My wife, after hearing me going on and on about the many divergent teas and reviews given here, ordered me a tea steeper from a place in Boulder , CO. The steeper is a neat little ceramic cup -- but wayyy too heavy for taking on the trail. I've still got to get me a cheap aluminum tea ball for my Snowpeak ti mug. (That place does have something called a tuffy steeper and it might be light enough to pack.)

My present came with a couple of tins of an herbal tea, and I was torn between the "Red Rocks" and the "Roche Rouges." One night I liked the former, the next the latter. Both were made from South African red rooibos, vanilla, and almond bits.

(frenchie might know where I'm going with this). So when I got the tins out to post my rave review of the one I preferred, the Roche Rouges, I got to looking close and realized that they both were the same, with the label in English on two sides of the tin and French on the other two. I obviously had added less water to what I thought was the "Roche Rouges" cup is why it was stronger and why I preferred it tonight. What a bumpkin! I told my wife my mistake and I'm not sure she's going to trust bp'ing with me anymore.

Anyway, that Red Rocks (or rooibos) tea is fantastic! Most complex tea I've ever had, with hints of pipe-tobacco of all things that I never really cared for except when you can smell it in a really good Cabernet Sauvignon.

And the good thing about caffeine-free herbal teas is you can drink them late at night and they won't keep you up -- which would be a good idea when sipping them at night on the trail, too.

Never knew there was such a choice in tea. Can't wait to try them all out in the backcountry. Thanks for the suggestions and favorites.