Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Tea Purchased from Mint Tea
Product Available Online at Strand Tea
Tea Description:
Premium Ceylon Black Tea with all Natural Apple Bits, Orange Peel, Currants, Cinnamon, Almond Flakes, Cloves and Safflowers.
This tea fills the room with enticing scents and brews a delightful rich cup of tea.
Taster’s Review:
A few weeks ago, I visited Mint Tea in Vancouver, Washington with my oldest daughter. We had a lovely lunch, and this is the tea I enjoyed with my delicious salad. When we left, I couldn’t help but pick up a pouch of this tea to enjoy at home. While there, the friendly cashier told me that their teas were procured from Strand Tea, and this is where this tea can be purchased online, if you don’t happen to be visiting Vancouver any time soon.
This is a delicious black tea blend. It has quite a bit going on, but somehow it all seems to work together. The dry leaf is very visually appealing, with big chunks of apple and orange peel, whole currants, slivers of almond and cinnamon chips, and whole cloves. It smells delightful, warm and spicy with a yummy fruit undertone.
Once brewed, the aroma becomes much more muted, but it is very flavorful. The black tea sometimes seems a little lost amid all these fruits, nuts and spices, however, I do taste it. Its there, in the background, but sometimes it does seem that the other flavors – especially the spices – overwhelm it.
The cinnamon and cloves present the strongest flavors here, followed by a lovely orange note and a hint of almond. The currant and apple are much softer, but if I really focus on the sip, I taste them.
Even though the spices and orange are the strongest notes, I wouldn’t consider this to be a typical orange spice tea, because it isn’t. The flavors of an orange spice are indeed there, but, it is much mellower than the standard orange spice tea.
This is a very enjoyable cup of tea, and makes a nice tea to sip with lunch or in the afternoon, when you want a lighter cup. It would also make a very refreshing iced tea!
Almond Fondant from Kally Tea
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Kally Tea
Tisane Description:
Healthy nutrient packed Rooibos combined with almonds, mallow flowers and natural flavors create this cup reminiscent of fondant (or also known as Marzipan). Are we sitting in a South African Café? As you sip this flavor balanced Rooibos almond treat, it will seem as though you are. What a joy to drink either hot or iced. This Rooibos is a great accompaniment to any dessert delicacy.
Learn more about this tisane here.
Taster’s Review:
Once again, Kally Tea delivers what it promises with its alluring tea names. The name of the tea is Almond Fondant, and this tastes a lot like almond fondant (or marzipan!)
This tisane has a rooibos base, and while rooibos is not usually my favorite herb, in this case, I find that the natural flavors of the rooibos actually work to the benefit of the tisane. The natural nutty flavor of the rooibos accents the almond notes very nicely, giving the cup a very delicious, nutty flavor.
There is some sweetness to this cup as well, and I’m very pleased with the balance of sweet and earthy tones. There is also a light creaminess to this, and I don’t know if that comes from the almond flavor or if there is a vanilla flavoring in this as well. But, I find that this creaminess takes the other flavors to the next level, giving it that fondant-like flavor.
This is a very tasty dessert tisane, and I like that it’s naturally caffeine-free, making it an excellent late-night treat that you can indulge in with no guilt, because there’s zero calories!
Thé des Amants from Le Palais Des Thés
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Le Palais Des Thés
Tea Description:
Rich and sensual, Thé des Amants is a heady, fragrant blend of black tea, apple, almond, cinnamon and vanilla, spiced up with a hint of ginger.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I have been mesmerized by the aroma of this tea since I first opened the little cylinder tin. It smells very autumnal, with its lovely cinnamon and apple notes, and hints of vanilla and almond. The fragrance is so deliciously comforting that I find myself continuously lifting my mug to my nose just to inhale this delightful scent.
This is a pleasant tea. I would classify this as medium-bodied, and a little lighter … thinner? … than I expected given its powerful aroma. It is quite tasty, but I find that I enjoy the fragrance more. I think this blend would benefit greatly from a stronger black tea base, one that could withstand the strength of the cinnamon notes.
What I do like is that the flavors are all there. The most dominate flavor is the cinnamon, but despite its power over the black tea base, I don’t think the cinnamon is too strong. The apple flavor is more subtle, but it melds nicely with the cinnamon, which seems to bring out some of the sweet apple-y tones. The ginger is surprisingly soft here, and I say surprisingly because ginger has a way of being very strong even when its not intended to be. I taste the ginger as a hint of pepper toward the end of the sip, a peppery note that lingers into the aftertaste along with the spicy tones of the cinnamon.
The almond and vanilla are very soft here, and didn’t really expose themselves much until I reached about mid-cup. I taste light creamy undertones and a sweet, nutty background from these flavors, and they add a nice dimension to the overall cup. I taste an occasional hint of orange with this blend … which sometimes I think I’m imagining because the overall “holiday” like flavor of this cup seems to inspire tea blenders to create orange-spice blends, and perhaps it’s just flavor association because of that.
A very pleasant cup, quite nice as an afternoon tea after lunch, as it satisfied that desire for me to indulge in something sweet.
Cherry Joy Black Tea from Ovation Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Ovation Teas
Tea Description:
Blend of Assam and Ceylon loose leaf black teas with bing cherries, sliced almonds, and coconut pieces with cherry, almond, and coconut flavoring.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I’ve had this tea twice now, and interestingly enough, the flavor was a little different each time. The first time I tried it, the coconut came out strong from the very first sip. The cherry was there, but, it sort of lingered in the background. The almond was the most subtle flavor of the three.
One thing that remained consistent with both cups is that the tea was the prominent flavor of both cups. I was happily surprised by this, because a tea with so many flavors could have easily been overwhelmed by them. The flavor of the tea is rich and a little malty, with hints of earth and even a sweet biscuit kind of quality to it.
I found the cherry flavor to be a stronger flavor in this second cup. It is a sweet cherry flavor, reminding me of my summers as a child when my family and I would take a days drive down to Cherry Valley in California. We’d spend the day picking cherries off the tree, and then bringing them home to enjoy. Over the course of the next few weeks, our days would be filled with cherry goodness, eating cherries by the bowlful, and having cherry cobbler for dessert. (By the way, try freezing Bing cherries … they’re so yummy and refreshing, one of my favorite treats as a kid!) I love how this tea tastes so distinctly like Bing Cherry that it brings those memories to life for me.
By the time I’ve consumed about half of this second cup of tea, the almond and coconut begin to assert themselves, although never in a very aggressive way. The coconut is smooth and creamy note to the cup that might otherwise taste TOO cherry which might end up giving it too much of a cough medicine-y taste. But the coconut brings it back into the dessert tea realm.
Of the three flavors (and in both cups!), I find the almond to be the most subtle, providing more of a delicious, nutty hint of sweetness to the cup rather than a distinct almond flavor. But, I love the way the three flavors come together – cherry, coconut and almond – it is creamy, sweet, and juicy, and absolutely YUMMY!
I really love this tea, and I enjoy how it offers a different adventure every time you brew it!
Season’s Greetings Tea (AKA Caramel Tea) from Empire Tea Services
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black & Green Teas
Where to Buy: Empire Tea Services
Tea Description:
Sencha green tea, Ceylon black tea, Almond slivers, and Caramel flavoring.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I debated with myself about whether or not I should publish this review now, or if I should wait until it was closer to the holiday season, but decided that since this tea is indeed available year round (and certainly quite enjoyable any time you choose to brew it!) I would publish the review now.
I was also a little confused by the tea, because the sample I had received was called “Caramel” and I couldn’t find it on the website! Fortunately, though, the staff at Empire Tea Services is very friendly, and they got back to me to let me know more about this tea, including that it is also called Season’s Greetings!
Well, whether you call it Caramel or Season’s Greetings … and no matter what time of year you steep it … one thing that remains consistent with this tea is that it is AWESOMELY GOOD!
The base of this tea is a blend of black Ceylon and green Sencha teas. I infused it using a lower temperature water (175°F) to ensure that the green tea would not be scorched, and this made for a perfect cup. The flavor of the black tea was not quite as rich as it would be if it were brewed with boiling water, but, this allowed for the buttery nuances of the Sencha tea to come through.
And it was those sweet, buttery tones that really made this tea shine. The sweet, creamy notes of the caramel married beautifully with the flavors of the green tea, while the black tea flavors seemed to meld naturally with the sweet almond notes. Together it created a fusion of amazing flavors.
Normally, when I think of a “Christmas Tea” … this isn’t the combination of flavors I envision. But, I love this different interpretation of the holiday season … it makes for a perfect cup of tea any time of year.