1737 Tasting Notes
Eight different companies listed at Steepster are offering a tea by the name of Angel Falls Mist, including Good Life Tea, which sent me this sample. I wonder if these companies are prohibited from changing the name? That does not seem likely. But why not go ahead and do it in a case such as this, where what is palpably Rote Grutze is being re-branded as something which has no literal meaning whatsoever. Angel Falls Mist? Really?
This herbal blend is pretty good for a Rote Grutze. Okay, maybe it’s not exactly Rote Grutze, since there seems to be quite a bit of non-red stuff (apples?) here, but the flavor is very similar. It was nice of Good Life Tea to send me free samples, but I’m not convinced that any value has been added to the product since it was acquired from the wholesaler.
I suppose that Upton, et al., do the same thing, in a way, but I feel more confident that they actually know more about tea than I do. Not so clear that the smaller companies sprouting up all over the place are being run by people who are distinguished specifically for their tea prowess… This bubble may pop soon. Or perhaps it already has, as evidenced by the short lifespan of many of these companies. It seems that another one is shuttering its stores every day or so…
Flavors: Fruity
Preparation
When looking for this Belgian Chocolate Rooibos, I found about twelve other entries for teas of the very same name but offered by different companies, so this is obviously one of those cases referred to in a recent forum thread which discusses the phenomenon of different companies sourcing from the same megacompany… I somewhat agree with the OP, that there are all sorts of uncertainties involved, above all, the age of the original blend. How long did the wholesaler have it in stock before it was sold to a retailer who then turned around and offered it as new?
I was sent a small sample of this blend by Good Life Tea—just enough for a small cup. It was pretty good. In fact, very good for a rooibos blend, because it did not really taste like rooibos! The mint was quite obvious, so I’d have called this Chocolate Mint Rooibos. Not so sure that the Belgian is detectable…
Flavors: Chocolate, Mint
