My grandmother was more of an apple crumble lady herself. My dad’s grandmother, however, could apparently make a mean apple strudel. Now I never met his grandmother but I have gone to a Hungarian restaurant, Old Country Inn, with my Dad who has told me that the strudel there taste’s just like she used to make so that’s my basis of comparison here.
In order to recreate Grandma NecessiTea’s strudel, this tisane is a blend of apples, raisins, cinnamon, chicory, almonds, vanilla, and natural flavoring. I brewed this hot, steeping about 3 teaspoons of tea in 16 ounces of 200F water for 5 minutes.
The first thing this tea brought to mind was the Forever Nuts blend by DAVIDsTEA. Both teas have that warming and sweet nutty flavor to them that takes over. At first when I tried Forever Nuts, I loved the flavor but it is strong and I was quickly turned off of it to the point that even the smell was off-putting. However, whether it be the long time I went without a tea like this or the subtle differences between this and the DAVIDsTEA version, I don’t mind this so much.
The apple is definitely the foundation flavor of this blend, coating your tongue with its sweet and fresh cinnamon-apple note. At first it is a bit of light vanilla that sits atop the apple but that quickly is taken over by the heavier and nutty almond and chicory flavors. There is a baked good vibe here and though the different components all together sound like an apple strudel, I find in actuality this tea doesn’t come together quite how it should so instead it is a jumble of flavors. In fairness, that could be due to my negative experience of Forever Nuts and the similarity to that but as I sip, I just can’t help but think that this is not the Apple Strudel tea for me.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Fruit Tisane
Where to Buy: The NecessiTeas
Description
This tea does not appear to be available but click below for teas that are.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Just A Little Tart from A Pin Tea Shop. . . .
This tisane came in a colorful, artsy package – a pin up style beauty lounging in a giant tea cup, in adorable strappy black pumps with a flower in her hair. The daring half blouse with the plunging neckline is fitting for the name of the tea…Just A Little Tart.
The blend contains apple, rosehips, hibiscus, citrus peel, flavors, and orange. Ingredient number three brought a shiver. Not the dreaded hibby! But honestly, I don’t hate it like some folks do, and while I am not a fan of strong hibby hot, I do enjoy it iced and sweetened.
Just to be thorough testing this tisane, I did taste it hot and unsweetened. It was, indeed, just a little tart but not terribly so. The apple really does stand out.
I poured the rest of that pot into a carafe with a little sugar and then resteeped. The second steep was quite pale in comparison to the first and the flavor was greatly subdued when I tasted it hot and sweetened, but it was really intended to flesh out the big iced and sweetened pitcher, which it did nicely. The edge is off of it and I wouldn’t mind drinking the resteep as it was.
Now that it has chilled thoroughly, I can honestly say that this is a very enjoyable iced drink and most welcome in the 90+ Fahrenheit weather we have been enduring. I really don’t taste JUST the hibiscus, and that’s a feat since hibiscus can be overpowering. It is a lovely, fruity summer tisane and very refreshing iced.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Fruit Tisane
Where to Buy: Pin Tea Shop
Description
This tea company may no longer be in business but can be reached below.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Antivirus from TeaTaxi. . . . .
One thing I never realized until I started drinking tea is that when I get sick, my tastebuds stop working. Sometimes when I’m sick, my food still tastes the same but with tea there is almost a void in my tastebuds. It is like some of my tastebuds work and some are muted so everything is just off and it is all too clear that something is missing. It’s at these times I either try to drink teas I didn’t really love to being with or sick teas such as this Antivirus tea by TeaTaxi.
Made with peppermint, spearmint, rosehips, almonds, apples, ginger, rose, sunflower, calendula, osmanthus, hibiscus, and natural flavors, this is not something I would ever care to drink under normal circumstances. However, the collection of ingredients is tolerable and even nice when sick.
I brewed this both hot and iced, steeping both for 7 minutes in 200F degree water. Then I got suckered into going grocery shopping with my mother so both teas were left on the counter in their respective thermoses for a couple hours.
Starting with the iced tea, I am getting mint…mint and maybe ginger. That void is still present so the flavors are all lost for the most part but the tea feels good on my throat as I sip. Hot (well…warm), this tea has a lot more mint flavor. While the iced tea was more smooth and peppermint-like, hot it is more medicinal/spearmint tasting. Ginger is also more noticeable in the hot tea but as a soothing ginger tingle at the back of my throat. Other than that, everything else is M.I.A.
I don’t mind the lack of flavor because the tea is doing what I want and that’s soothing my sore throat and cough and hydrating me when I am not feeling 100%, especially the hot tea. If I am being honest, my preferred cold tea is probably Cold 911 by DAVIDsTEA but this is not a bad alternative.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal Tisane
Where to Buy: Tea Taxi
Description
An infusion of peppermint, spearmint, apples and ginger to help you make it through the winter. It’ll warm you from the inside out.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Apple Delicious from Love Some Tea. . . .
The short of it: They weren’t lying!
This was a very pleasing, delicious cup of tea to enjoy on a rainy fall day! The green tea made the perfect pairing for the mild and smooth apple flavor. The apple was strong enough that I did not have to imagine it was there, but subtle enough that the smoothness of the green tea came through. There was a very mild tang at the end of each sip. The website (www.lovesometea.com) describes the tea as having ginger, strawberry, cherry and cranberry notes in addition to the apple. The after note of tartness I would contribute to the cranberry and ginger, but neither are overwhelming enough to overpower the apple and green tea flavors. The strawberry was a bit to subtle for my palate to pickup. The blend is a beautiful mix, with moderate sized fruit pieces visible within. It is very possible that my sample size didn’t contain strawberry pieces (I could see cranberry and apple easily), and I suspect that if you didn’t’ mix the blend before each cup, you’d have a slightly new adventure each go around.
All in all: I’d stock this as a good comfort tea, and name it as my favorite apple flavored tea yet.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Love Some Tea
Description
Green Tea Flavored with deep notes Ginger and Fruits including: strawberry, cherries, cranberry, and apple.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Sour Appletini from DAVIDsTea. . . .
My coworker and I have a spiritually violent “hot potato” going with teas. We complain and toss things onto each other’s desks with aplomb. We also occasionally sneak things into each other’s collections and wait with bated breath to see whether the other will notice.
I got up to go to the bathroom yesterday and when I came back, this was on my desk. “What’s wrong with this one?” I asked. “I don’t feel it,” she said, shrugging.
So I decided to channel J.D. on Scrubs and make myself a nice iced appletini. But from tea. Sadly, not drinking booze at my desk. (Would that make more pleasant? Irritable? Sleepy? Not exactly something I can test.)
I think this is fairly pleasant. It tastes like a slightly synthetic apple (think: Jolly rancher) mixed in with a bit of citrus and tart hibiscus. (Turns out this “hibiscus” flavor is beetroot, according to the ingredients). It’s a big sweet, a bit tangy.
It’s also a really cute shade of pink.
I suspect this blend was intended to be iced. My coworker only drinks her teas hot (I’m flexible). Hot, this would probably be a little too strong & tart. I’ve found that icing teas tends to bring out the sweetness.
This tea is currently available on David’s Tea’s site. It is also available to be stolen off my desk if you’d like to continue the tradition of Hot Potato!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Tisane
Where to Buy: DAVIDsTea
Description
Class up your summer soirée with this sweet, mouthpuckering green apple blend
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
