Orange Blossom

Not a bad tea. I originally got this on impulse and I regretted it because I realized it just smelled like bubblegum and wasn’t looking forward to trying it. I put it off until last week when I made an iced jug of my 15 grams and I actually enjoyed it. When iced it doesn’t smell quite like bubblegum and I could enjoy it. I think this is one of those ones I will repurchase when I’m feeling the need for it but not necessarily rush out to get and not in a huge volume.

A lovely vanillaish iced tea. The orange is there, but not obtrusive. A great dessert tea.

If you are in the mood for a not-too-sweet creamsicle, this is the tea. I wouldn’t call it a dessert tea because it’s not too sweet or too rich. You can really taste the orange and the vanilla, but it’s a good balance, and not too citrus-y or tangy. It’s very creamy and would taste amazing iced.

I have mixed feelings about this one. When it’s prepared right, it’s delicious! Like a mixture of creamsicle and bubblegum. But I made it iced with too much leaf once, and it was really, reeaally bad. Really strong rooibos, chemical fakeyness, too much sweet orange flavour to the point that it was all really cloying all together. If you get the ratios right though, it’s pretty magical!

Got this on my first venture into the local David’s Tea yesterday.

I was looking to try another kind of orange-flavoured tea, because I really loved the “Orange Lemonade” herbal from Tealux. (I see now that the Tealux blend is a whole different kettle of, um, tea — not a flavoured rooibos like this one is.)

So even though this one is a rooibos base, I thought it might work because the dry leaves had a really heavenly orange and floral smell. I was following my nose. However, when the tea was steeped, the orange disappeared and the other flavours really faded a lot. I don’t think I’d want to drink a strong floral, but I did wish for the orange to carry over into the brewing.

So the steeped tea wasn’t awful, but nothing at all to write home about. Just blah and disappointing.

The package said steep for 4 to 7 minutes – I went for 7, thinking to maximize the orange flavour. Maybe that was too long. Next time, I’ll try shorter.

Got this one in the caffeine-free pack and it is lovely. It smells bright and orangey when dry and tastes like vanilla and citrus in the cup. I’m not big on adding sugar or milk to my tea, but I added the tiniest pinch of honey and it instantly transformed this into Creamsicle… Dreamsicle? the ice cream bar that was orange sherbet and vanilla cream together. If you liked that as a kid (or an adult!), you’ll love this tea.

From what I can tell by letting it cool down in the cup, this would also make a great iced tea.

I’m slowing coming over the rooibos side of things and this tea has help! It’s orangey and smooth and oh so delightful!

So this is my very first entry in my tea journal. My brother bought me a tasting set of 12 David’s Teas, which I have never tried before. I thought I would start with the Orange Blossom because it smelled really good dry.

Hot tea: As soon as it started to steep I could smell a strong orange scent. I loved the first few sips where I could subtly taste the sweetness and vanilla, but as I was nearing the end of my cup the sweetness was very strong! It tasted like candy or bubblegum, not really what I was expecting with a “subtly sweet” rooibos. I still really enjoyed it and will probably take it with milk next time.

I’ve decided I’m not going to rate any more rooibos teas because apparently I just don’t like them. If you like oranges and rooibos you’d probably find this palatable. shrug

I always reach for Orange Blossom when I’m craving something iced. With a splash of milk and honey, not only does it make for a beautiful layering effect but this it tastes just like an Orange Creamsicle!