So this is my second tea to sample. I didn’t have the best opinion of Tea Forte at first, but that was because of my first exposure to it. A gift shop sells Tea Forte loose tea and tea bag variety boxes. I’m not the biggest fan of flavored teas since companies started putting unnamed natural and artificial flavors in tea. What does that even mean? Anyway, the gift shop usually has tea samples sitting at the front of the store. I tried two teas that way, but I realized later that the teas were usually hours old since I would visit the store in the afternoon and the tea they sample is only brewed in the morning. The first tea I sampled was the Rum Raisin. I assumed I didn’t like it because I don’t like rum, but there’s this strong, medicinal taste that doesn’t seem natural in tea, which may or may not come from oversteeping or sitting for so long. I had the English Breakfast black tea and noticed the same cringe-worthy flavor. Though I couldn’t describe the taste, it’s not simply acidity or bitterness.
I’m not saying that the teas are inherently bad. The teas in the tea bags look nice, and the shape of the tea bag makes it so it brews as soon as I poor the tea in. I don’t think I’ve brewed it longer than a minute. At the same time, I worry about how the tea will taste if I leave the tea leaves in the hot water too long. I definitely prefer the flavor of the teas after a second steep. The first steep has a flavor almost reminiscent of that medicinal flavor in the tea samples at the gift shop, so I think any accidental oversteeping could make the tea unpalatable. It could just be how the tea is. Apparently someone came into the store about an hour earlier and enjoyed the English Breakfast tea, but I think heated cough syrup would be just as enjoyable.
I don’t really get that much of a caramel flavor from the tea. I’m not the biggest caramel fan, but I think that’s mostly because I hate the texture more than anything else. It kind of reminds me of some of the other flavored teas that I have, but it’s muted in comparison. It could probably use some cream and sugar, but I drink tea plan. It’s not the worst tea I’ve tasted.
In any case, I think I will finish the sample box, especially since it was $15 for 10 samples. I doubt I will buy any more of the teas. It’s nice to know that I can buy loose teas so close to home, but I don’t think I’ll be impressed by them. I have high hopes for the rose tea, though. I’m not too judgmental when it comes to rose, only because there aren’t many things rose flavored, so as long as I taste the rose, I might like it.
That wasn’t too informative… I like the tea bag design, and the fact that it’s a pretty nice. I’ll score it like this:
Tea Bag Functionality: 10 (It doesn’t take more than a few seconds to brew. I guess this adds to how many times you can steep it as well, so I think that’s good. I don’t know if I should rate tea bag functionality, but if anything, I think this should be available knowledge. The stem on the tea bag can also be shaped to the side of the mug, so that might be useful. I think that’s so it can hang on the side of the mug. I’m not actually sure, though.)
Presentation: 8 (It’s not elaborate. It’s rather minimalist actually, but it’s a pyramid cardboard box, and the tea bag itself has a tea leaf on it. It’s kind of cute.)
Amount of Tea: 7 (It seems to be a fair amount. Maybe one and a half tea spoons.)
Quality: 6 ( Whole leaf: automatic 5 points; some dust in the box -2; flavor: 3)
Uniqueness: 2 (Honestly, I don’t think a caramel flavored tea is such a new thing, especially with chocolate teas becoming more popular. It also doesn’t have anything to make it stand out. It could have at least been a salted caramel, but I don’t know much about caramel. I wasn’t that impressed, though.)
Would I drink it again?: 5 (I need five things to rate: Definitely Yes: 10; Sure, though it’s not my first choice: 8; Only to make room for other teas: 6; I don’t want to, but if you serve it, then I can’t refuse or it would be rude: 4; Can’t I just throw it away: 2; I regret this decision/ I think I’m going to vomit: 0)
Total: 28 × 2 = 56
Ok, fair enough. I’m going to work on my rating system later, but it works for this tasting note.
Flavors: Caramel, Malt
