Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Spice Rooibus, reviewed

I tend to drink inordinate amounts of tea when I have a cold, so the silver lining on having a cold for me is that I have the chance to try a lot of new teas. This Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Spice Rooibus had been in my tea stash for a couple of weeks and had gotten passed over in spite of the very nifty tin that is packed in. The onset of the cold made me crack it open and I haven’t looked back.

This herbal tea is packed loosely in nice looking square tea bags. It includes a redbush (rooibus) herbal blend, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and natural pumpkin flavor. I’m not exactly sure what the natural pumpkin flavor is (it is unlikely to be actual pumpkin, since dried raw squash has a rather unpleasant flavor to it), but I felt that the spices came through more than the pumpkin “flavor” in any case. The tea definitely reminds me of a well-spiced pumpkin bread, with a great balance of all the spices in the tea. The rooibus is the perfect base for the spices and it is a great tea overall. This tea is particularly good hot, when sweetened with a little bit of honey or agave. If you have a loaf of pumpkin bread on hand, so much the better.