Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Fruit/Herbal (and Nut!) Tisane
Where to Buy: Caraway Tea
Product Description:
This festive fruit tisane is great all year round. It smells like christmas, but tastes like summer. Sweet roasted, caramelized almonds, apples, and beetroot sprinkled with cinnamon make this a favorite.
Taster’s Review:
This is so yummy! No wonder it’s Caraway Tea’s #1 seller!
The aroma is warm with sweet cinnamon and toasted nuts. I can also smell hints of apple in the background … you know, I have to disagree a little bit with the above description, because this smells more autumnal to me. I can certainly understand where the “Christmas” comparison comes from, but for me, this is autumn. If I close my eyes and take a big whiff, I can even “see” the beautiful fall leaves on the trees.
This is a light-to-medium bodied tisane that is beautifully sweet. It tastes like a cross between lightly spiced apple cider and freshly roasted almonds that have been sprinkled lightly with cinnamon and sugar. And… no, I didn’t add any sweetener to this, that sugar sweetness comes naturally from the beetroot (which also provides a pretty, pinkish color to the cup).
While I am sure that this makes a very tasty iced tea, the autumnal feel of it demands that it be served hot. It is so cozy and delightfully comforting. A delightful dessert substitution that is naturally caffeine-free so it can be enjoyed any time of day. Kids will love this one too!
White Christmas from Harney & Sons
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Harney & Sons
Product Description:
Recline in front of a glowing fire while the snow drifts, and the tree lights twinkle. A sip from this warm and nutty blend completes the perfect winter wonderland. Hand-picked white tea blended with almonds, vanilla and cardamom, accented by white chamomile flowers.
Taster’s Review:
I really like this tea. It was part of the Harney & Sons White Christmas Tea Gift 2010 (which is, at the time of this writing, out of stock), but to be honest, I was less interested in the tea than I was the chocolate covered almonds in the cool firecracker wrapping. Yeah, I’m a sucker for things like that.
So, it’s really awesome that I’m enjoying the tea too! The white tea is delicately flavored (which is normal for white tea), but it is not so soft that it can’t be tasted. It has a very fresh, smooth taste with a light mouthfeel. No bitterness and no astringency. Just sweet, delicate white tea flavor.
The flavor of the vanilla is creamy and rich. It is flavored “just right” here – I like that the flavor is strong, however it does not overpower the white tea. Very well blended, this tea.
The almond flavor lends a light, nutty character to the tea and is accented nicely with the cardamom. Together these flavors are in keeping with the delicate quality of the white tea, nothing is overwhelming. The combination of flavors makes for a very cozy White Christmas, indeed!
OK, so I had to end this review with this, because every time I sip on this tea I can’t help but hear this song play in my head. I realize that some of you traditionalists out there might think that the only person out there that can do this song justice is Bing Crosby or someone like that, but, I’m not so much into Bing Crosby… so I did a search on You Tube and came up with this one…
Toasted Almond Creme (Signature Blend) from Adagio Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Sorry, this blend is no longer available.
Company Description:
As this blend has been discontinued by Adagio Teas, there is no description available.
Taster’s Review:
I know that this tea is no longer available, but I really like it so I want to share my thoughts about it with you.
Adagio Teas offers a rather unique and cool service to their customers. Customers can design their own “Signature Blends” using Adagio’s teas. I have tried several of these Signature Blends from various blenders, but my favorite blender thus far is Adagio customer Rachana Carter.
Now, I have to tell you, I am not a huge fan of Adagio’s black tea base. I find it to be rather harsh and astringent. That being said, I have found that when their flavored black teas are blended (like with the Signature Blends), the black tea doesn’t taste as harsh. I don’t know why that is, I mean, it’s still the same black tea base. So while I don’t really like many of Adagio Teas flavored teas, I have enjoyed quite a few of the Signature Blends.
This blend is very flavorful. The black tea base is not harsh at all, in fact, I have a hard time believing that it is made with the same black tea base as the Adagio Teas flavored black teas. It is very smooth tasting with barely a hint of astringency. Very pleasant.
The flavoring of this one doesn’t really remind me so much of “toasted almond” as much as it reminds me of almond extract. What it tastes like to me is a cookie that’s been flavored with almond extract… and that has been dunked in milk!
The combination of flavors is very nice. The tea is sweet and creamy, with a pleasingly robust black tea background. I am finding it to be exceptionally comforting on this chilly day. Thank you, Rachana Carter, for all of your fantastic blends!
Earl Grey Vanilla Almond Tea from TeaScapes
Tea Type: Black Tea
Where To Buy: TeaScapes
Product Description:
Earl Grey Vanilla Almond black loose leaf tea leaves are mixed with almond pieces and vanilla flavoring. The brewed liquor offers a pleasant flavor of bergamot mixed with the nutty tones of almond and creamy undercurrents of vanilla. This loose leaf black tea is perfect for desserts or for just a pure indulgence.
Tasters Review:
This is unlike anything I have EVER smelled in my life! It’s powerful and has attitude! And I like that!
The DRY Aroma – I can smell Almond right off the bat! Right after that scent follows the Earl Grey! I can smell both – both together and separately! It’s very intense! And VERY Unique!
After infusing – the almond tones down quite a bit and the Earl Grey comes thru even more.
The color of the infused liquid is that of a medium brown.
The taste is out of this world!
I can taste the bold black tea wonderfully! Then I can taste the nicely done Earl Grey flavors and THEN the Almond barges thru! The vanilla slides in towards the end of the sip and smooths it out pleasantly.
This is such a FUN tea! I think it’s just GREAT! I’m very impressed with the aroma, flavors, and creativity of both! This is a REAL winner!
Cocoa Cardamom Seduction Tea from Talbott Teas
Tea Type: Black Tea
Where To Buy: Talbott Teas
Product Description:
Product Description: Real chocolate draws your eye. The scent of exotic spices pulls you closer. By the time you taste this rich and complex black tea, you’ve already fallen in love.
All natural premium ingredients: Full-leaf black tea, cacao nibs, cinnamon, cardamom, almonds, natural chocolate, almond and cinnamon flavors.
Tasters Review:
If any of you are Oprah Fans then you may have seen Talbott Teas featured on today’s Oprah Show. It was a Very Special SURPRISE Day Two of Oprah’s Favorite Things and our friends over at Talbott Teas were featured smack-dab in the middle of the show!
Here at SororiTEA Sisters we have posted many Talbott Tea Reviews and we have more on tap this week to celebrate their teas being featured on Oprah!
Today I would like to share one of my favorites from Talbott Teas called Cocoa Cardamom Seduction!
The name of this drives me wild! Mission Accomplished, I suppose!
I can clearly see ALL of the described ingredients! I can’t stop sniffing this! It’s AWESOME…It’s like a Chocolate Peanut Butter type smell. I have been smelling it over and over again.
The first sip I really did notice the cardamom but I think that was the idea of the whole thing, right!? I mean, hence – the name!? Anyhow…I continued to sip and certainly picked up on both the Almond and the Cocoa. The cinnamon and cardamom pair together as they should and the pairing jumps up in front of the line but the Chocolate/Almond taste isn’t too far behind. The color of the tea liquid is a light-medium brown.
I’ve had this tea several times and each cup is a tad different. I have tried picking out more almonds some times and less cardamom other times just to taste the difference. Each cup is a wonderful adventure, regardless!
If you are a new reader of our blog you may or may not know that I drink all of my teas plain with no additives. If you are the type of person who enjoys sweetener or cream in their tea I will have you know that a good online friend of mine who also happens to be a tea freak says that by adding cream and sugar to this it is much more dessert-like and is a “very rich, cocoa-flavored tea with a taste of cardamom and a light hint of cinnamon.”
So which ever way you enjoy your tea – make sure you make room for Cocoa Cardamom Seduction from Talbott Teas…as seen on Oprah’s Favorite Things earlier today!
Congrats to Talbott Teas for making it to Oprah’s Favorite Things! And two thumbs up to Oprah for highlighting TEA on her show!
Stay tuned for more Talbott Tea Reviews this week right here at SororiTEAsisters.com!