This heat is too much!! I need a vacation to the arctic so I can re-solidify. I loathe the heat and I have made that abundantly clear in the past, but what really gets me is when it is long stretches of it, so even at night it is still grossly warm. Now granted, I know I am a weenie of the highest caliber when it comes to dealing with heat (I have a condition) but on days like this I find myself wondering how people pre-AC dealt with it. I admire their strength immensely.
Since it is unpleasantly warm, that means it is time for more cold steeping adventures! Looking at Nelson’s Tea Glass Slipper Herbal Tea, a Rooibos, Vanilla, Almond, Cherry blend…it sounds kinda like pie. The aroma of the rooibos is pretty great, blending strong almond and vanilla with a gentle woodiness and a very faint hint of cherries. I am glad that the cherry is not overly strong, sometimes when it is too strong it can smell/taste of cough syrup, so a faint dried cherry note is welcome.
After a night of cold steeping, the aroma is rich and sweet! Almond really is the show stopper here, with an accompaniment of woody sweet rooibos and vanilla, and a touch of cherry. I find I have to be in the right mood for rooibos, definitely not a drink whenever thing, but with the few exceptions most herbals are like that for me. Conveniently I was in the right mood, and if I wasn’t before, the aroma would have convinced me since I have a weakness for almonds.
I have, in my many years of tea consumption, heard the complaint that rooibos is too woody and too dry…and well, it is very woody, but I like that…the dryness can be a problem. I have found that cold steeping is a good way to make the dryness go away, so for anyone who wants to drink it but dislikes that aspect, there is an option for you. The taste is great, strong almond and vanilla with a mellow woodiness from the rooibos, it is also quite sweet, as rooibos is. One of the things I love about rooibos is how naturally honey sweet it is, and this one is no exception. Sadly I did not really encounter any cherry notes, though in all honestly I was totally ok with that, I wanted the almond to be the dominant note and it was!
For blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2016/07/nelsons-tea-glass-slipper-herbal-tea.html
