire tea industry.

Although Dr. Tea would be the first to tell you that Rooibos is not tea, he would also say Rooibos is an excellent, healthy and caffeine-free alternative (tisane) to tea.  For the purpose of “craving-teas”, Rooibos seems to flavor well.  The caramel flavored Rooibos literally tastes like caramel – go figure.  It smells like candy from the time you open the package to the time it hits your lips.  Rooibos brews to create a dark liquor with a silky-smooth mouthfeel.  The caramel flavored tea helps to satisfy a sweet tooth.  I’m drinking Dr. Tea’s traditionally bagged Rooibos.  Just a few minutes of steeping in a near boiling cup of water is all it takes.  You’ll have a delicious cup of Rooibos with a deliciously sweet caramel aroma and flavor. I was very fortunate to get to try several of Dr. Tea’s craving teas, and I thoroughly enjoyed all of them.  More importantly, I enjoyed sharing the teas.

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African Red Tea® Imports offers a chai flavored Rooibos.  The flavored Rooibos gives consumers the option to enjoy Rooibos flavored with hints of ginger, cinnamon, and cardamom (I can’t verify all the ingredients, but that’s what I’m detecting).  You get all the benefits of an organic kosher Rooibos with the flavoring of a classic chai.  I found the beverage to be good without any additives.  If you’d like, I’m sure a little touch of your favorite sweetener would give it an extra buzz.  The popular South African herbal known as “Red Tea” can be found in hundreds of different flavors.  Since many tea drinkers and “coffee shop” tea drinkers know what a “Chai” is, they’ll most likely relate to this Rooibos.  Rooibos is naturally decaffianated and loaded with antioxidants.  Since I’m trying to rid of a sore throat, Rooibos is the perfect answer for relaxing in the evenings.  The chai flavored Rooibos helped to soothe my throat without the caffeine.

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I’ve been listening to some Jimmy  Buffett lately, and I was inspired to start writing about a tisane I picked up at the World Tea Expo in June.  The herbal tea is from a company called Carol’s Special-Teas.  The tisane consists of Honeybush and almonds with nut & rum flavors.  Honeybush comes from South Africa and it’s very similar to Rooibos.  Honeybush is said to be somewhat sweeter than Rooibos.  The name comes from the honey-like scent of the flowers the plant produces.  Since there are so many dominant flavors in this blend, it’s hard to get a great feel for the flavor of honeybush.  In my opinion, it tastes exactly like a flavored Rooibos.  I’d like to do a straightup side-by-side taste test of Rooibos and Honeybush.  Either way, in this brew it’s pretty darn good.  This tisane has everything you want to make an enjoyable cup – scent, flavor, and presentation.  To me, this is a mood tea.  I won’t drink it daily, but a few cups a week would be perfect.  It’s an excellent late night tisane since it barely contains caffeine.  The almond/nutty flavor is very pronounced in this mix.  The honeybush creates a very dark infusion.  The rum flavoring gives it a bit of a bite.  There’s so much flavor that you really don’t need to add anything to the tea.  The honeybush adds texture to the water.  It’s very soothing on your throat.  Pirate’s Brew would be a good beverage when you start to get a scratchy throat.  As you can see from the picutre, the honeybush is processed very similar to most Rooibos selections you’d find at a tea store.  If you are in the mood for something without caffeine, major flavor, and you’re ready to sail the seven seas – the Pirate’s Brew is for you.

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English Breakfast Tea: Let me start by saying English Breakfast tea is quite confusing for new tea drinkers. If you are an experienced tea drinker, you know what I’m talking about. You’ve probably established your favorite English Breakfast teas by now. Anyway, almost every account of its origin that I’ve read did relate the tea as a breakfast compliment. That said, this is an anytime of the day tea. Keep in mind it does have caffeine, but almost all black teas have caffeine. Choice Organic’s english breakfast tea is a blend of teas from Ceylon, Assam, and East Africa.  The tea is organically grown and certified fair trade.  This blend comes in a pyramid tea infuser.  All-in-all, I felt the tea was on par with other bagged teas.  The tea was very smooth, but it did require milk and sugar to bring out the flavor.  With Assam tea in the blend, I expected it to have more of a kick.  This tea is perfect for the casual tea drinker.  If you require more of a bold flavor, this is not the tea for you.

Jade Green: I was looking forward to trying this one.  I let the water cool to about 180 degrees and steeped the tea for about 3 minutes.  Like the other Choice Organic teas, the tea comes in a pyramid biodegradable tea infuser, and it’s organic and fair trade certified.  The tea has an interesting almost fruity flavor to it.  The vegetal flavor was slightly bitter for my taste, but the faint almost floral flavor helped me through the cup.  I’ve had bad luck with Choice Organic’s green teas.  The bitterness is just too much for me to truly enjoy the cup.  Choice Organic describes the tea as: A healthful blend that brews up a mellow yet lively cup. It’s an artful combination of fine green teas grown in the lush jungles of China and the sweeping hills of India — offering a light, almost fruity taste with a gentle finish.

Sweet Liquorice Mint: I don’t often take the time to drink an herbal tea (tisane), but when I do, I prefer something minty.  This was a great herbal tea.  It was sweet and minty.  The flavor lingers leaving your mouth with a fresh minty taste.  I highly recommend this tisane to anyone that likes peppermint, spearmint, or liquorice root.  The tea is absolutely delicious.  This would be a great tea after a meal.  Not only will it leave a smile on your face and cleanse your palate, it will help you digest your meal.  One of the ingredients is organic cornflowers.  I cannot honestly say I detect the flavor, but I applaud Choice Organic for adding something unique and interesting to the herbal blend.  Sweet Liquorice Mint is a caffeine free beverage because it does not contain tea.  So, feel free to drink this one all day long.  I can’t say enough about the flavor of this blend – awesome.

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Rooibos was only showing signs of continued growth and success at the 2008 World Tea Expo. The fact that Rooibos continues to do well is proof that it is a quality product. Yes, it did have to adopt the name “Red Tea” to get its foot in the door. That said, Rooibos is here to stay. I met Nira Levy Maslin, Co-founder and CEO, of African Red Tea®. You will not find too many people more passionate about their company and products as Nira. It’s always exciting to meet someone as interesting, educating, and entertaining as Nira. I have several varities of African Red Tea® to blog about. Each one has been very enjoyable.

First, let me give you some of the selling points advertised by African Red Tea®: This is a great tasting tea – naturally sweet, 100% organic, naturally caffeine free, no tannic acid and 50 times more antioxidants than green tea. Full bodied and extremely smooth.

Take a second to think about that…isn’t that everything you’ve been wanting from tea – well, almost? I’m sure scientists can debate the antioxidant levels between tea (camellia sinensis) and Rooibos (Aspalathus linearis). Since I don’t have a lab in my house, I’ll take their word for it – Rooibos has a high level of antioxidants.

Now, the Rooibos with Buchu…what is Buchu?: Buchu is an herb indigineous to South Africa only and has a mint like smell and taste. The Buchu leaf preparations have a long history of use in traditional herbal medicine as a urinary tract disinfectant and diuretic.

The first thing I noticed was the scent of the tea before it ever met the water. The Buchu has a very wild scent to it. I was reminded of a mix between mint, licorice and a freshly cut field full of wild shrubs. The scent didn’t floor me, but it was just so interesting that I couldn’t wait to drink the Rooibos. After I let the Rooibos soak in the boiling water, I was left with a dark infusion. There was a bitter and minty scent coming from the steam of the liquor. I loved this “tea” from the first sip. The Rooibos with Buchu just has a lot of character. From its “wild” scent to its very unique flavor. Just imagine a naturally sweet beverage mixed with a hint of bitter mint, and you have African Red Tea® with Buchu. This was a very enjoyable beverage. I enjoyed the fact that it was very much a native South African beverage. In addition, I liked that it was a totally different Rooibos experience for me. I could sip on this often. I found it to be very helpful clearing my sinuses. The beverage leaves a pleasant aftertaste as well. I highly recommend this Rooibos. It has more character than I expected – very good.

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This is just what I needed after the holiday rush. Everyone around me seems to be sick…lots of sneezing and coughing. I’m doing all I can to fight it off. Choice Organic’s Lemon Lavender Mint Herb Tea is absolutely delicious and it’s very soothing on my throat. Choice Organic describes the tea as: Our sophisticated organic blend features accents of sun-blessed lavender, layers of mellow lemon, and crisp mints in a fresh yet soft-tasting herbal tea.

The tea is very comforting and all of the flavors are welcomed. The herbal blend comes in a convenient tea bag, which makes it easy to take with you. I’m sure many of you have tried teas or other herbals with similar ingredients and found the beverage to be overpowering. This is not the case with Choice Organic’s herbal blend. The tisane leaves you wanting more when the cup runs dry. You get a 360-degree experience with this herbal. It will help to relax and revive all of your senses. In fact, I wasn’t feeling very well the other evening. After a cup of the herbal my stomach felt much better. If you are looking for an herbal tea that is sure to please, this is it. Obviously, if you don’t like mint flavored beverages, you may not want to try this.  The blend consists of organic spearmint and peppermint.  The lemon grass, lemon peel, lavender, and lemon oil are balanced well with the mint.

Remember, most herbal teas are caffeine free. Lemon Lavender Mint is caffeine free. So, after it helped to calm my stomach, I was able to fall asleep without any problems. In addition, it’s important to note that it is USDA certified organic.

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Let me start by saying caffeine gets a bad rap. Now that I got that out of the way, I have a festive decaffeinated tea that I’d like to share with you. It’s a pumpkin spice flavored black tea offered by Stash Tea. I’ll admit it right now, I don’t eat a lot during the main course of Thanksgiving dinner so I can eat a lot of pumpkin pie. I love pumpkin spice flavored desserts.  So, the timing is right for me to enjoy this tea. I guess since sleep is important for our well-being, I’ll tone it down a bit and enjoy a few cups of decaffeinated tea this week. First off, the decaf pumpkin spice tea reminds of a lighter version of the Holiday Chai tea I blogged about a few weeks ago from Stash. The pumpkin spice tea is not as flavorful, but it certainly has a pumpkin spice flavor to it as suggested by its name.

The main ingredients: Naturally decaffeinated black tea, nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, natural pumpkin spice flavor, and clove.

The scent of the tea in the tea bag does remind me of a a household cleaner. The dried scent is very strong. That said, I took the suggestion on the box and added a bit of sugar and milk to the tea after it brewed in 200 degree water for about 3 minutes. The overall experience of the tea when you combine the brewed scent with the flavor is average for this variety of tea. This tea is far from my favorite, but if you have to watch your caffeine intake, this is a flavorful choice around the holidays. You’ll need to try it for yourself. If you don’t mind the scent, you’ll probably love the tea. This is one of those teas that you’ll either like or dislike.

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