Hmm, I wish I’d have known this was a red rooibos before I selected it to bring to work with me today… Both the bag and the brew smell quite strongly of rooibos, pretty medicinal. However, from the brewed tea at least, I am getting quite hefty smells of caramel, like jarred caramel sauce after it’s been warmed. Not so much apple, though, and the chamomile isn’t earning it any points, either. (I’m only a fan of chamomile in certain applications, anyway, because it tends to taste like bland lemonade to me, without any of the citrus-y bite that lemonade should have… if that makes any sense.)
Whoa. In the first few sips, I’m getting nothing BUT apple and chamomile. The caramel didn’t show up until the fifth or sixth sip, and the rooibos has mercifully taken a backseat. The overall effect is not as unpleasant as it might have been, but still not something I’d ever think of and go “yeah, I’m in the mood for THAT.” I’ll probably finish this cup, but I definitely won’t be buying this. Thanks to IrishBreakfastLass for this one, though (I think… I may be remembering incorrectly who sent this to me, and if I got the wrong person, I’m sorry!). Glad I got to try it.