Trader Joe's Autumn Apple Rooibos Tea

We here in the Northeast are only starting to face a real winter and less of an autumnal winter. But since it's not QUITE winter yet..it's still kosher to squeeze in one less pumpkin spiceless (lol computer autocorrected spiceless to "spineless") fall review. 




I saw an apple and an antelope and said to myself, for the sake of my apple-loving coworker, I better review this. I got her (and the rest of the office) hooked on the fox tea. They start demanding that seasonal tea in the middle of the summer. 


Like all antioxidant packed teas, rooibos can reportedly cure acne, asthma, insomnia, and cancer.* But I am a fan of this watercolor-esque packaging. 

*I jest.



I can't say that I'm a fan of rooibos. I tried the organic fair-trade rooibos when it came out last year, and I never reviewed it. I had never tried rooibos before, but I found it rather medicinal like Chinese medicine. Some people say it has a wood-y, tobacco-y natural flavor, but the smell harkens me back to my grandmother's Taiwanese kitchen, where people drank dark concoctions of medicinally smelling stuff that made me gag. 

So yes, first whiff of the tea bags made A and I make a face. Like UGH GAG it smells like Chinese medicine (it doesn't actually smell like Chinese medicine, but it reminds me of that herbal smell in not a good way). The actual tea itself isn't bad. In fact, I like it better than the regular rooibos because the apple (which you can barely taste btw) adds an ever-so-slight sweetness that makes it taste less medicinal. 

I've been drinking this tea pretty often lately because it's cold out, and I want to finish this box asap. It's caffeine-free, so it makes a nice hot cup'a in the evening before bed. But if you're looking for something a little more distinctly apple-flavored, go for the fox tea. It's the same price at $1.99 and also seasonal. 

TL;DR: Trader Joe's Autumn Apple Rooibos Tea. A slightly sweeter herbal rooibos. Only if you like super herbal-y things. 5 out of 10. 

Other fall/winter seasonal teas: fox tea, lemur tea, polar bear tea

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