Rooibos is one of those great drinks that can be steeped indefinitely and will never get bitter. Any astringency that might arise from "oversteeping" rooibos is likely due to any additional ingredients. However, I have never personally encountered this! The Boston Tea Company suggests steeping for five to eight minutes. As I really enjoy my rooibos strong, I use just-boiled water and steep two teaspoons of rooibos in twelve ounces of water for the full eight minutes!
The blueberry and raspberry aromas are really noticeable in the dry rooibos. Lingering in the background is a slight floral aroma, which I assume to be the safflower. If the cup tastes anything like the smell of the dry rooibos, this should be great! As it steeps, I take a whiff of the aromas floating from the mug. The balance impresses me. Whereas the rooibos had taken a backseat to the other aromas in the dry mixture, it really blends well into the smell of the steeping blend. In fact, it has almost gained prominence over the other notes.
My first sip tastes...a bit underwhelming. The rooibos tastes great, no question there, but the flavors of the additional blueberry and raspberry are much lighter than I anticipated, based on how the dry rooibos smelled. Both are noticeable, however, and the raspberry tickles the tongue upon first sipping, while the blueberry comes through more in the body of flavor. As I continue to sip, the fruit becomes more prominent, which is pleasant.
Overall, I found that Berry Twist was a pretty decent rooibos. One could do much worse than this, and it made for a light beverage (some rooibos blends can be pretty heavy on flavor). On my personal enjoyment scale, I would rate Berry Twist an 80/100.
Photo credit to Built from Ink and Tea.
The Boston Tea Company's Berry Twist is no longer available from their website.
This review was unsolicited and uncompensated.
Text is copyright 2016, Built from Ink and Tea.
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