With a name like this, I certainly didn't expect anything but orange flavor. However, this is the rare tea I've tried where the dry-bag, in-cup and wet-bag scents all were *much* stronger on the main flavoring than the actual taste. That's not necessarily a bad thing in this case, as all three modes of inhalation yielded a brutally potent orange smell, much akin to the flavor of candy orange slices rendered gaseous. While I like orange as a smell and flavor, that was all there was aroma-wise. Whatever scent the rooibos or "other natural flavors" are supposed to impart...those were beaten to blood-orange submission by the dominant ester.

Don't get me wrong: the orange taste was unmistakable and strong too, but somehow, the rooibos base tea cut through and, in maybe half the sips, matched the orange for a remarkable balance. This was very surprising, after an olfactory experience akin to cramming a rag soaked with orange oil into both nostrils. I suspect folks who enjoy strongly orange-flavored herbal teas will love this one, but rooibos fans might too, since one sometimes can taste that as well. The other ingredients, besides rooibos, orange peel and orange oil, are hibiscus and rose hips—mainstays of many fruity herbals (including the Celestial Seasonings "Zinger" line). I couldn't taste them at all; they instead seemed to be catalysts for magnifying the orange presence.

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