Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Simpson & Vail
Tea Description:
For some people, desserts can only be served with coffee. For others, desserts and tea are perfectly complementary. With our Toasted Nut Café you don’t have to be one or the other! This blend combines black tea, almonds, coffee beans and flavors to produce a hearty cup that has a toasty coffee flavor. The black tea flavor comes through with the coffee and toasted nut flavors as an aftertaste. A perfect beverage to accompany a wide range of sweets: truffles, tortes, pies, cakes and more. Or enjoy as is or with a little sweetener and a dollop of cream.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I was a little nervous as well as excited to try this new tea. As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve had quite a tumultuous history with the coffee bean. There was a time when I really enjoyed coffee and drank it every morning, but, by about eleven in the morning I would start to feel sick to my stomach. It didn’t take too long for me to realize that it was my morning coffee habit that was causing the nausea, so, it was at that point that I switched to drinking tea. I don’t regret that switch, of course, because I have fallen deeper in love with tea than I ever felt for coffee.
But that being said, there are still times when I miss coffee. Specifically, I miss that bold, rich fragrance of coffee, and I do also miss the robust flavor – but not so much as I miss the aroma. Tea aroma is – of course – amazing, however, there is something that is very eye-opening about the smell of coffee. I miss that sometimes. But I certainly didn’t miss it this morning when I deeply inhaled the bouquet of this tea! It smells rich and delicious with notes of coffee and almond. The faintest smell of black tea is there too, but the coffee notes do overwhelm it just a bit.
My first thought when I smelled it was YUM! Then, thoughts of dismay came to me … what if this makes me sick just like coffee did. I know I’ve had this thought before with other coffee flavored teas, and I think that this will always be a worry whenever I encounter a coffee flavored tea. I guess, when a person goes through that … that always stays with them, right?
Anyway… after brewing, I took a tentative sip, but, was very pleased by the flavor. Yes, it tastes of coffee! Rich, bold coffee notes are the strongest that I taste, followed by a hint of toasted almond that sort of weaves its way through the sip, but is most noticeable toward the finish and in the aftertaste. The tea flavor is there too, and it adds a nice complexity to the cup. I find that this coffee-ish tea is much more flavorful than I remember my morning cup of coffee ever being – even when I’d splurge and indulge in a mocha! The tea really seems to bring out more of the complex notes with hints of dark cocoa, and a smooth earthiness.
Overall, the cup is rich, smooth, and delicious. There are hints of a savory bitterness from the coffee, a sweet undertone from the tea as well as the almond flavors, and a very roasty, toasty sort of feel that is invigorating. It’s really very good.
The word is still out on whether or not this will leave me feeling sick in an hour or two… but, after that time has lapsed I’ll come back and edit this post to add the update!
UPDATE: Well, it’s about four hours after finishing a cup of this tea, and I’ve experienced no nausea. Yay! A great alternative to those who need to steer away from coffee, but still want to experience that flavor every once in a while. This tea gets two enthusiastic thumbs up!
