Bourbon Street Vanilla Rooibos Tea

Blended with our South African rooibos and a delightful fusion of caramel, almond and vanilla it delivers a jazzy tea named after the heart of New Orleans.
 
This tea contains no caffeine | Steep at 212° for 5-7 minutes.
 
***Allergan warning contains natural almond flavor.
 
----------
Ingredients & Lore:
 
Blended With: Rooibos Tea, Rose Petals, Blue Cornflowers, Natural Vanilla Flavor, Natural Creme Flavor, Natural Caramel Flavor & Natural Almond Flavor
 
The rooibos bush (pron: 'roy-bus') grows only in the Cederberg Mountain range of South Africa. It was first noted by botanist Carl Humberg in 1772. A century later, Benjamin Ginsberg, a Russian immigrant, realized its marketing potential, and in 1904 began offering it as an herbal substitute to tea. The difficulty of shipping tea during World War II boosted demand for Rooibos, which began to be referred to as 'Red Bush Tea', or simply 'Red Tea.' In Japan, Rooibos is believed to aid longevity and is known as Long Life Tea.
 
----------
 
All our tea comes from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant. The styles of tea are produced by altering the shape and chemistry of the leaf, rather unromantically called 'processing' or 'manufacturing.' To ensure the best quality and value, we import our teas directly from the countries in which they are grown, working closely with the farmers who tender them.
 
For our flavor teas we use high grown teas from the top 3 tea growing regions of Sri Lanka - Nuwara Eliya, Dimbula and Uva. These three high-grown districts produce flavorful teas that have classic 'Ceylon' tea character which is noted by floral bouquet and flavor notes, touches of mild astringency, bright coppery color and, most importantly - perfect for use as the base tea of our flavored teas. (We have tested teas from various other origins around the world as base stock for our flavored teas, but none of these teas made the grade.) Dimbula and the western estates of Nuwara Eliya have a major quality peak during Jan/Feb, whereas Uva and the eastern estates of Nuwara Eliya have their peak in July/Aug. This 'dual peak period' allow us to buy the best for our flavored tea blends several times during the year, ensuring top quality and freshness.
 
We specifically use only natural flavors. High quality tea tastes good and natural flavors do not mask the natural taste of the high grown tea. (The norm for many making flavored tea is to use overpowering artificial flavors, which can be used to hide lower quality tea). Natural flavors do not leave an aftertaste giving the tea a clean and true character. It should be noted that natural flavors tend to be somewhat 'soft ' and the flavors slightly muted, but for many this is a refreshing change and one of the desired attributes of our naturally flavored teas.