Second try; now that my tongue isn’t being assaulted by foreign flavors and can taste the tea itself, I find the blandness replaced by a tartness, like unripened strawberries (without much strawberry flavor) that ends with passion-fruit tanginess. I don’t find it that interesting; the only fruit flavor is that hint of passion-fruit, and that tartness could easily have come from some lemon juice.
Certainly wouldn’t get this if I had to actually pay money (got it for free); time to upgrade to a better quality rooibos. I’m going to take takgoti’s advice and try Ocean of Wisdom if I can find it.
Oooh, do it! Their online store seems to be down right now. Hopefully they’ll get it back up soon.