How I Learned to Like Rooibos Tea

When my neighbors go to Slovakia, they always come back with all sorts of goodies to share.  Spa wafers and European chocolates - diversity is good :)  This last visit they brought us some teas.  One was Zeleny Caj and the other was Rooibos Caj.  The C had a little hat on top, I'm sure it's pronounced "ch" because caj is chai.  So I looked all this up - zeleny is Russian for green too, I should have remembered.  But Rooibos didn't translate and I'm not hip enough to know it's some new trend in tea.

So I steeped the Rooibos and it had a very spicy, fruity, floral taste that I just didn't care for.  I've always liked black tea and more recently camomile.  I pushed the package back in then pantry, but then one night Rob was getting coffee at Starbucks and asked me what I wanted.  I wanted tea, but low caffeine if possible.  I stayed with the kids in the van and he went in - he came out with rooibos.  Ugh, thinks me, but it is hot and all I have, so I drink it.

Some how we repeated this exact scenario a month or so later.  I had even told him, DO NOT BUY ROOIBOS TEA I DON'T LIKE IT.  And I guess it was labeled incorrectly because he brings me a hot, caffeine free cup of rooibos tea.  Again I dutifully swallow it down.

At some point, I realized I kind of liked it's unusual flavor.  I had some random craving for it and made a cup at home.  I shared it with Annalise and she was crazy about it (she likes hot drinks, she even prefers to have her apple juice warmed).  And since I like warm drinks and since it is caffeine free (and caffeine and I avoid each other after dark), I've started becoming a fan of rooibos tea.  I don't know if it has all the touted health benefits, but it's not so bad after all.

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In other news...Happy National Train Day!