Strawberry Milkshake tea, a milkshake in a teacup?

For ice cream and milkshakes, strawberries, chocolate and vanilla are classic flavours. Milkshakes are just like ice cream, creamy, cold and indulgent, and a perfect treat on a hot summer day. Would it be possible to have the same flavour experience, but minus the calories? Is Strawberry Milkshake tea by BRUU, a milkshake in a teacup?

What is Strawberry Milkshake?

Strawberry Milkshake is an organic rooibos tea blend. Rooibos has been around for a while, but it wasn't until a decade when it became one of the top herbal teas for creating tea blends. It turns out, for a good reason. While many tea drinkers are not super excited about pure rooibos, flavoured ones could be everyone's cup of tea. Rooibos is caffeine free and gives a great base for almost any ingredient – flowers, citruses, fruits, nuts and chocolate, and even smoky and spicy ingredients. Rooibos grows in South Africa, and you won't find it anywhere else in the world.

Strawberry Milkshake tea comes from BRUU, a UK based tea subscription company. It contains red rooibos tea, free-fried strawberries, raspberry leaves and natural flavours. Both strawberries and raspberry leaves are sparingly used though, so this is mostly rooibos tea with flavourings. This tea has an intense, sweet, creamy scent, with hints of strawberries layered on a deep earthy rooibos base.

How to brew this blend?

We brewed this tea using 1 cup of freshly boiled water for 8 minutes. Rooibos will never get bitter, so you don't need to worry if you brew it too long.

So, does it taste like a strawberry milkshake? When hot, it has a more pronounced rooibos note than a strawberry note, but there certainly is creaminess. We tried adding a splash of milk and just a bit of honey to make it sweeter and milkier. Flavour is light though, similar to a gentle, pure rooibos, rather than a strawberry milkshake.

BUT drink it iced, and even with no condiments the whole flavour profile changes. There are strawberries, there's a milky note, and rooibos blends in so well that it only gives texture, rather than an intense earthy note. After all, milkshakes should be cold.

This tea would be great for making a homemade boba tea or simple iced tea. If you don't want strongly flavoured teas or want a light caffeine-free tea and like red rooibos blends, you may like this blend too.