Almond Raspberry (Design A Tea)

Wednesday is Green Tea, White Tea, Rooibos, Oolong and Tisane (Herbal) Review Day!

Rooibos (Rue-ee-boss) teas, sometimes called ‘red’ teas, have been on the upswing recently. That makes them trendy. And while I’m not particularly partial to being trendy, I am partial to naturally sweet and caffeine free rooibos teas.

I stumbled upon Design-A-Tea while doing research on the possibility of experimenting with making my own tea blends. Their premise is pretty simple, pick a base tea – your options are Green, Black, Oolong or Rooibos, an added flavor or two… and you have your own tea! It’s a novel idea, and I won’t go into my thoughts on their implementation of that idea now, but I may do so in the future.

The Almond Raspberry tea actually wasn’t the primary tea I had ordered, but was a sample which was provided free of charge with what I had ordered. Let’s just say my first attempt at blending my own teas wasn’t as good as the rudimentary sample provided. Which is why I’m reviewing that sample now!

Design-A-Tea has a habit of under-enunciating their flavors. A habit which plays games with my taste buds to be sure. However, this specific blend is different from their usual fare and actually provides a light, sweet raspberry flavor build on the calming almond and rooibos foundation. I was surprised at how much I really enjoyed this tea.

The finish isn’t bitter at all. A handy bonus derived from the rooibos base, but also a side effect of the natural almond flavoring. I did catch something a little ‘tart’ at the tail, I presume from the raspberry but disappointingly it wasn’t there on the second steep. I have yet to re-order the blend, but am excited to see if that ‘tart’ is part of the blend or a coincidence.

The custom mixing options provided by Design-A-Tea offer a rare opportunity for tea drinkers to see just how much talent and learning is required to make a great tea. I think I came away with an appreciation of the effort and energy put into selecting the right blends of flavors on top of the right base teas and with what levels of strength and the time and dedication it must take to do it day in and day out.

I would recommend this blend if you’d like to try something sweet and slightly nutty. I imagine sipping this hot cuppa while reading a book or favorite periodical prior to retiring for the night.