red espresso® (Rooibos)

This is an exciting product for Rooibos fans or anyone looking for a naturally caffeine free product packed with antioxidants and great flavor.  Rooibos has a silky sweet flavor that is an excellent substitute for both coffee and tea.  I’ve been drinking it for years, and it’s easily my favorite tea alternative.  It’s not easy for me to deviate from tea, but when I need to cut down on caffeine, Rooibos is a great choice.

Red Espresso® opens the doors for Rooibos into the coffee shops and homes of anyone with a coffee or espresso maker.  The great thing about this product is its versatility.  You can make many hot and cold beverages with this product (click here for recipes and more info). I was fortunate to try a few hot versions of red espresso® at the World Tea Expo a couple of years ago, and it was really good.  If you are a Rooibos drinker, just note that this is not the same Rooibos you would normally find at a tea shop.  The Rooibos of red espresso® is ground; which creates a powder-like form of Rooibos as well as a finely ground Rooibos.  You can still identify the Rooibos (it’s not like it’s completely ground to dust).

from red espresso®: “Rooibos tea espresso is made from 100% premium Rooibos tea refined under a patented process to an espresso grind similar to coffee – is a unique innovation that fuses two fast-growing global trends: café culture and good health, and is being embraced by tea and coffee lovers alike. It offers a sophisticated, delicious way to drink tea and a naturally caffeine-free alternative to coffee by allowing people to enjoy a rich-flavoured cappuccino or latte – with health benefits. Naturally caffeine-free, a shot of red espresso® has five times more antioxidants than a cup of green tea (per ORAC measurements) and ten times more than regular Rooibos tea and is known to be a potent immune system booster. Easy to prepare at home or in a café, red espresso® is best prepared using an espresso machine and stovetop espresso maker but can also be prepared using a French Press and coffee maker. Versatile, red espresso® is the basis for a range of delicious red drinks – including the popular red cappuccino®, red latte® and fresh red™ (a freshly prepared, natural iced tea).”

This product has a ton of potential.  It’s time for me to start perfecting some of the recipes listed on red espresso®’s website.

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Adagio Chai

By now, most of you know what tea vendors are talking about when Chai is mentioned.  Sure the word “Chai” means tea in many languages, but most of us relate to Chai as an often spicey/sometimes sweet/always aromatic/great tasting black tea that originated in India – known as Masala Chai.  You can find Chai at your local grocery store or online tea shop in the following types: powder form, liquid concentrate, standard tea bag, and loose leaf.  Many tea vendors keep evolving their product lines and now you can find chais that use green tea and rooibos as its tea base.  These alternatives to the traditional Masala Chai give the consumer more variety.  Adagio has recently started its own line of Chais.  I was fortunate to try all of the selections.  Chai is a fun tea that is full of character.  It’s not for everyone because it is packed with intense flavors and aromas.

Adagio Chai

Adagio’s Masala Chai (black tea/caffeine): This is a solid effort at the traditional Masala Chai.  You can see a mix of cinnamon, cardamon, cloves, and ginger mixed throughout the Ceylon black tea.  Of the 6 chais I tried from Adagio, this one had the most intense flavors.  If you like chai that makes your tongue tingle, this is the one for you.  The dominant flavors found in the mix of spices blend to create a very powerful flavored black tea.  If you’re new to Chai, the flavor comes from the spices.  The quality of the spices and tea used by the tea vendor are crucial to the end result.  My only complaint about this version is the use of Ceylon tea.  I would have preferred an Assam black tea base.  Assam black tea (in my opinion – especially CTC) supports the flavors of the spices better and it can withstand longer steeping times without tasting bitter.  Having said that, I enjoy Ceylon teas – just not as the base of the chai.

Adagio’s Thai Chai (black tea/caffeine): Thai Chai just might be my favorite in the bunch.  It was the one that I found myself picking over the others.  It has a creative and inviting personality.  It tastes and looks like they left the clove out of the batch and inserted coconut and lemongrass.  The addition of the coconut and lemongrass gives the chai a sweeter flavor and silkier texture.  It’s a bit more tame than the traditional Masala Chai.  Thai Chai might be more suitable for the casual black tea drinker.  Although the tea is not as spicey, that doesn’t mean it is any less flavorful.  In fact, this tea bursts with flavor.  The aroma of this tea is mouth watering.  The lemongrass gives the tea an excellent finish.  If you enjoy lemongrass in your black tea, I definitely recommend Thai Chai.

Adagio’s Bengal Green Chai (green tea/caffeine): Very similar to the Masala Chai, but you will find China green tea in place of the Ceylon black tea.  All of the same fiery spices are present in this Chai.  I really like this…  The texture of the liquid is changed simply by substituting black tea for green tea (very smooth).  There is a slight vegetal flavor, but it’s quickly masked by the spices.  This tea has a very clean finish to it with a pleasant aftertaste.  If you are more of a green tea drinker than a black tea drinker, this is your obvious choice to enjoy spiced Chai.

Adagio’s Spiced Apple Chai (black tea/caffeine): I thought the apple flavor paired well with the chai spices; which made it an incredibly warming beverage.  This is perfect for a cold evening.  I haven’t tried it iced, but you might be able to sweeten-up the tea to make a tasty iced chai.  The apple flavor is certainly present, but it’s just an accent to the already powerful blend of spices.  I think it’s an excellent compliment, but you still have to like Chai to enjoy this tea.  Simply liking apple flavored black tea might not be enough to enjoy Adagio’s Spiced Apple Chai due to the spiced nature of the Chai.  The aroma of this Chai is sure to get your attention and anyone standing within 10 feet of your cup – very aromatic.

Adagio’s Chocolate Chai (black tea/caffeine): I love chocolate, but I wasn’t thrilled with this Chai.  It lacked the same zing as the other flavors.  It does have a pleasing aroma – sweet chocolate, but the flat flavor really brought this one down.  With the Ceylon black tea used as the base, Adagio’s Chocolate Chai simply tasted like a flavored version of black tea.  It wasn’t bad, I just couldn’t get into the chocolate flavoring while still considering this to be a chai.

Adagio’s Rooibos Vanilla Chai (herbal-Rooibos/caffeine free): This is a great offering for people trying to avoid caffeine.  Rooibos is a South African shrub that is loaded with antioxidants and it’s naturally caffeine free.  I was really surprised to be able to taste the silky-sweet Rooibos through the mix of powerful spices.  The addition of vanilla is a tasty compliment to the Rooibos.  If you’ve never tried chai spices with Rooibos, this is a good place to start.

Have fun with Chai.  Sweeten it to your liking.  Add milk or soy to give it more of a creamy texture.

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Pomegranate Vanilla Rooibos

With Mother’s Day fast approaching, first I’d like to wish my Mom a happy Mother’s Day.  In addition, I’d like to wish my wife a happy Mother’s Day.  I’ve been blessed to have a great mom and a wife that is an incredible mother.  Today, I’m drinking a Rooibos “red tea” that is part of The REPUBLIC of TEA’s Sip for the Cure product line: From The REPUBLIC of TEA: “A portion of sales from this tea will support Susan G. Komen for the Cure in their fight against breast cancer.”

The Pomegranate Vanilla flavored Rooibos was very flavorful.  The tart and tangy pomegranate aromas rise from the steam in the cup.  The flavor is very well balanced.  The vanilla mellows the tart pomegranate and helps give it more of a sweet flavor.  The Rooibos supports the flavor with its smooth, dark, and naturally sweet flavor.   Combined, the ingredients mix to make a relaxing and pleasing naturally decaffeinated beverage.  I’m a true tea lover, but I can see why many people are enjoying Rooibos.  The South African shrub seems to support a wide-range of flavors.  If you enjoy flavored teas, Rooibos might be a good alternative for you if you are looking for a naturally caffeine-free beverage.  Also, Rooibos is easy to prepare in a standard tea bag.

Happy Mother’s Day,

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Raspberry Truffle Rooibos

Whether it’s Rooibos or another tisane, I’m really enjoying the organic dark roasted Cacao that’s being added to the mix.  Kalahari has an entire line of teas and Rooibos flavors mixed with cacao.  The chocolate flavor adds another layer to flavored Rooibos beverages.  I’m typically not a fan of anything flavored with raspberry.  In this case, the Rooibos and cacao flavors are dominant and the raspberry is more of an accent.  For me, that made this Rooibos more likable.  If you enjoy chocolate and raspberries, this is an excellent Rooibos for you to try.  Remember, Rooibos is a South African shrub.  It is naturally caffeine-free.  I prepared the Rooibos using one of Kalahari’s “tea” sachets in boiling water for 3 minutes.  As much as we are told to stop drinking tea dust found in many store bought tea bags, I think Rooibos is perfect when prepared using a standard tea bag. I was hoping this had a bit more flavor than it did, but with a little sweetener, it was enjoyable.

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Wow, special thanks to two leaves and a bud for offering such a wide variety of teas. I was very foturnate to get to try several options.  From the dark and mighty Organic Assam to the berry-blasting Alpine Berry herbal.  All the teas have been enjoyable. Most recently I’ve sampled the Organic Orange Sencha green tea.  This was very interesting.  The delicious vegetal flavor was present throughout the Sencha and the Italian red orange flavor was very subtle creating a pleasant aftertaste.  With so many organic tea options and delicious teas from single geographic regions, two leaves and a bud is well worth a try. Now that I’ve narrowed down many of the samples, I’ll start to blog on the remaining options one at a time.

Two leaves and a bud work directly with tea gardens to select the finest teas grown using traditional organic methods.  The teas I consumed were packaged in biodegradable tea sachets (mug size).  The packaging allows the consumer to see the tea leaves throughout the steeping process.

Green Tea: Organic Orange Sencha

Black Tea: Organic Assam

Herbal (caffiene-free): Alpine Berry

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Educating the world’s children sip by sip.

There are very few things as important as our children’s education.  For millions of children worldwide, a quality education is a distant to unknown dream.  The REPUBLIC of TEA and Room to Read have joined forces to help promote children’s learning through the sales of The REPUBLIC OF TEA’s Little Citizens’ Herb Tea ($1 from each sale of this herbal tea will support Room to Read).  As a father of two daughters, I’m proud to spread the word about the partnership to help those that are less fortunate than many of us.

Mission of Room to Read: “We partner with local communities throughout the developing world to provide quality educational opportunities by establishing libraries, creating local language children’s literature, constructing schools, and providing education to girls. We seek to intervene early in the lives of children in the belief that education empowers people to improve socioeconomic conditions for their families, communities, countries and future generations. Through the opportunities that only education can provide, we strive to break the cycle of poverty, one child at a time.”

Today I made Strawberry Vanilla Little Citizens’ Herb Tea for my entire family.  The organic and fair trade certified Rooibos was perfect for the kids because it is naturally decaffinated. After drinking a couple of small cups, they still went to bed at their normal time.  The strawberry and vanilla flavors were very well balanced with the Rooibos.  The beverage was naturally sweet and flavorful enough to keep their attention.  The Strawberry Vanilla flavor was the perfect choice for my family since everyone really likes strawberries.  Give it a try, and help support the vision of the program by enjoying an excellent family-friendly herbal tea.

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Taking time to explore more herbal “teas”…

I love tea and it’s really hard for me to drink anything that doesn’t actually contain Camellia sinensis.  I know a lot of you enjoy tisanes (herbal teas), and I’d like to share a couple with you.  Coco Truffle: cacao, cinnamon, fennel, licorice root, cardamom, ginger, cloves, black pepper. Belgian Mint: cacao, peppermint. Both selections were very enjoyable.  Cacao seems to be a common theme that tea companies are using/promoting more frequently these days.  In addition to adding a chocolate-like flavor, the cacao adds more body to the traditional herbal blend.

The Coco Truffle was excellent.  It has a lot of class and elegance that makes it a premium dessert beverage.  The flavors were smooth and balanced.  The scent was divine.  As you can see from its ingredients listing that there are a lot of dominant flavors in the mix. Tea Forté managed to pull it all together.  I could sip this all night long.  It’s difficult not to relax when you are drinking this herbal.

The Belgian Mint is not quite as complex as the Coco Truffle, but it’s lack of ingredients should not be considered a weakness.  It’s strength is in the power of its two ingredients – peppermint and cacao.  Peppermint is probably my favorite herbal ingredient.  So this one was perfect for me.  The cacao and peppermint  combine to create a refreshing and replenishing beverage.  This is a great herbal to drink when you want to freshen your breath after a meal. Plus the peppermint will help you digest your food.  Both herbal blends are naturally decaffeinated.

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As a tea/Rooibos blogger, I try to experience as many products as possible.  Kalahari’s much improved website and ChocoLatté Teas (including Rooibos) really caught my attention. I have several flavors to try, and I randomly selected Cherry Vanilla and Safari Lullaby to start. Both are flavored Rooibos varieties. The Rooibos comes in a traditional style tea bag; which for me is ideal when it comes to Rooibos. Most Rooibos options are finely cut and when prepared “loose”, it can be messy with traditional tea strainers. Anyway, I steeped the Rooibos for about 3-5 minutes in near boiling water. Starting with an inviting aroma and ending with a pleasing flavor and aftertaste, the Kalahari Rooibos exceeded my expectations.

Cherry Vanilla: Wow. That’s all I could say as I simultaneously inhale the aroma and allow the delicious flavors to roll over my tongue. The flavor combination was perfectly balanced. Ingredients: Dark Roasted Cacao, Organic Rooibos, Cinnamon, Licorice, Chicory, Cardamom, Ginger, Cloves, Vanilla and natural Cherry Flavor. Let me tell you…this was delicious.  The natural ingredients and flavoring created a smooth and enjoyable beverage. What exceeded my expectations is how well the ingredients were blended together.  The slight scent and taste of chocolate with a touch of cherry and vanilla in every sip was amazing.  I can’t wait to try more Kalahari ChocoLatté Teas.

Safari Lullaby: Ingredients: Rooibos, Chamomile, Spearmint, Lemon Grass, Valerian, natural flavors. Chamomile is not my favorite herbal ingredient. On the flip side, Spearmint is one of my favorite herbal ingredients. I wasn’t quite sure how I was going to respond to the Safari Lullaby.  Well, good news for me, the chamomile was mild and all the flavors combined for a very relaxing flavored Rooibos.  The spearmint was unreal.  This beverage was so smooth and delicate. Perfectly titled Safari Lullaby.

As you can see, I was very impressed.  I have several more flavors to try and I’m going to savor each one.  I highly recommend ordering from Kalahari if you enjoy flavored teas and Rooibos.

• Visit Kalahari

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