Absolute Tea

The Best Tea in the World

I've been waiting to talk about this tea since I first started this weblog. It is my favorite tea in the whole world, but there is just one problem. It isn't really a "true tea" so-to-speak. On the other hand, it isn't really a herbal concoction either.

So what is it then? Well, for starters it's a plant grown in South Africa that the locals call the Red Bush, but it's more commonly known as Rooibos.

There almost isn't a flavor you can't find within rooibos mixtures. From chocolate to fruit, and mint to almond you can have all assortments of flavors. Even plain, this drink is one of the best there is in the tea markets.

So I'd like to present to you the special blend that made me appreciate tea and respect it as a drink.

Green Rooibos Oasis


Image from Special Teas

Oo la la, this is one great tasting tea. It's absolutely brilliant with its natural sweetness and the fruity explosion that happens in your mouth. The ingredients that make up this tea include: orange peels, strawberry bits, peach bits, sunflower blossoms and cornflowers. If I haven't said it enough already, this is one superb combination of a tea.

Before I get into the specific taste of this tea, I'd like to talk about the name of this tea, as it is known to have a few different names depending on who you buy it from. This particular tea is from the company Special Teas. The common denominator of the name is Green, which has a good reason too. It defines which blend of rooibos you are getting, as regular rooibos is the oxidized version and green rooibos is non-oxidized; kind of like white tea vs. Black tea, but enough of that. Lets move on to the good stuff - describing the taste of Green Rooibos Oasis.

I would say that this tea...

• is refreshing cold or hot
• has a brisk fruity body
• is smooth and sweet
• contains completely rounded depths of flavor
• creates a rich ambiance on the tongue
• has the most pleasant aroma around, comparable to potent flowers
  
• should be ranked among the finest teas in the world

The color of Green Rooibos Oasis is a slightly orangeish red. So now you should be glad I told you why this drink is called Green Rooibos, otherwise you might have been confused by this information. The actual color comes from the other ingredients like the orange peels and strawberry bits. If it had been just green rooibos the color would look very similar to a green tea.

Image from Special Teas

Something else to keep in mind with this tea is that because it comes from a completely different plant, it contains zero caffeine. Not only that, but rooibos also doesn't have any tannins in it, which is something very important when it comes to brewing - a good thing.

If you can't wait until tomorrow when I'll be posting more specific information on Rooibos teas you can check out wikipedia, as it has many good links.


Absolute Rating: ( * ) ( * ) ( * ) ( * ) ( * )

I think it's quite obvious why I gave this tea a full 5 stars - I'm completely biased. Okay, that's not all true. After making this tea for many different types of people including my tea club participants, family, and friends, not a single person didn't love it. I think that says something in-and-of-itself without my pedestal pushing. There really isn't a single thing I can find to fault this tea other than that it isn't a true tea. I mean, it has no caffeine, is naturally sweet, is incredibly easy to brew, tastes spectacular, and if you make it hot and it gets cold there is no consequence to its flavor.

This is a must try tea. If you've never had a good loose leaf tea or are trying loose leaf tea for the first time you would be silly not to try Green Rooibos Oasis. It's simply the best.

Suggested Brewing Method

By far, the rooibos teas are the easiest to make. They require little attention with there fire and forget process. With Green Rooibos Oasis especially, you have lots of room to work with. So relax and enjoy the pleasing, fragrant aromas this beauty of a tea emits while you loosely follow these instructions.


~What You Will Need~

1. One ounce of loose leaf, Green Rooibos Oasis tea
2. A 4-6 cup teapot with a large strainer (1 cup = 6 ounces)
3. Teaspoon devoted to tea
4. Automatic shut-off boiler
5. Purified water
6. A clock
7. Something to do for 10 minutes

~Directions~

1. Fill boiler with filtered water and start to boil
2. Rinse teapot with hot water until warm
3. Place 1 heaping teaspoon of loose leaf tea for every 1 cup of tea
4. Let steep for 5-10 minutes or longer
5. Remove strainer and loose tea
6. Drink up and wet yourself with joy

From these directions you should be able to make a fine tasting tea. Even if you totally screw them up, there is a good chance you tea is still going to taste great. This is one of best features of Green Rooibos Oasis - the room for error. Let's say that while you're steeping your tea you forget about it while watching TV because you really got into the show (I've seen it happen). Now the next time you check your tea 15 minutes have gone by - don't panic. There aren't any tannins in rooibos to make your drink get bitter so in theory you could leave your tea steep all day. I don't necessarily recommend this because you lose some freshness, but hey, anything that takes the pressure off right?

I hope I didn't raise the expectations too high for you.

posted by Michael at 1:02 AM