Rooibee Red Tea

I read on this website that this tea is actually better for you than the Rooibee Red Tea, is it true or? Has anyone tried it? I just bought it today and waiting for the product to arrive. The website in question – https://redteadetox396828957.wordpress.com/blog/

Normally I have a hard time finishing bottled tea, I don’t find it that enjoyable, but I didn’t have that issue with this bottle. It was sweet, without making my teeth hurt and the watermelon-mint flavor wasn’t overwhelming. I could taste the red rooibos underneath the flavoring, a hint of mint, and a fairly believable watermelon flavor. All of the ingredients had a nice balance, although I would have preferred something much less sweet. The level of sweetness comes down to my personal preferences, I don’t typically sweeten my tea. At least in this case the extra sugar covers up some of the flavor from the citric acid. I’ll take extra sweet over sour any day of the week. Overall this was a really nice bottled tea and I look forward to trying some of the other flavors once Hy-Vee has them back in stock.

You can read the rest of the review on my blog:
http://www.notstarvingyet.com/index/2014/7/29/tuesday-tea-road-trip-edition-bottled-watermelon-mint-rooibe.html

I am just now getting around to opening this bottle and drinking it, even though it’s been sitting in my fridge for a couple of months as it was part of my very first goodies box: http://hungryinportland.com/2012/10/02/my-goodies-box-is-finally-here/

It’s tasty enough, but it is quite sweet, and the sweetness seems to overpower much of the tartness you’d expect from the cranberry and pomegranate, in fact, it becomes so overpowering that it is hard to tell that this is actually a cranberry pomegranate flavored tisane. I taste mostly rooibos and the cane sugar sweetening, although the flavors of the cranberry and pomegranate do come out in the aftertaste.

Pleasant, refreshing, but sweeter than I like my beverages to be, so this probably is not something I’d buy for myself, but I was happy to have the opportunity to taste it.

Unlike their unsweet red tea, I think this one could actually use a bit more of the citric acid to make it zip – it’s very smooth (too smooth for cranberry) and somewhat lacking the depth of flavor I would expect from pomegranate. I can’t help but think that these would be so much better with real fruit juice (like Izze soda, another fave brand).

Again, this one’s not a “love it” or “hate it” – I just think it’s missing something, and could be better.

great afternoon pick-me-up with pretzels. Hydration + sugar – caffeine = just what I need today!

smooth and sweet, the flavors all blend well together. tastes a bit sweeter than the others, but I guess that’s just the honey flavor (there’s no actual honey in the ingredients though, just organic cane sugar and natural flavor)

I also finally remembered to shake the bottle this time!

sucked this down pretty quick with my black bean quesadilla. This is a very refreshing combo with mexican food!

I like this one – maybe my fave so far. I had a few swigs, then put the rest in tupperware int eh freezer for 30 min. Transferred to my VillaWare ice cream makers for 20 min. Result = Red Tea Peach Granita. Smooth, fluffy and refreshing. Or maybe it’s a sorbet. I’m not clear on the difference. I ran it on on low for first 15 min, then high for 5. It’s soft and airy like a shave ice.

just as you finish tasting the sweet watermelon, the mint cuts in with it’s refreshing zing. This is the most unique, and refreshing of the Rooibee blends. I think it’s my favorite simply because it brings something unique to the mix, and it keeps your tastebuds engaged and the flavor combo stimulates your brain. At least my brain feels that way…

Oddly, last time I said this was my favorite, and not too sweet…

Today I am saying; “this is not my fave of theirs, as it’s a bit too sweet for me, but anyone looking for a Southern Sweet tea alternative would probably like it.”

This is my favorite so far- clean tasting, sweet, but not tooth-achingly so. This is a great alternative for anyone who is tired of “southern style” sweet tea, and/or wants a bottled tea that isn’t full of weird chemicals, preservatives, artificial sweeteners, etc.

So after all the other flavors, this seems a bit boring now. Maybe boring isn’t the right word, it’s just neutral. I do like the lemon – it gives this a sharper mouthfeel than their sweetened/flavored ones, which seem annoyingly “soft” and “slippery” to me sometimes.

This one is perfect for people who like unsweetened iced tea with lemon.

Ok, this is my first Rooibee Red Tea. I bought a mixed 12pk, mainly for the flavors, but I am starting with the plain unsweet one.

Pros:
*It’s very refreshing, goes down easy. I had to force myself to savor it instead of chug it.
*No calories, sugar, etc, and it’s organic
*The natural sweetness of rooibos, plus the citric acid, makes this just as enjoyable as actual “sweet tea” in my book!

Cons
*The citric acid is a bit strong – this tastes like lemon tea, and seems more acidic as it gets warm
*No iron or vitamin C (or any other nutrients). If I made my own iced plain rooibos w/ lemon, it would be healthier because it would at least have those 2 things…

Verdict: Undecided. I do like it, but expect to like the flavored ones better. I wouldn’t go buy a case of this on its own, but I would rather drink it than water or overly sweet black iced tea. I’m giving it a 55 for now, may go up when I try the second one (I did forget to shake this bottle first, so there was some settling which may have affected the flavor)