Red (Rooibos) Latte: Cederberg Cafe, Seattle WA

Gustatory: very subtle taste, slightly grassy

I’m now in Seattle and so happy to be discovering the vibrant tea scene here. As somebody who loves rooibos, I gravitated toward the Cederberg Cafe on Queen Anne Ave, a South African tea cafe, the moment I got into town. This was actually one of the first tea shop recommendations that popped up on Google when I looked up “tea in Seattle”.

I loved the vibe of this place the moment I walked in. The unassuming decor is very comfortable, the staff friendly and knowledgeable, and the seating ample – both inside and outside. It’s also located in what I found to be a relatively calm part of the city, so a good place to relax and read. (I’m currently getting through Paul Beatty’s The Sellout.)

The variety of items on the menu is great – they offer a large variety of loose-leaf teas (many flavored rooibos teas), coffee, sandwiches, South African baked goods and larger savory bites (like bunny chow), and imported cookies, snacks, and condiments. And the rooibos beverage selection is impressive: here you’ll find everything from red espressos to Fresh Red, apple juice mixed with two shots of red espresso.

I decided to go for the Red Latte (a rooibos tea latte) composed of a rooibos tea shot, made by grinding rooibos and pulling it through an espresso machine – just like an espresso shot (just caffeine-free) – topped with steamed milk (almond in my case, but they have regular, soy and rice milks too), honey, and cinnamon. The rooibos was very delicate and the taste ever-so-slightly grassy. I was a bit surprised by how subtle the taste of this drink really was, but I did enjoy the fact that it wasn’t over-sweetened with honey or over-spiced with cinnamon. (This latte is not as sweet as Crema Cafe’s Red Crema.) I think that’s why it went so well with a sweet koeksister, braided, fried dough soaked in simple syrup.

#rooibos #rooiboslatte #CederbergCafe #Seattle #WashingtonDC #koeksister #SouthAfricanTeaShop