Awhile back, I started a thread here on Red Bush (Rooibos, in Afrikaans) herbal tea. Twining's blends my favorite of it, as with "real" tea. www.twinings.com

Did any of you catch the reference to it in last week's, "Blue Bloods"? Danny's female partner offered him some but he said that he wouldn't eat or drink anything he couldn't pronounce. (He's not too polished. Hopefully, he never chooses the wine for their family dinners.)

Have any of you tried Rooibos since that topic was posted? Do you like it?

Yes I did; I found it somewhat drinkable and perhaps an acquired taste.
I drink mainly plain old Lipton with an occasional cup of "Constant Comment". I have had some green tea in restaurants that was very good as well. I am not exactly a connoisseur
I think it is referenced in the The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency Series also.

I rather like the citrus flavor. Remember, it's an herbal tea, not normal Camillia sinensis.

I like the lack of caffeine at night, too.

If you have access to the Twining's brand of teas, try them. I think you'll prefer them to Lipton and common restaurant brands. The one that compares to Lipton is their Ceylon Orange Pekoe. It doesn't have oranges in it; that's just a cut of the tea leaves, a trade term. Lipton used to have the same name on their boxes. May still. I haven't looked in several years.

Twinings Irish Breakfast for me--robust, gutsy tea. Their English Breakfast is my second favorite.

I'm not a great fan of the rooibos stuff--it's a taste I haven't acquired. My sister makes a delicious chai that I enjoy, but I haven't tasted it for years.

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Oh well, what the hell.

Wifey and oldest daughter drink a lot of Twinnings Earl Grey and English Breakfast. Me, I drink Community Dark Roast.

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Non illegitimae carborundum

I tried the rooibos tea & liked it. I found it at Akin's in a passion fruit/mango variation. I think the company was The Republic of Tea. I didn't realize any breathing benefits from it, though. Maybe this brand isn't strong enough?

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Lounge Lizard Extraordinaire

First had some in South Africa back in 1974. I love it.

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Mafuta54

Rooibos cold or hot, I like it either way.

The only tea I've tried other than Liptons is Earl Grey. Mostly because Capt. Picard was a fan. I found it entirely too flowery, nearly undrinkable. Perhaps it's an acquired taste. Are the breakfast teas described above the same way?

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Regards, Ron
USASA 1965/69

I like Rooibos on occasion and of late have been enjoying a variety of oriental green teas, but Earl Grey will always be in the cupboard.

Lapsang Suchong. Twinings packs it, and is probably the easiest to find. But I think "Taylors of Harrogate" is the absolute best.

Yummy strong smoky taste. Whoever said tea is a 'sissy' drink has never tried Lapsang Suchong!

NO! Earl Grey is infused with bergamon (sp?) to flavor it. I hate it. Not too thilled with Lapsang Souchang, either.

The Breakfast monniker is just a trade or ad name for normal teas. Irish Breakfast from Twining's is mainly Assam tea, with some Ceylon in the blend. The tea gardens in Assam are in the Brahmaputra Valley. Ceylon is now called Sri Lanka, but is still Ceylon to the tea trade.

Someone mentioned the brand, Taylor's of Harrogate, in Yorkshire. I do prefer their English Breakfast blend to that from Twining's. I think they use a better grade of tea with more Ceylon in the blend. But I think Twining's Irish Breakfast is better than Taylor's Assam blend, a little.

Lipton uses Ceylon tea, but apparently not as good a grade of leaves as Twining's or Taylor's do. Those brands have a fuller, more refined and complex flavor. Try them side-by-side. I think you'll see a real difference. Tea varies with the particular estate, the altitude, and the time of year the leaves are plucked, the microclimate, percentage of young yellow-tipped leaves, etc. Even Twining's teas are very reasonable, for the quality.
Taylor's premium line is also exceptional. I mean their specific teas, like English Breakfast or Ceylon. Their "family grades" like Yorkshire Gold are perhaps less distinguished, or that was my impression. Maybe they figure that with milk, one can't tell as much a difference. I can, and without milk, the difference is even greater.

Again, Rooibos is not "tea" at all: it's an herbal infusion, like chamomille (sp?), etc.

I don't mean to sound unkind but is there a brand of Roobios that doesn't taste like (sorry) a wet log? I love black and green tea but red/Roobios just hasn't seemed to click with my taste buds. I tried the Twinings and Celestial Seasonings brands with no luck. Maybe I'm preparing it incorrectly...

Prepare it as you would real tea. Steep the bag as long as you want to get the right strength. I leave the bag in very hot water for about 2.5-3 minutes. I may prefer it darker than some do. But I like Irish Breakfast and Assam and fuller Ceylon tea more than I do Darjeeling, which is lighter-liquoring and more delicate. Try varying strength to taste. Add sugar or honey, also to your personal taste preference.

Twining's sells an African Honeybush tea, also. I want to try it, but can't find a grocer stocking it. I may order some from their US corporate office.

I tried Jackson's teas, but found them bland and insipid. Ditto for the HEB brand sold by Central Market in Dallas and Ft. Worth. It's no bargain, even at their low price. A modest price increase will buy Bigelow's tea, and I'll happily pay the difference to get Twining's or Taylor's products. Good tea is still a bargain. A box of 20 bags of most Twining's tea sells for $2.50-$3.00.

Im surprised anyone here knows about it? I get my "fix" from a good friend who lives in South Africa. To me it tastes good but--I still like my English Breakfast and Earl Grey teas better

English Breakfast is the way to go. Twinings is the best Tea Company out there as far as im concerned. I cant stand Bigelow Teas though.

Also try: Westminster (Dark Blue box) as well as China Gunpowder.

I have tried Rooibus a couple times, first time with milk added.
Preferred that to plain steeped, but didn't really favor it either way.

For a strong smoky tea try Scottish Breakfast by Taylors Of Harrowgate.
We get it from Amazon. Best of the breed, I think.

Never heard of that tea but will be looking it up now :-))

I think you'll be disappointed. I was. Taylor's best teas are probably their English Breakfast and Assam.

I was just thinking that since my older Sister asked me what I needed for Christmas? I think ill ask her to buy a box of that tea-so if I do wind up not caring for it? at least I didnt waste any money for it

Seriously though--I would like to get Cracker Barrel to sell me bags of their ice tea mix--I love their stuff and cant get enough.

I saw some Twinings Rooibus in the store and got a box. Tried it and liked it. Then one day I made a big mug of it, 22 oz. That tasted so good I made another. Felt strange most of the day, like my head wasn't screwed on quite right, sure wouldn't like to go shooting feeling like that. I've been a little shy of it ever since.