This was really interesting. I love rooibos and that is what I was initially comparing it to. When I first smelled the loose leaves, I was kind of baffled – it smelled rather sweet, but also had some other scent I couldn’t really define that was strange (some kind of earthy scent?)
My first brew, I think I added slightly too much water for the amount of leaves. The first cup was different from what I was expecting from the scent. The initial flavours weren’t necessarily sweet but the aftertaste was. It does have kind of a fruity scent and the taste almost has overtones like an herbal fruit tea.
I found that as it cooled, it seemed to taste sweeter and to become less astringent (negligibly so). The scent really seemed to get much sweeter and open up.
ETA: I made a second infusion of this and it actually still tasted pretty good. I steeped it for around 10 minutes which I think really helped make the second cup taste close to the first. The scent was just as strong as the first cup. The flavour was more subtle but still there.
But wow this makes me tired. There is no way I am ever drinking this in the middle of the day. I don’t actually know if I like the way in which this made me sleepy. I feel like I’ve had the world’s longest day.
