For the last few weeks I’ve been stricken with an odd quandary. At the end of my day, I found myself too tired to brew up tea. Even the herbals. There was a time – not long past – when a good tisane was what the end of the day (or night) required. That ritual fell by the wayside in favor of…well…zoning. Tonight was about to be such a night until I turned to my “It’s All About the Leaf” box (yes, there is an actual box dedicated to this site).

One of the samples I forgot about in the fray was a Mighty Leaf offering. How this escaped my notice (and memory), I have no clue. I love Mighty Leaf, and their tisanes are topnotch. They made one of the best citrus chamomile fusions I’ve ever tried, and don’t get me started on how they made yerba mate drinkable.

The nighttime cup o’ “Thud!” I was turning to this time was aptly dubbed “African Nectar. From the name, it was obviously a rooibos base. In fact, I expected it to be straight rooibos with, maybe, a few other additives. Well…there were more than a few. Along for the rooibos ride were hibiscus (a mainstay in a lot of rooibos blends), rose petals, mallow blossoms, and marigolds. Natural flavors and natural tropical flavors rounded out the medley. Why flavoring had to be mentioned twice, I dunno. Emphasis, maybe.

What I loved best about this? It came in a sachet! Perfect for the lazy, lethargic steeper that I was at 2AM. To the sight, however, the contents didn’t look like the floral menagerie I was picturing in my head. I saw one marigold and a few other pieces, but for the most part, it was just rooibos. Smelled quite tropical, though.

Brewing instructions were dead simple. On the bag, they said to brew for five minutes. That’s it. No water temperature listing, no cup size, nothing. They simply expected you to fill a cup with hot water and dunk the bag in. At two past Witching Hour, I was quite okay with this.

I didn’t time the infusion as much as watched the clear mug dark from gold to crimson – really cool effect. The cup smelled as tart and tropical as the un-dunked bag did. It’s very promising when the natural flavoring can hold up to a long steep. To the taste, there was a mild citrus tang and hibiscus bite on the front, followed by the requisite rooibos nut-sweetness in the middle, and – not surprisingly – it ended on a floral note. There was also the texture of nectar, just as the namesake promised.

In my limited experience, it’s hard to find tisanes that do exactly what they promise. This did so. I think that should be Mighty Leaf’s credo: “We do what the name says, damn it.” (Okay, maybe phrased differently.)

You can purchase Mighty Leaf African Nectar Loose Tea or Mighty Leaf African Nectar Tea Pouches directly from their website.

The NecessiTeas’ selection of rooibos teas reads like a decadent bakery menu. Chiffons and cocoas and various sweet temptations are elements of every item. My first sniff of the Orange Marzipan dry mix sent my taste buds crazy, craving sugar cookies with almond flavoring–because the almond is what hits you first, strong and sweet.

The heavy almond scent dissipates a little once you steep the tea. But rooibos is complemented well by sweetish flavors and the blend is still cookie-pleasant. Orange flavor is present, but stays modestly in the background.

As tea ingredients, oranges and almonds have the potential to turn on you if you don’t steep carefully–oranges go sour, almonds go bitter. But in the case of this culinary concoction, it’s all good; well balanced.

You can purchase the Orange Marzipan directly from the The Necessiteas website.

First let me say that I have an affinity to almonds. Love them especially hot almond milk tea. Roasted almond just sounds that much better. Not too sure about the red rooibos as I’ve only had rooibos a handful of times.

Remember my review on Shanti Tea’s Cherry Sencha and how I said that Cherry scents always remind me of Cherry Children’s Tylenol? Well, this tea’s dry leaf smelled even more potent than that and I felt a little dizzy. It reminded me of my aversion to Cherry scents.

Anyway with regards to the taste, I think I must have some kind of allergy to rooibos or something because after every sip I got a headache. It was getting to the point that I just did not want to drink anymore. That combined with the heady, dizzying aroma did not make it a good experience. It felt like a mini hangover. It must just be me because my co-worker liked it and did not experience the dizziness or headache I did. I’m sorry I don’t think I can offer a fair review for this. Well, at least I now know that I must stay away from rooibos. Imagine that, me being allergic to a tea…well technically rooibos isn’t a tea, but you know what I mean. It just puts a damper on things.

I have read the reviews on this tea and they all seem favourable What I can say is rooibos and almond are both quite potent and the combination makes it very rich and bold. There is no subtlety here, packed full of flavour. As it cooled the taste started to develop a sort of minty taste. I tried to drink as much as I can for this review. It is right for some but I can’t take it. I have another East Pacific Tea I have to review (White Jasmine) and I am looking forward to that. Onwards and upwards as they say…

You can purchase the Roasted Almond directly from the East Pacific Tea Co website.

7 minute brew time with boiling water

Very pretty blend. Green and yellow “grass” like cuttings are sprinkled throughout this lemony blend.

Champagne colored brew.

Lemon grass is the dominant flavor. This blend would be great added to another tea for that just right lemon addition.

As I neared the end of my cup, I noticed the astringency of this herbal blend, which makes me really think that using this as a mix in with another tea would really be the best use for this one.

Overall, a good lemony cup of herbal tea.

You can purchase the Lemonade directly from the Shanti Tea website.

Mmm, rooibos, orange peels, almonds, cardamom, and coriander…this sounds like a delicious tea in the making! When I first opened the package, it was definitely the almond scents that struck my nose first. Then came sweet, slightly juicy undertones. In preparing this tea, I utilised a two-cup teapot, 1 tablespoon of TeaFrog Gingerbread Orange Rooibos (two times the recommended 1.5 teaspoon per cup), and freshly boiled water.

Pouring the water over the mixture, the dominant smell wafting up in the steam was actually orange. I felt this was a good sign, since the name of the tea is Gingerbread _Orange_. The recommended five minutes past, I removed the infuser, taking a moment to eyeball the tea. I could easily pick out the cardamom, coriander, and orange bits in amongst the rooibos. I was not too sure about where the almond was, but I knew I had smelled it earlier…oh, there are a couple of pieces. Whew. My nose has not deceived me.

I take my first sip. Hmmm, I can definitely taste the cardamom. It is coming through quite dominantly. I take another sip, and another, and finish off the first cup. My thoughts so far run somewhere along the line of it tastes spicy, as gingerbread does, but yet…this tea has not so far reminded me of gingerbread. The spiciness of the flavour is quickly followed by tasty orange, and then some almond-esque undertones. Not having fully felt that I understand this tea and all that it has to offer, I pour myself a second cup.

The deep orange-red, nearly rust, colour of this tea is quite pretty. As I sip this second cup, it seems that it follows much like the first. However, I am now beginning to follow the connection of the flavour of this tea to the flavour of gingerbread. This connection is especially prominent in the aftertaste, which is quite pleasant. I finish off the pot with a new outlook on this tea.

I think this tea would be a great treat any time of the day. I drank it in the morning and really enjoyed the experience, but I can see it being a lovely evening tea as well. If you are interested in this tea, I would definitely recommend trying some. I would rate it an 85/100 on my personal enjoyment scale.

You can purchase the Gingerbread Orange directly from the TeaFrog website.

Pineapple bits, dried coconut and rose petals are dispersed throughout this rooibos blend. The dry smell is tropical without the woodsy smell that some rooibos teas exhibit.

5 minute infusion and the rose petals have unfurled. This particular blend is very drinkable with a sweetness that masks the rooibos. As I sip this tea, I can detect an almost orange flavor profile. Nice choice for late night tea sipping since rooibos is naturally caffeine free.

You can purchase the Tahiti Cream directly from the TeaFrog website.

I have tried a lot of Rooibos tea. I have had a lot of Fruit Tisanes. Over time, they can tend to blur together into a single impression. For Rooibos teas, there is almost always a sweetness, no matter the flavouring. For Fruit Tisanes, tangy. So when we received a sample of Cranberry Crush from East Pacific Tea Company, I was anticipating that this was going to be just another flavoured Rooibos.

In cas you had not guessed, this tea is a combination of Rooibos, Cranberries, Orange Peel and Hibiscus. When you look at this tea, you can see all of these ingredients mixed together. If I had not dug into the tea, and read the ingredients, I never would actually have noticed the Rooibos. There seems to be a very small ratio of it in this tea, leaning it more towards a supporting role in a Fruit Tisane, rather than the dominant role in a Rooibos mix.

The smell of the tea is strongly orange, with an undertone of Cranberries. With Cranberries, Orange and Hibiscus, I expected the tang that you get from a Fruit tea, but I was unsure of how the Rooibos was going to show up in this.

As it turns out, I need not have been afraid. This tea brings the best of a Rooibos, with an underlying supporting sweetness, and the best of a Fruit Tisane, with a tart fruity cranberry flavour. The Cranberry is most definitely the star in here, but the orange does not back down either. The Hibiscus plays a background role, which is just fine with me, as it is not my favorite addition to a blend.

Hot, I like this tea, but cold, I can see a whole new window of opportunity arise. I know even without making a cold version, that this tea will shine as an iced tea. Typically I make an “Arnold Palmer” iced tea, blending 50/50 with lemonade, but this one I think I will have to try as-is.

Overall, this is a great tea for someone that is not a Rooibos lover, but also may be tired of the typical Fruit tea. I enjoyed this offering from the East Pacific Tea Company, and I am looking forward to digging into some of their other samples!

You can purchase the Cranberry Crush directly from the East Pacific Tea Co website.

The scent from the sample is strongly woody.

I measured out 1 tsp and got a large caramel cube!

5 minute infusion; WOW!!! The creaminess of the caramel is coming through and (thankfully) leaving the woodiness of the rooibos behind. It tastes just like a caramel chew. This has turned out to my favorite rooibos blend from Tea Frog. This tea is yummy and definitely going on my list of night time tea selections.

You can purchase the Caramel Cream directly from the TeaFrog website.

Broke into this sample as soon as it arrived, the smell from the pouch is heavenly. The main flavor in this tea is orange. Nice tea to drink at night since there is no caffeine. Sometimes Rooibos can taste woodsy, but not this one. The taste is milder. This is a nice warm cup brimming of orange notes. I am left wondering where is the gingerbread note?

Overall, a good choice.

You can purchase the Gingerbread Orange directly from the TeaFrog website.