Pineapple Bacon Rooibos

I am finally trying this sample sent to me from Dexter3657. This is definitely a strange combination to consider drinking but I suppose it is worth a try. It has only taken me a few weeks to finally build up the courage so here goes nothing.

The smell I get is a woodsy rooibos combined with the smell of smokey bacon. There is even a bit of fruity pineapple in there as well.Definitely not the sweet smell of the dessert-y teas I am used to but very interesting nonetheless.

Tastewise, the first flavor that hits my tongue is pineapple – sweet and ripe. Some sips more pineapple-y than others. They all end the same way and that is with a bit of bacon smokiness. It makes for a flavor experience different from all others. I don’t think I will be buying this again but it was certainly an amazing tea to try. It is also not nearly as scary a flavor as I worried it might be. The bacon for me is more of a back-up in this tea than the main performer and I think that makes it much easier to drink. Honestly, I thought I would try this and pour it down the drain but I am actually enjoying this cup. Thank you Dexter3657 for sharing such a unique tea!

Sipdown. I had this from Dexter3657 a while back and finished it today. Not because she sent me so much but I didn’t care for the first cup and then I took the left of the sample with me to work where it got shuffled around.

It’s weird… This tea tasted exactly like root beer to me today. Unfortunately for this tea, I don’t like root beer. I wasn’t raised in North America and when I discovered root beer as an adult I likened it to some toothpaste. End of root beer exploring right there.

Glad to have tried pineapple bacon though, I would have been helluva curious about it. Expectation not met.

I could do without this in my life.

Tastes and smells a bit like bubblegum. Salty, smokey bacon pops into the finish and aftertaste, but the cup has more of a candied citrus thing going for it.

Not bad, actually kind of neat, but I still wish it would leave my life forever.

I’ll give it a rating when I finally work through my packet. Only then will my deepest, darkest feelings for this rooibos be fully realized.

Ok so after a lot of messing around with this tea I think I can rate it. When I first saw this I was pretty much like, “PINAPPLE AND BACON!!!! YESTH!!!!”Plus I have been wanting a non-caffeinated tea.

Overall it is a pretty interesting concoction. The pineapple mixes well with the citric woodsy flavor, and with a dash of salt (thanks for the tip Frank) it brings out the savory and slightly smokey bacon flavor. The only thing is that the smell of the tea is a bit weird. It reminds me of bubble gum flavored couch syrup, but other wise it is a good tea.

Read full review here: http://tunesntea.wordpress.com/2013/03/31/tea-pineapple-bacon-rooibos/

Backlog:

Didn’t hate it, but, didn’t really love it either. I had my hopes up, because I really did enjoy the other bacon teas that I’ve tried (Maple Bacon and Chocolate Bacon from 52Teas … duh, right?)

But this didn’t really live up to the other bacon offerings. This misses some of that smoky note of bacon. Bacon should taste slightly smoky, you know? This … doesn’t. I do like the pineapple in this though, sweet and juicy. It needs more bacon flavor, it needs a hint of smokiness … and when preparing this, I do recommend adding a pinch of salt to it when you pour it into your teacup … this does help bring out the bacon-y taste a little bit.

Not horrible, but not my favorite bacon tea. Yes, I realize that sentence seems a very odd one to be saying. Or typing. Or whatever. It just doesn’t seem like it should be a sentence of this earth. But … there it is.

I finally got my hands on some 52teas. I’ve been so curious, they seem to be all the rage. XD

So I snagged some of this because it was just too weird /not/ to try. I like pineapple, I like bacon, and I moderately tolerate rooibos. Seemed to be an easy choice.

Dry this tea smells kind of weird. Like a sweet woodsy syrup with just a faint hint of smoke if you sniff hard enough. Steeped it smells the same, but I get a nice bacon smell when I back away from the cup. Oddly enough the closer I get, the less I smell bacon. Though its possible my dinner is confusing my nose.

I don’t really get much of a bacon taste. Its mostly sweet woodsy pineapple. Which is still pretty good, don’t get me wrong. There’s a bit of saltyness in the background, which makes it different from just an ordinary pineapple rooibos, but it doesn’t just punch you in the face with bacon. Makes me want to try some of the other bacon blends.

Overall pretty pleased with my first 52teas. Hopefully the other two I got will be just as good, if not better.

(BTW, don’t let this cool. It looses something.)

Tea #3 from Another Traveling Tea Box?!?!?!

My husband and I sampled this one more out of curiosity than anything else! I’m certainly getting the customary carmely-notes of the rooibos, with maybe a hint or two of the pineapple. I wasn’t sure what to expect from the bacon, but I’m not picking it out at all. An interesting blend to try!

i got this sample from moraiwe! and i’ve been saving it a long time.
i figured it was gonna be quite the experience, so i wanted to enjoy it at the right moment.
but actually, it didn’t quite meet my expectations. i had expected a big one-two sweet and salty punch i guess. but heck the flavor still okay and i’ll totally drink it up. it’s just not as bold as i had hoped for hah.

then again, i know that level of boldness could have easily been mega gross. but eh, i’m a gamblin girl.

I love how accurately this smells and tastes like pineapple! And there is the bacon, too—a smoky saltiness, but not as hit-you-over-the-head as with Maple Bacon. Much easier to drink than Maple Bacon, sweeter and less intense. I also like the mouthfeel, smooth and silky despite the fruitiness—no astringency or bitterness. Yum.

This is a really weird tea. Which I was expecting.

The dry leaf smells like fruity mint bubblegum. Which I was not expecting.

The brewed tea smells like smokey fruity mint bubblegum. Okaaaaay.

The taste though tastes like pineapple, lemons, with a hit of smokiness. A pinch of salt and now I have pineapple, lemons and bacon. And I’m still picking up a kind of woodsy citrus mintyness that is the rooibos. This is the most out-of-place taste in the mix. There’s also a bubblegum taste (like the zebra stripe gum of childhoods past) Contrary to all these crazy mixed flavors the tea itself is a seemingly cohesive unit. It’s just absolutely not for me.

My biggest gripe is that I’m not really keen on the weird earthy flavor that rooibos adds — mostly because I’m not keen on rooibos in general as it tastes how wet cedar mulch smells to me — and I guess I was hoping the other flavors would overpower it more. And not taste like bubblegum. Or mint.

Still, hyperkudos for getting a cup of tea to taste like pineapple and bacon (and rooibos).