American Tea Room

Something about rooibos and dessert flavors together don’t add up to a dessert experience for me. Something is missing. The peppermint and chocolate flavors remind me of a candy-scented toy from the 1980s or 1990s, or flavored lip balm.

Others might not have that association, so I don’t feel fair rating it.

Interesting fact – if you drink this right after eating a Nutrigrain soft breakfast bar, it will taste like a Nutrigrain bar.

That’s kind of true for anything, BUT – these two products really have a lot in common – the baked-bread scent augmented by the almond really smells a lot like a sweet packaged filled cookie. Once I got past that, it’s a comforting flavored tea. I even got two good steeps out of it, brewed Western-style.

Bought a box of this without tasting a sample because I was intrigued that it contained valerian root and schizandra. A little fancier than your usual “sleepytime” blend of chamomile and lavender. I have an infant and I don’t sleep, so I’m willing to pay a premium for anything with more potent sleep herbs.

Cooling sensation from the mint and fennel, fragrance from the rose (but less so from the chamomile, which I’m totally fine with). I don’t exactly get what this schizandra adds, but altogether this is a well-balanced and tasty blend, without any tartness or spiciness that would be upsetting before beddy-time.

I’ve never had Da Hong Pao before. Or at least I thought. But after tasting this Big red robe I must have had it in a chinese restaurant or something. There is something familiar about this tea, something standard.
I brewed this gong fu style. 4 steepings. could have done one more if not a couple.
It’s a super clean, bright cup. When smelling it I picked up on some incense, which was a nice complexity I hadn’t anticipated. Really enjoyed it. it’s a good after a meal.

Sipped this down with whole milk, and my mom had a mug as well. At first, she didn’t want any milk (she is so freaking picky about it and claims it makes things taste like cow) but after taking a few sips sans milk she thought to try it out and ended up loving it. It just ties all the cocoa and mint flavours together, transforming this into an ultra desserty cup of greatness. Still not my favourite chocolate mint tea, but very good nonetheless.

This is a tasty caffeine-free chocolate mint dessert tea. Glad I got it! Although it does seem like a weaker version of their Choco Latte with some peppermint thrown in. Like, I would have liked it to have more of that chocolate oomph that Choco Latte has, plus a little more peppermint flavour too, if that makes sense. So more of everything layered over the rooibos base. Zen Tea’s chocolate mint rooibos blend is still my favourite at this point. I’m beginning to wonder if I could ever find a better one.

Sipdown no. 48 of 2017 (no. 329 total). A sample.

I had been hanging on to this one because they don’t have it anymore and I really liked it the first time around. But the packet had developed a fine layer of dust, so I decided it had to go.

So sad to sip this one down. I love orange flavor when it is done well.

I see that ATR has a couple of other orange black teas. I’m wondering whether their Romanoff might be similar. Has anyone tried it?

An as yet untested sample, and what a really wonderful surprise.

Orange is a flavor I love, but find iffy in so many foods and teas that aren’t in and of themselves made of oranges. Since I’m a huge fan of ATR fruity teas, it should perhaps not be surprising that I thought this one was well done. But it isn’t just well done, it’s one of the most pleasant orange flavored teas I’ve tried. So of course, I can no longer find it on the ATR web site. Such luck I have.

Yes, orange is the dominant aroma and flavor, from a really succulent and juicy smell in the sample packet to a mellower and more spread out aroma in the steeped tea, to a somewhat tart, somewhat sweet, flavor with a tinge of peel-like bitterness; just enough to give the flavor a fruity authenticity without undermining the pleasing non-fakey character of the tea. The tea base is a truly a bass note here, a low rumble of accompaniment to the higher orange notes. I think it is a Ceylon but I’m not sure. In any case, it does its job exceptionally well.

I would buy this again if it were available.

Thanks for this one from the sale, Ost! I wasn’t expecting much from this one, as the rating is so low. But this one is a winner to me. The leaves are medium sized (if the small sized leaf is considered CTC, I guess). Mostly black with flashes of gold, to the leaf color. A strong, deep, dark classic Yunnan. Heavy notes of hay, malt, unsweetened chocolate. I love it. There is some depth to the flavor here. Two solid steeps. One serving left.
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 teaspoons for a full mug// few minutes after boiling // 3 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 3-4 minute steep

Received this as a sample in my ATR order. It is pleasant, but not something I would seek out. Despite the Nilgiri base, it seems on the mild side. I taste the blackberry — the blueberry, not so much. If I were a blackberry tea fan, I might be more excited about this as it tastes very natural, but there are really just so many other fruit flavors that I prefer.

When lemonades and / or teas can get the lychee flavor right its like drinking a little bit of paradise. This company did a good job. I really wish I was sipping this on a beach right now. The dry smell is great; as is the wet smell. I love the fusion of the black tea flavors mixing in with the lychee. nom.

Aww, this was a disappointment. Funny how their chai is loaded with cardamom but this barely had any at all. If I tasted this blindly, I don’t think I would have been able to detect the cardamom in it. It’s just a bold, astringent tea with a barely there hint of spice.

The aroma of this tea is indeed incredibly buttery and nutty, with vanilla-almond and cinnamon overtones, not unlike sticky buns, but I have an image of that shiny chestnut crust of brioche swimming in front of my eyes, so I want it to be yeastier than it is! It smells so incredibly delicious that I’m afraid I will be disappointed when I take a sip!
Sigh, the sip is not as delicious as I imagined, but the aftertaste is all BUTTERY candied walnuts. For that alone I’m enjoying the heck out of this cup! It is indeed getting moar buttery and sweeter as it cools, and now I’m getting a little more of that aftertaste on the sip. Overall definitely something I could see myself ordering in the future!

ETA: This was a sample from the fabulous Stephanie, thanks a bunch!

Yet another sipdown. It feels like all the tea I have at this point is either pounds or tiny little bits. Luckily the tiny little bits are easy to use up!

This one is so good. I’m picky about herbals but I’ll almost always drink this one. It’s like a liquid cinnamon roll, which is pretty much the best idea ever. I can’t help it—I love tea-as-dessert all day, every day. For whatever reason the Breville made this a little weaker than I usually do, but it’s still rich and sweet. I’ll definitely consider buying this one again, but because so many companies have a tea like this (DAVIDsTEA Forever Nuts and Benjamin Tea Roasted Almond come to mind) I may get someone else’s variation.

Well, now that ATR is, sadly, no longer, I’ve been hoarding the last shreds of this favourite.

The trick is, of course, to drink it while it is still holding its magic.

Initially, I was thinking that the magic had dissipated, but just when I was getting used to the idea that this was just ordinary. BOOM! A liquid sugary sweet raisin almond saffron pastry came through in each sip. All that was missing was that dense chewy fresh sweet breadiness that you bite into, leaving a tooth imprint in every bite.

I am revisiting the teas that I had packed up and sent Sil’s way at the tea festival. Actually, the box that I had collected them all in is sitting in my line of traffic at home, so I thought I’d sample them before I put them away, if the putting away happens.

This is one delicious tea blend. I think I may have added the slightest bit too much leaf to my steeping cup which has resulted in a teeny bit of astringency that normally I don’t detect with the almond, pastry, light raisin fruitiness. Boom—solved that problem by having 85% chocolate alongside. Delicious.

I was so craving this one today and was delighted that I was actually able to locate it. What I need to do is sit down and do some tea organizing, serious organizing.

Have I really become one of those people that puts aside time to sort and order my tea stash? By category? By age? By size? By how much I love it?

Maybe I need tea furniture now.

It has been so nice to putter around and do little to nothing. This tea is just divine. It is much better, if memory serves, with a glug of milk and bit of honey, but currently, that’s not on my nutrition agenda, so black it is. Still divine. Like a buttery sticky saffron honey bun stuffed with raisins.

Deep chill here today. I wore my coat to shield myself from the brisk wind. Brrr.

The kind of day to lounge around in flannel pyjamas and drink this. This tea, when you get the parameters right, is divine. The scent is like walking into a good bakery which has just taken their sweet buns out of the oven.

I added a small spoon of honey and a good glog of milk.
The taste is that same saffron almond bun fresh out of the oven. In my first cup, I swear I tasted raisins speckled with the teeniest flecks of cinnamon.

Very mmm.

From the Great Canadian Tea Box Round 5

I had no idea what this tea was going in, I just guessed it’d be a smokey russian caravan type tea by the name. In actuality it’s an orange flavoured tea with just the slightest hint of smoke. I’m not super fond of orange flavouring, so I can’t see myself drinking something like this often, but other than that it’s Pretty Okay.

Sipdown! Had it with milk to try to make it a little more interesting. Meh. Won’t be missing it.

Despite the scattered, but mostly mediocre reviews, I opted for a sample since it never hurts to try a caramel black. I had a feeling it would be boring and lacklustre, and unfortunately, my gut was right. The dry leaf doesn’t smell like much other than plain, slightly sweetened black tea. There are two caramel pieces in the 20g sample size so I allowed myself to have one of them in this cup. 7g went into a nearly two-cup mug.

I let the water cool for a while before steeping and it still turned out rather astringent, like a standard Ceylon. After a few sips, I added some homo milk to cut the astringency and while it’s better, I still don’t taste any caramel whatsoever. If I could, I’d add something like Bailey’s or Caramilk cream liqueur (although I’ve never had it before) because I’m sure either would elevate this.

Oh boy, I didn’t realize I got down to 39 teas (thirty-freaking-nine!) the other day until now. My ATR order arrived the other day so it’s back up but not by too much.

So glad I ordered a sample of this. I love chai but sometimes so many are basically the same as not as complex as I’d like, but I took a chance on this just to justify my order more. It’s pleasantly heavy on the cardamom. Like DAVIDsTEA’s Cardamom French Toast with extra added cinnamon and ginger.

I steeped this with some homo milk and added a bit of brown sugar. Delightful. Cardamom note is the most prominent, followed by the ginger, and then the cinnamon, I’d say. The base is a bold Nilgiri but it doesn’t override any of the spices. Rather than doing a 4-5 minute steep (didn’t time it), I’m sure this would really benefit from a stovetop treatment.

Would I buy more? Not entirely sure yet but it’s been the best loose leaf chai I’ve purchased in a good while. I’m biased when it comes to cardamom, however, as I love that stuff.

I could have sworn I wrote a note for this when I tried a hot cup of it a week or so ago… Anyways, I put the rest of the sample in a mason jar and stuck it in the fridge. I didn’t like the taste of it hot. It had a weird alkaline taste to it that I have experienced in some pineapple teas. It is much better cold steeped! The alkaline taste is still there, but is muted and subtle. The mandarin is very bright and dominating the sip and aftertaste with a creamsicle flavor. There is a little bite at the end of the sip that I don’t much care for, but the rest of the sip is great. The vanilla works well to soften the sharpness of the citrus and the other ingredients seems to give it some depth and low notes, making it really well rounded. I could see this working well with a little sweetener to fill out the fruity taste. Overall I’m pretty impressed!