Cherry Me Bloom Rooibos with Acai (Village Tea Co.)

Rooibos continues to be an emerging trend. People in countries all over the world are latching on to the latest antioxident rich naturally sweet imbibable brew. Cherry Me Bloom Rooibos with Acai from Village Tea is a great start if you’re going to make one!

I ran into Martin from Village Tea Co. At the 2009 World Tea Expo and again at this year’s expo and I came away this year with some samples to try!

This Rooibos  is clearly fruity. You can smell it right away when you open the packaging (which is very nice by the way). Cut lemongrass leaf pieces, tiny little acai berries, sunflower petals and plenty or red rooibos make up a rustic visual of loose material for this tea. The aroma is at once sweet and tart with a hint of spiciness.

The liquor brews a nice dark amber and provides an aroma much much lighter than its dry counterpart. I found this a bit disappointing.

The flavor comes out mightily subdued. While the packaging suggests up to a five minute steep I found a minimum of seven minutes was required before sufficient flavor was imbued for my beverage.

I can certainly taste the lemongrass and the sour cherry flavoring once it’s been steeped long enough. I think something is overriding the acai which tends to dry the palate and be a bit tart when fresh.

I imagine a hearty helping of this tea would brew up very nicely iced. But as a hot tea, the recommended quantity and time to steep didn’t turn out sufficient for a hot tea in my experience.

I would recommend this tea to fans of fruity or flavored teas, light rooibos blends and acai under the caveat that you should add a little extra tea and steep a bit longer than the packaging recommends.