Spiced Apple Cider Rooibos

This tea has been retired/discontinued.

Brand: Teavana Style: Rooibos Chai / Spiced Rooibos Caffeine: Caffeine Free Region: Blend Loose/teabag: Loose

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Ratings & Reviews

Page 1 of 1 page with 3 reviews

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50 Aroma: 5/10 Flavor: 2/5 Value: 2/5
Alex Zorach (1453 reviews) on Nov. 13th, 2014

Thank you Brytta for the sample!

The aroma of the dry leaf smells a lot like spiced apple cider.

Upon brewing, produces a cup that tastes a little bit like spiced apple cider, without the sugar--which is the kind of thing I'd normally like. The spice blend is very heavy on the cinnamon though, and clove is noticeably absent--when I make spiced cider, the clove is indispensable, in fact, I would be completely satisfied with JUST clove and nothing else. So...this one tasted a bit off to me, just as a matter of what I'm used to in terms of flavor combinations.

I don't notice the rooibos much. The flavor is naturally sweet...in a very subdued way. Sweet for tea, still nowhere near as sweet as actual cider or fruit juice. The sweetness is soft and rounded, reminiscent of licorice. I also found there was a sourness that sank to the bottom of the cup...too much for me. If I were blending this, I'd omit the hibiscus, or use a dash less.

Although the ingredients list artificial flavors, and the smell of the dry blend was a little artificial, the brewed cup tastes more natural.

Like most of Teavana's products, grossly overpriced, nearly $18 for a quarter pound. That's a price I'll pay for an artisan tea, or something artfully blended from organic and fair trade ingredients, not an artificially-flavored blend like this. I'd say a fair price for this blend would be about $5-7 for 4 ounces.

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60 Aroma: 6/10 Flavor: 3/5 Value: 2/5
Brytta Sóþword (334 reviews) on Jan. 17th, 2014

I'm still making up my mind about this tea. I think I may have over-brewed it slightly. Also, I added a little sugar, but think it may benefit from a little more. Also, I think it might be better cold, but this time I tried it hot.

Regardless, the apple smell isn't quite as strong as I was expecting/hoping, but it's still quite nice. It's like the flavor is *so close* to what I'd really like, but not quite there. I think, perhaps, I'd go for a tea more overtly fruity.

Also, though it's caffeine free, I notice while drinking this tea that my head has a similar reaction as it does to coffee and caffeinated teas. It's not bad, but it's rather strange.

I have a lot of this tea (I bought it with gift cards when it was 75% off, getting 34 ounces for free). I'll be trying it again and perhaps writing a follow up review. Overall, it's worth trying (especially if you can get it on sale), but there are other teas I've enjoyed more.

*Update*: Yep, it's definitely better cold. It actually tastes sweeter cold, which is odd because normally warmth is what brings out sweetness in food. I've noticed this in another tea I had recently too, so maybe it works differently for tea, somehow? Regardless, the not-quite-floral taste and aroma come out better when drinking this tea out of the refrigerator rather than out of the tea pot.

Also, I tried the tea hot a second time and it tasted more delightful. The difference was steep time: 4 minutes is superior to 5 minutes. I may try it even lighter next time and see how that goes.

Update 2: After making this tea numerous times, I've found that making sure you actually scoop up the rooibos and have the apples and cinnamon makes a very positive difference. The flavor is smoother and has more body. Earlier, because the fruit and cinnamon tend to rise to the top of my decent sized container, I had been using too much of them.

4 Comments

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50 Aroma: 5/10 Flavor: 3/5 Value: 2/5
Kelci (19 reviews) on Dec. 13th, 2013

I like Teavana Tea. I just think it tends to be overpriced and I always get someone at the store who tries to sell me something I don't want, even after I tell them that 3 times! When I walk by a store, I can not resist stopping however, and like I said, I do like their tea. I go in and buy this tea, and the salesman puts 4ounces in a bag. I tell him I only want 2ounces, and he takes a little out and asks if that is good, no I say, 2 ounces still-3.4, 2.8, 2.4-REALLY I say! I get the tea home, look inside, I realize that I have an unusually large # of cinnamon sticks in my mix. REALLY, I say again. This tea was good. I can get good tea for about half of what I paid for this however. Would I buy it again, I am not sure, if the sales experience was the same, probably not. I am not going to lie, I know I will buy more Teavana Tea, this one will just not be on the top of my list. I can buy cinnamon sticks and add them to things when I brew, just like they do. Sorry, but it is true.

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Page 1 of 1 page with 3 reviews

External Reviews

Our editorial team has selected the following reviews from other websites:

• Spiced Apple Cider Rooibos (Teavana): Tea Review - The Walk of Words
  Nov. 6, 2013
  
  Rebekkah Niles gives a mixed review of this tea, commenting that Teavana has done an excellent job of replicating the flavor of apple cider in a tea, but that it wasn't as enjoyable overall as drinking actual cider. An attempted resteep turned out watery and weak.