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I think I’ve worked out the formula to brew three “varieties” of this one in one pot: just under three minutes for me, another minute for my husband, yet another minute for what he’ll ice down at work (he likes the bitter bite of oversteeped green…go figure). At the three-minute point this morning, anyway, I’m catching a little bit of nutty-sweet to balance the greenness.

Did a cup about double strength, then iced it down. Co-worker said it smelled like suntan lotion…I know I could use a day on the beach!

One of the great joys of being happily married nearly 25 years is getting to walk up, stick something under my husband’s nose, and say, “Smell that!” Which is what I did with this little sample because I couldn’t quite place the scent. I’m a teetotaler, so I couldn’t accurately place whether it was a beer smell or not. It wasn’t. One whiff and he said, “Honeysuckle!”

Which is intriguing, since there’s not a bit o’honey or suckle in this. But that’s IT. Nice, sweet, plant-y. Pretty gold color. Nice spring sort of flavor. Doesn’t get bitter after it’s set a while. Perfect for sipping under the cherry blossoms—-if I only had some to sit under.

You need to like rooibos to like this one. But if you do, it’s a nice, mellow treat. Really does have the caramel apple thing going (more caramel than apple; more in the fragrance than flavor). Let some go cold at my desk and iced it down—wasn’t bad, either.

This one comes, with my great appreciation, from Meghann.

This is a blend (half-and half?) that smells so good I just wanted to stick my nose in the bag and keep it there. Just like Walgreens no-name brand Christmas cherry chocolates.

The Azteca chocolate/strawberry cancels out any sour in the cherry, which is fine by me. I brewed this first experimental cup according to package directions — 195 for 2-3 minutes, closer to 2 just in case … but it could stand to be stronger to get all the chocolatey, fruity potential out of it. Looking forward to trying again.

This has been a week of major personal stress. As I was heating water in the microwave at work (not my preferred method, but any port in a storm), I put the bag up to my nose and inhaled all the minty, lemongrassy goodness and meditated, not on Zen, but on my favorite paraphrased Bible verse: Lord, you are my portion and my [cuppa]. (Psalm 16:3, spelling adapted to suit myself.)

The flavor, steeped, isn’t quite as strong as the bag scent. I may have sniffed all the smell out! It’s more minty than green, for sure, but still very calming and would be good on a sore dry throat. Nice aftertaste on your tongue.

Husband has been reading about the health benefits of green tea for … uh, things that ail guys his age … and ordered this hoping to find something that isn’t quite so vegetabley. Out of the pouch, it smells very close to a traditional Assam, maybe just a touch lighter. Fresh brewed, the green hits you before the maltiness, and is a touch bitter. Which hubby likes. I need to experiment a little more with proportions, but will do so willingly to be able to share a pot of tea with my spouse!

I was all primed, since the title contains “pan fired,” to be assaulted with smoke from the first sip. Not the case, though. It’s nice and gentle and a little grapey in the background. Baked golden raisins, maybe.

There are those who would say tea concentrate is sacrilege, but you just can’t beat this one for good ol’fashioned Ozark mountain sentimentality. Flat unsweet root beer, that’s all there is to it, and since I think root beer is often way too sweet, this is great. A tablespoon or so in a hot cuppa; or about double strength iced.

A bulk buy at favorite local health food store. I marked it as a rooibos simply because of the visual resemblance; I don’t know that for a fact. It does have a thick, rich red tea base, but smells more like Dr. Pepper with cinnamon, and does have a flat Coke taste. Still a nice change for the transition between heavy tea season and lighter spring flavors.