Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Culinary Teas
Product Description:
Deep cherry flavor with almond notes. A dash of sugar enhances the flavor and offers a smooth silky character to this tea.
Taster’s Review:
Ahh… this is one of those teas that I think of as “luxurious.” It is silky smooth in flavor and texture. I mentioned on Steepster that this tea makes me think of something I might sip at a spa. It has a flavor like that. Sweet, luxurious, and a little indulgent. It is like being pampered, only in tea form.
The black tea base is mellow. It has a mild manner and even-tone to it, so I didn’t even have to visit the webpage to know that this must be a Ceylon. But it is a good match for the other flavors of this tea, as it doesn’t attempt to intrude on the other flavors territory. It is content to provide a smooth background of flavor without drawing too much attention to itself.
The cherry flavor is deep in the sense that it is consistent throughout the sip. It is always there. There is no mistaking that I’m sipping a cherry flavored tea. But it is also delicate. It doesn’t overwhelm the cup, it is a sweet cherry flavor, but there are hints of tartness there too.
The almond is sweet and nutty in flavor, and it develops as I continue to sip. With my first couple of sips, the almond was there, but more like a whisper of a flavor. But now as I’m nearly finished with the cup, it is very almond-ish. And I like it!
But this is not simply a tea that is about cherry and almond. This tea has some other interesting dimension to it that is worthy of notice. For example, the ingredient list states that there is dried cranberries in the tea. While I suspect that they are primarily for appearance sake, they do contribute an ever-so-slight hint of flavor that enhances the flavor of the cherry more than it contributes its own cranberry taste.
The rose petals add a mere insinuation of floral falvor, while the blackberry and lime leaves add their own hints of tart and sweet to the cup. Most of these ingredients primary role is to enhance the aesthetic value of the tea, but they do impart their own hints of flavor to the cup as well.
A very enjoyable tea that at first glance may seem somewhat ordinary, but when I stop and really get to know the tea, becomes a rather extraordinary cup. An excellent afternoon tea for those afternoons when you want to take a moment to pamper yourself.
Almond Sugar Cookie from Simpson & Vail
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Simpson & Vail
Product Description:
Heavenly! That’s the best word to describe this black tea blend. You’ll think you’re in a bakery when you open the bag and the aroma of nutty goodness wafts out. The brewed tea is divine – with no calories!
Ingredients: Black teas, almonds, flavoring and safflower blossoms.
Taster’s Review:
Wowza! As I sit here, preparing to write this review, my favorite tea mug is filled to the brim with this tea. The aroma is almost too much to take. It smells like freshly baked cookies, and it’s making my stomach growl! My tummy thinks that cookies are sitting in front of me, not tea!
So, finally, I must cave in and take a sip. YUM!
There are several “almond cookie” type teas out there, but I can’t recall any that I’ve tried that were better than this one. The flavor is sweet – but not too sweet – and there is a baked cookie kind of taste to it too. It’s slightly buttery. The black tea base is strong without overpowering the sweet almond flavor.
And it is the almond that is the star of this cup. From the aroma that is experienced before even taking that first sip, right down to the last sip and the aftertaste, the almond is front and center. It is sweet, nutty and has a pleasant roasted/toasted kind of taste to it.
I think that the perfect temperature for this tea is hot, but not freshly-brewed, still piping-hot hot. Allowing this tea to cool ever so slightly will allow some of the cookie taste to emerge without losing any of the almond or black tea flavors. The slightly cooled tea tastes like a bit like my favorite almond biscotti that has just been dunked in black tea. Delicious!
Secret Weapon from David’s Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: David’s Tea
Product Description:
This blend just might give you the edge you need to stay healthy. It’s a white Bai Mu Dan, so it’s naturally high in immunity-enhancing antioxidants. Plus it contains licorice and goji berries, a Chinese wonderfood reputed to have 500 times more vitamin C than oranges. The best part? The almonds and cocoa nibs. They don’t fight colds, but they make this an amazingly tasty weapon of choice.
Taster’s Review:
After quickly reading the description, I couldn’t help but think that this tea had a lot going on … maybe a little bit too much. The beautiful mix of nuts, berries, tea leaves and petals did little to assuage those thoughts.
But somehow, it works. The strongest flavors are the almond and chocolate – and that’s quite alright with me. The flavor of the goji berries is a distant note until near the end of the sip, where its tartness emerges and lingers into the aftertaste.
The licorice was barely noticeable until after the first few sips. And even now, I’m about halfway through my first cup, and I find that the licorice is still a bit hidden. It reveals itself in the aftertaste with a pleasant sharpness, but I can’t help but wish that there was just a little more licorice flavor. Then again, more licorice might upset the delightful flavors I’m experiencing now, so maybe not.
One might think that the white tea would be lost in this sea of strong flavors, but, to my surprise, it isn’t. The white tea comes through, very crisp and clean. It seems to add a taste that I’d compare to a breath of fresh air wafting through the other flavors. It adds a refreshing lightness to the cup that I really like.
If this is “health food” – consider me a health food junkie! YUM!
Trail Mix Flavored Black Tea from 52Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Product Description:
How about this for unique? Here’s our premium Indian black teas blended with real dried apricot, almond slivers and coconut!
Taster’s Review:
This is really yummy!
The aroma of the dry leaf makes my mouth water. It smells so good. It smells like fresh apricots and almonds. A hint of coconut lingers in the background. After brewing, the fragrance changes a little – now it smells like something freshly baked. A muffin filled with apricots and almonds and coconut, perhaps? It smells delicious and inviting.
With the first couple of sips, I really noticed the black tea. I could taste the other flavors, of course, but, the black tea seemed to be the strongest flavor. And that’s quite alright. This is tea, it’s supposed to taste like tea. It is a strong, crisp black tea taste with a fair amount of astringency. No bitterness (although, I wouldn’t suggest over steeping) – it’s a bold, black tea that provides a solid background of flavor.
The apricot is sweet and it tastes authentic. It tastes so much like apricot that I can almost feel the pulpy texture of it. The almond lends a nutty sweetness to the cup and is a very harmonious flavor with the apricot. The coconut is more of a accent flavor, not particularly strong but, it lends a distinct creaminess to the cup.
Overall, this is a deliciously sweet fruit-and-nut tea. While the flavor combination may seem a little odd, it all works together quite well. I like this both hot and cold, but I think I prefer this one hot … so I will probably be saving the rest of this pouch for the cooler weather that will be here (I hope!) in the next couple of months.
Another uniquely delicious treat from 52Teas!
Apricot Amaretto Tea from Tea Forte
Tea Type: Rooibos/Honeybush Blend
Where To Buy: Tea Forte
Product Description:
Description: A double delight of sweet apricot and juicy peach with nuanced notes of almond, artfully evoking Saronno, Italy, the birthplace of amaretto.
Ingredients: organic honeybush, organic rooibos, organic marigold flowers, natural flavors
Tasters Review:
I really enjoyed Apricot Amaretto from Tea Forte…both hot and cold…I think the new Herbal Retreat offerings are more my speed! At least the offerings without Hibiscus that is…and even some with Hibiscus, I suppose! More on that in future reviews! The Hibiscus/other ingredient ratio is more pleasing to my palate (as many of you know I’m not usually into overly tarty teas or tisanes).
This is WYSIWYG…Apricot and Amaretto sums it up nicely! I’m appreciating the Honeybush/Rooibos blends very much – thanks Tea Forte! Two thumbs up on this one!
