Capital Teas

This tea both smells and tastes like liquid peppermint bark. I wouldn’t have believed it was possible if I didn’t taste it. I added a touch of sweetener, which I usually do when drinking teas with chocolate.

The only problem with this tea is that it both smells and tastes like liquid peppermint bark after you brew it. I’m not so sure the world needs this tea.

However, some of my coworkers love this tea. The bottom line is if you’re interested in having tea that tastes just like white chocolate peppermint bark, this is the one to go for. If not, try something else.

I can very clearly taste the cranberries, raspberries and somewhat mellow black tea in this blend. While there is nothing wrong with it, I was hoping for the bitterness of the tea and the tartness of the cranberries to combine in a very intense bitter cranberry taste, but instead the tea is a perfectly balanced blend of all three flavors. Not bad in any way, just not what I was hoping for.

I enjoy this tea hot, but even more iced.

I will say this – I severed this tea iced (cold brewed) over Thanksgiving and a few of my guests (not familiar with tea beyond the bagged stuff you find in a supermarket) really liked the tea and drank it at the meal instead of water. Most of them added sweetener, but to each their own.

I’ve yet to find my perfect blueberry tea, which tastes like fresh blueberries without needing any sweetener. Unfortunately, this tea is not it. It’s a pleasant tea but not what I was hoping. The blueberry taste wasn’t very strong, even with some sugar.

However, I left my unfinished mug sitting on the table while I went out to run errands. By the time I came back it had chilled and tasted just like blueberries. So this tea is infinitely better iced than hot, and I might have to make some iced tea even if it is December.

I was able to taste Capital Teas at the Philadelphia Coffee and Tea Festival. I had seen them in my tea magazines and have come very close to putting in an order. Since tasting them, I will definitely order off of them-I have many of their teas listed on my Christmas list!
This was not a tea I would typically be drawn too, green is not my tea of choice usually. However, I am so glad I tried this. It was amazing to say the least. The smell is very aromatic when brewing, but then all 3 Capital Teas I bought are. I think you can taste all the flavors noted in the ingredients, the combination really accents the sencha green tea. I have been making everyone taste this, including my daughters. My oldest said-tastes like tea, but it is a little better than the others. That coming from her is a compliment, honest!
My 4 oz tin is almost gone. I hope they have this around after Christmas or at least make it again next year. It is a wonderful keeper in my book!

I bought 4 oz. of this tea during their September trade-in sale. I wish I’d bought more. It’s soooo good. It’s light and the peach flavor is very strong, but the tea isn’t sweet – I know it sounds odd, but I like it a lot. It’s peach, but not a sweet peach.

Very pleasant sipping.

Three simple flavors, the general rooibos flavor, the vanilla/cream and the pumpkin combine with some sort of natural sweetness to form a surprisingly complex tea. Capital Teas suggests adding honey, but I think it’s fine just the way it is.

“Cream” teas are hit and miss for me, I think the combination with the pumpkin flavor works well. It may be my favorite cream tea.

Having said that, I’m not sure I’d buy this again, simply because there are other pumpkin teas I like better and there is a limit to how many pumpkin teas one needs every fall and winter. Maybe I’ll get 2oz every other year.

I can’t help comparing this to Sultan’s Delight from American Tea Room. They taste very similar except Capital Teas’ has a green tea base instead of black. This is nice – sweeter than Sultan’s Delight, and lighter too.

I like them both, but think I’m leaning towards ATR’s better, but this is a nice alternative. I think this would be delicious iced.

This tea tastes fairly ordinary at first, but once I put in a little bit of sugar, the flavors exploded. The mango, passion fruit, and papaya blend together nicely, and make it a nicely sweet tea. This would be awesome iced.

This is really good. It’s not as almondy as other almond teas – the pistachio is actually the strongest flavor here. It provides a bit more of a savory edge, and some buttery taste to the tea that is really nice. A nice nutty tea when you don’t want something sweet.

I sat down with a mug of this, finished my mug, and immediately went out the door to go to the store and buy more of this. I only picked up 2 oz. on my last visit and I knew that would be insufficient.

This is GOOD. Sweetish, without being cloying. The almond comes through, and the coconut adds a bit of creaminess to the tea. Delicious and delightful. I think this would be awesome iced, too.

Thank you Nicole! Slowly trying the teas you sent! So. Many. Teas. I think I’ve had this tea before under a different name before – Tea Haus – Marzipan. But that’s fine because I love it! Now I have a little of both. You can’t say this one doesn’t have almond! The black base doesn’t overpower the flavor… but it would be hard to with this almond. Some vanilla like qualities too! Very nice!

I’m really digging this tea. It’s a little more syrupy than a darjeeling, less astringent. I just want to chug it.

I look forward to my infrequent work trips, mainly because I have the opportunity to visit tea shops and cafes, something I don’t have the luxury to do here in my culturally alive but tea bereft area. On a recent trip to DC, I stopped into Teaism and had a nice cup of Golden Monkey and then bought a tin of this Himalayan Gold from Capital Teas.

I have to say, I have quickly become enamored of this tea. Of course it has the same general profile as a darjeeling, but with a lingering sweetness—Oolong-like in its floweriness—that sets it apart from its more astringent cousin.

I only wish Capital had more unflavored teas to choose from; I would certainly purchase from them again.

I sampled this while I was in the Wildwood store today. I did not like it. I’m sure there was almond in it, but like some other almond herbal blends that uses apple as filler (cough, David’s Tea, cough), all I could taste was apple, and tart apple at that. Well, at least I could try before I bought it.

I have been so overwhelmed lately with nursing school that I just haven’t had time to post about any teas. I am actually drinking more teas than ever since I need all of that caffeine to make it through the day, and I do browse Steepster once a day or so to see what everyone is drinking. I have an exam on Monday that I should be studying for, but I really want to get to the rest of the teas that Nicole sent, so I got up a little earlier to taste some teas.

This one kind of threw me off for a while. I kept noticing a fruitiness in the aroma and the flavor that I couldn’t figure out. I agree with Nicole, I think this has more of an amaretto type quality to it, rather than just almonds and cream. There was an almost roasty/smokiness in the flavor, which I’m not sure if it was from the steeping time (right in the middle of the recommended range at 4 minutes) or if it is just this tea. Adding just sweetener did not help and made it even more artificial and syrupy-tasting, but adding milk also makes it a creamy cup and brings out more of the vanilla and almond flavors. Overall, I am glad that I got to try another Capital Teas blend that I’ve been eyeing for some time now, but I will probably not purchase any for myself. A little too fakey-fruity and smokey for me. Thank you, Nicole, for this sample!!

-Dry blend has medium black tea leaves and twigs with small pieces of almonds.
-Dry leaves smell musty and slightly fruity with a hint of nutty almond. Tea liquor aroma is of rich almond and sweet fruit.
-Tea liquor is a dark orange brown color.
-Sweet candy almond flavor with a roasty and almost smokey finish. Very strong fruity aftertaste.
-Best with milk and sweetener.
-Good tea. Heavy roasty flavor with a strong, somewhat artificial fruity note. Milk brings out more of the vanilla and almond notes.

I received some of this from fellow Steepster member, Nicole. It came from a store called “Tea Market”, but they repackage other companies tea. I’m sure it’s this one. It looks identical.

Anyways, this tea is just okay. It sort of taste flat to me. There are no distinguishing flavors in my personal opinion. I wouldn’t purchase it, but I’ll finish the sample that I received.

Thanks Nicole!

Today I discovered that I enjoy Russian Caravan tea – at least this particular Russian Caravan. The story of Russian Caravan tea has always intrigued me – Silk Road, camel caravans, Trans-Siberian tea trade, etc. However, I wasn’t too sure about charcoal-smoked tea itself. The traveling teabox gave me an opportunity to experiment. Because this is a blend of Keemun (which I enjoy) and Lapsang Souchong the result is quite appealing to me. Unlike others who want the smoky flavor to be stronger, the lighter smokiness is just right for my taste. I just might have to keep this one.

Last time I had this tea, I was not that impressed. But I had it at a friend’s house, who I’m now sure used too-hot water to make it. I always wait a bit before pouring the water from my kettle onto the tea leaves, and that made such a taste difference! Every single flavor came through – the citrus, the almond, the jackfruit. It was spectacularly delicious.

A nice tea blend. I didn’t taste any fruit but I also drank this without sugar. A nice, mellow black and green tea.

Thank you Nicole for this tea, from her generous stash reduction :) Oh my goodness, this past week has been so busy I haven’t gotten an earlier chance to try or do tasting notes :(. I’ve been getting home late and sleeping like the dead lol. I thought I could be coming down with something but I think it was wishful thinking so I could stay home :)

I think ever since getting to taste the ATR Brioche tea that I decided that I should try more almond teas. The taste I was expecting was different than what I got. The almond taste was sweet but fake, more like amaretto and for some reason there was a slight sour taste like sour cream maybe? It was ok but doesn’t make my future shopping list.

This morning’s cuppa is a sipdown! Thanks again to Nicole for the sample. I still think I’d go for Mahamaosa’s EGC over this, but I wouldn’t mind having it again. Substantial yet dainty. Yes, that’s how I’d describe it. :)

Uggggh. Today was a ten hour day at work, which is longer than normal for me. And I have a set of program notes I need to get finished up. I’ve written the first draft, but they took FOREVER and I haven’t proofread or formatted them yet. Ugh. And I just wanna work on NaNooooooooooo.

Tonight I decided I could use a break from the deep, dark, sweet teas I’d been doing for something a little lighter and creamier. This did the trick. I can’t believe I haven’t sipped this down yet.