Fruity.

Here's another tea from Rumi Tea & Spice called "provence". A first glance this doesn't even look like tea!

This is rooibos base and laden with fruits! The smell of dried apricot is abundantly apparent but there are definitely dried cranberries and blue berries as well.

With the addition of lavender seeds and other flower petals, this truly smells like perfume. I had the pleasure to enjoy this tea with Rob's (my bf) mom who is South African. She taught me a few important things about the centrality of rooibos in South African culture.

"We put flowers in everything"

Maryke, Rob's mom asked me if I had a special pot for rooibos. Confused, she elaborated that in South Africa many people are particular about their tea and that they have a special pot only for rooibos. Many people cringe at the thought of their rooibos being brewed in the same pot at other teas...as if it will taint the flavor! This was such a delightful piece of tradition I learned, I hadn't even thought about brewing different teas in the same pot.

Being particular about tea is nothing new to me. This reminded me of how many Iranian homes have a specific type of teapot to brew and other teapots won't do. I talked about this in a previous post...the samovar! My dad laughed when he read the post about how I like my cast iron pot better :D

Maryke also told me that her mother's taste was so keen on the rooibos that she could taste if it had been brewed in a pot with other teas!

As far as taste, I was not a fan of this rooibos. It smelled beautiful but upon tasting it really did taste like I was drinking perfume. I much preferred the red chai rooibos I tried previously!

Tea has always been a passion of mine so learning traditions and particularities of other cultures is thrilling!

Do you have any similar stories like this? I wanna hear them! Please comment below or email me teathoughtsandsweets@gmail.com