Ive watched several episodes of HBO's The No. 1 Ladies' Detective
Agency where they drink rooibos or red bush tea served English style.
Come up with something original. The coffee pot is distinctive from
the tea pot. Yerba mate is drank from a gourd. I have some red and
green from my local tea shoppe. Im not even curious to make a cup. I
only have some to cover my bases.

Jim

On Apr 28, 9:53*am, wrote:
> Ive watched several episodes of HBO's The No. 1 Ladies' Detective
> Agency where they drink rooibos or red bush tea served English style.
> Come up with something original. *The coffee pot is distinctive from
> the tea pot. *Yerba mate is drank from a gourd. *I have some red and
> green from my local tea shoppe. *Im not even curious to make a cup. *I
> only have some to cover my bases.
>
> Jim

My grandfather is a huge Sherlock/Solar Pons/detective/mystery buff
and apparently Rooibos is drank by a character in one of these novels.
He asked about it one time and I had some Eastern Shore brand teabags
of Rooibos, he loved them and now enjoys it often. Apparently in
whatever detective novel he was reading it was never referred to as
"Rooibos" but "bush tea." I'll have to ask him what the book was, but
I'm guessing it wasn't The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency so I'm
guessing they borrowed that bit from whatever book/series he was
reading at the time. He tends to read classics of the genre or
gasslight/Victorian England era stories so that's why I'm assuming
whatever he was reading pre-dates this.

The flavor is interesting, you have to not think of it as "tea" proper
and just drink it for what it is. There is no nuance or depth to speak
of. I have some really good green Yerba Mate that is lemony and woody
and I find more interesting than Rooibos.

- Dominic

The series also refers to it as bush tea. It feels a bit contrived as
you suggest. I cant buy Rooibos at the two local African stores. Im
not sure of the book time period. Maybe the seventies or eighties. I
couldnt find Botswana on the map. I know nothing about the history if
ever a colony. I remember YerbaMata appearing first about ten years
ago, followed by Rooibos. Frankly drank one tisane drank them all,
except the dried flowers and fruits I occasionally add to my tea.

Jim

On Apr 28, 8:49 am, "Dominic T." > wrote:
> On Apr 28, 9:53 am, wrote:
>
> > Ive watched several episodes of HBO's The No. 1 Ladies' Detective
> > Agency where they drink rooibos or red bush tea served English style.
> > Come up with something original. The coffee pot is distinctive from
> > the tea pot. Yerba mate is drank from a gourd. I have some red and
> > green from my local tea shoppe. Im not even curious to make a cup. I
> > only have some to cover my bases.
>
> > Jim
>
> My grandfather is a huge Sherlock/Solar Pons/detective/mystery buff
> and apparently Rooibos is drank by a character in one of these novels.
> He asked about it one time and I had some Eastern Shore brand teabags
> of Rooibos, he loved them and now enjoys it often. Apparently in
> whatever detective novel he was reading it was never referred to as
> "Rooibos" but "bush tea." I'll have to ask him what the book was, but
> I'm guessing it wasn't The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency so I'm
> guessing they borrowed that bit from whatever book/series he was
> reading at the time. He tends to read classics of the genre or
> gasslight/Victorian England era stories so that's why I'm assuming
> whatever he was reading pre-dates this.
>
> The flavor is interesting, you have to not think of it as "tea" proper
> and just drink it for what it is. There is no nuance or depth to speak
> of. I have some really good green Yerba Mate that is lemony and woody
> and I find more interesting than Rooibos.
>
> - Dominic

On Apr 28, 5:05*pm, wrote:
> couldnt find Botswana on the map. *I know nothing about the history if
> ever a colony. *

You'll find Botswana on any map of sub Saharan Africa published after
1966 - the year of their independence from the British Crown.

Nigel at Teacraft

On 2009-04-28, Dominic T. > wrote:
> The flavor is interesting, you have to not think of it as "tea" proper
> and just drink it for what it is. There is no nuance or depth to speak
> of. I have some really good green Yerba Mate that is lemony and woody
> and I find more interesting than Rooibos.

I find the liquor straightforward and pleasant, a little sweet; but
the aroma is incredible: tobacco, vanilla, sweet wood. If you haven't
found that in your cup, perhaps the teabags are stale, rather than
rooibos just not being to your taste (not that there's anything wrong
with that *grin*)

It tastes more like tea if you add a splash of milk. E.g., I think it
works quite well in a caffeine free facsimile of masala chai.


N.

On Apr 29, 12:01*pm, Natarajan Krishnaswami
> wrote:
> On 2009-04-28, Dominic T. > wrote:
>
> > The flavor is interesting, you have to not think of it as "tea" proper
> > and just drink it for what it is. There is no nuance or depth to speak
> > of. I have some really good green Yerba Mate that is lemony and woody
> > and I find more interesting than Rooibos.
>
> I find the liquor straightforward and pleasant, a little sweet; but
> the aroma is incredible: tobacco, vanilla, sweet wood. *If you haven't
> found that in your cup, perhaps the teabags are stale, rather than
> rooibos just not being to your taste (not that there's anything wrong
> with that *grin*)
>
> It tastes more like tea if you add a splash of milk. *E.g., I think it
> works quite well in a caffeine free facsimile of masala chai.
>
> N.

No, I'm in agreement with you I get those notes and maybe even a hint
of citrus/acid as well, I just think - as you said better - it is just
"straightforward." Different brewing technique, different vessel, etc.
doesn't really change much if anything. It is what it is, and that's
not a bad thing necessarily just that it isn't heavily nuanced. I
never thought of it in terms of a chai, that actually sounds very
good... I'll try that. I'd bet just rooibos, sugar, and milk would be
good as well as adding some actual chai spices and the sugar/milk.

I didn't mean to sound so dismissive of it, it just isn't all that
interesting to me. If I had to restrict my caffeine for some reason it
would be near the top of my list as an alternative, I was including it
with actual tea when I said it lacked nuance and depth. Compared to
many great teas it is low on my list, as a tisane/tea alternative it
sure beats some acrid/sour hibiscus blends.

- Dominic