Tea Forte

It’s been a while and I hadn’t been able to log on for a bit. Today I found a back door way in. Unsure if its the site or my browser needing updates but I’m back in!
It’s been so hot this summer that I’ve skipped having hot tea and have been sticking to infused water and ice. Today the a/c is on due to the crazy humidity and I’m chilly, so a mug seemed the right thing to do.
This Cherry Marzipan was in a tea sampler that one of my Brownie GS gifted me at the holidays. Out of the holiday teas I had, this one seemed the most “Summery”. My kid chose the strawberry shaped infuser and as I put the sample in, I wondered if there would be enough room for the leaves to expand. It seemed to suit just fine. I steeped for about 4 minutes. I like the scent of the cherries and almonds. Sipping there is a good nutty flavor and a tartness from the cherries. Its not too bitter or overpoweringly sweet.

Ashmanra’s sipdown challenge – July 2024 Tea #8 – Your oldest green

I’m sure this isn’t the OLDEST green I have, but it’s green!  And I’m finishing it!  It was from TreeGal quite a while ago — thanks very much!  It’s a pleasant green.  I definitely wouldn’t steep up the entire sample packet in one mug.  Splitting it in half for two steep sessions works.  It tastes like a neon matcha to me.  I would guess it might be matcha, if I didn’t know otherwise.  Also very sweet.  Not terrible!   However looking at these busted leaves after steeping, the flavor should probably be much worse.
2024 sipdowns: 53

Had a pot of this last night after dinner, caffeine be damned. Rich chocolate, juicy raspberry, a great dessert black tea with a teaspoon of amber sugar (highly recommend that as well!) and some milk. Glorious.

I have the Kati Hanami model it is perfect for brew tea!! Also it keeps your tea warm due to the insulation build

The quality of this Earl Grey tea is far beyond any Earl Grey out there! Since I opened the canister I am hooked <3 this tea transport you to a pleasant realm of flavor

We went out to eat for pretty much every meal while we were travelling and, though I’m generally not big on alcohol, I did end up ordering a cocktail at most restaurants since the mixology/flavour combination element was so appealing! However, I drew the line at alcohol for breakfast (even though it’s Vegas) so I ended up ordering off the tea menu most of the time.

It always makes me sad the tea options in restaurants are so boring. The restaurant where I drank this was just so cool and innovative (I had the most amazing ube french toast), but the teas? Earl Grey. Jasmine. Chamomile. At least it was a “bottomless” pot of tea, though – and for a standard EG I do think Tea Forte has a solid offering. Tannic and kind of coppery with both an aromatic, floral leaning bergamot and a maltier and sort of “autumnal leaf” midsip. It paired well with my breakfast, so I really shouldn’t complain at all.

A friend grabbed a pyramid of this blend for me at some conference or other (thanks, friend!). I feel like mid-range conferences and hotels have really stepped up their tea game. The tea still isn’t great, but it’s definitely an improvement over the tossed-in-a-corner baskets of Lipton of yore. (Nothing against those who enjoy Lipton, more power to you, but there’s obviously higher quality tea out there.)
This particular blend is just sort of fine, you know? Completely inoffensive, but not really great either. The mango and peach notes are very candy-like without being overly sweet or cloying. I’m not really getting any ginger in this cup; I wouldn’t know that there’s ginger in the blend except from looking at the description. The base is hard to make out under the fruit notes. This actually makes a lot of sense as a choice for a conference tea. It’s not in any way distracting, neither so good nor so bad that I really want to give it much attention, the flavors are sweet but not overly so, and there’s none of the controversial flavors that can be an issue for folks (except ginger, I suppose, but you’d have to be allergic to it to know it’s here). Which is exactly what you want for a drink meant to be consumed while people are focusing on a presentation! Mission accomplished.

This was from TreeGal a WHILE ago. Thank you! I really don’t think my sample is accurate to the description of this tea. It just looks like green tea. But this is okay because the added flavoring is DELICIOUS. It’s very true to the name — half tasty cherry and half perfect marzipan. When I am usually picky about cherry flavoring. What a nice surprise! I would prefer this to whatever added ingredients the description is mentioning… probably an updated (or older) recipe. Good stuff.

I just got my new advent calendar and now I’m racing to finish off logging in last year’s! I snagged an herbal out of my box of teas to note about and didn’t really look at the ingredients. Steeped in just boiled water for about 5-6 minutes.
The first thing I taste is the hibiscus and then I get the sage. I only get a hint of the blueberry taste but there’s a strong fruit scent to the tea. It is very tart and drying. By the end of the mug, I decided I liked the sage but that was the only exciting quality. Otherwise, this one was rather boring and not one I’d be reaching for.

After reading the reviews on this one, I wasn’t sure I would enjoy it. I actually had been gifted a tea set from a tea friend that was made specifically for Tea Forte tea bags. There is a space for the little leaf to poke out of the top of the tea cup lid. The minute the hot water hit the tea bag I could smell the spices. I steeped for about 5 minutes and love the dark amber color of the tea.
My first few sips were very creamy. I attributed that to the buttered bread I had for breakfast while waiting for the tea but the creamy flavor lasted through the cup. The pepper is there and the other spices seemed to jump around from sip to sip- cloves, cinnamon, cardamom. Often with chai blends, I do add a splash of milk but I didn’t feel the need. It’s not the spiciest chai I’ve had but if this is representative of their blend, I would purchase it again.

I think this is the first tea out of the sampler that I’ve enjoyed. The chamomile is soothing with a warm citrus of the lemongrass and floral notes. I don’t sense the mint that other’s mention. This was a nice cup to have while relaxing this evening.

It definitely smells like Raspberry Ganache while steeping. It came out very bitter for me. I don’t think I oversteeped but I did get distracted by tossing a load of laundry in so it is possible. The raspberry is there and I get a “sense” of chocolate but also a chemical/artificial flavor kind of like coffee. This one was a cup that I didn’t finish.

Yet another disappointing tea from this sampler. Steeped for approximately 3 minutes and has a golden yellow hue. I don’t detect any strong fragrance but I do seem to be a little congested today. There is coconut flavor but I honestly feel like I’m just drinking warmed coconut water.

This was my morning tea sample. Its a nice deep dark color and smells earthy. must say I don’t care for this cup of tea. The bitterness and astringency is very off putting. I wish I could add a splash of milk but apparently my cereal eaters drank all the milk. I handed it off to the Coffee Drinker who said he enjoyed it until the last few sips and it was even too astringent for his palate.

Sipdown! Added some oat milk for creaminess. Woodsy rooibos, clove, cinnamon, and maybe a touch of cardamom. I see the ingredients don’t list clove, but maybe clove oil is part of the “natural flavor”? Not the greatest chai I’ve ever had but really hit the spot tonight.

I let smallest child pick out my tea this morning from the sample bin but fortunately they are so busy that they didn’t stick around to hear if I liked it or not. It reminds me of the instant hot cider packets that we get for camping for the kids. There is an astringency to this cup of tea. At the same time, I find it overly sweet with a strong cinnamon flavor. The orange reminds me of cooked oranges over a camp fire. I didn’t bother to finish the mug. This one is on the nope list.

I wondered what Belgian Mint would be like when I pulled it from my samples stash. I quickly figured out that it’s a chocolate blend. Makes sense now! The mint is the more prominent flavor with chocolate coming in second. It’s tasty as a tea. Still not sure I like chocolate in my tea but it was worth the try.

The benefit of drinking something blindly is you don’t know what you’re supposed to expect. Based on the name of the tea, I figured it would be a rooibos based tea and examining the pyramid, my assumption was confirmed. I guess there are supposed to be berries in this but I don’t see any in the pyramid. I only smell rooibos but the flavor is vanilla. There is a light berry taste as well. I find it to be a good balance and probably one of the better rooibos blends I’ve had. I’m reminded of a creamy hard candy I had in the 90’s, whose name is escaping me. I think they were put out by LifeSavers candies. Might have to Google that later.

My entire family is sleeping in this morning, even the dog and the sun is actually shining, so I get to enjoy my mug with the birds this morning. The tea steeped up to a darker color than I expected from a green tea. The fragrance is powerfully floral. I could actually smell the jasmine from the other side of the room as it steeped. No sweeteners added as usual and I managed to time it right and not steep too long. Unsurprisingly, the jasmine is prominent in each sip. There is a vegetal quality as well. I enjoyed this one but I would like it to be a little less jasmine forward. I’d definitely drink it again but not sure I would restock my cabinet.

I’m not sure that I could identify what a black currant tastes like. Fairly certain, I’ve only had currants dried in hot cross buns. This tea is pretty good though. It has a nice medium brown color when steeped. No strong fragrance detected. It is sweet and fruity and smooth. I may have to seek out more teas labeled as Black Currant.

The sachet does have stripes of yellow marigold in it and the leaf looks pretty sizable. A few of the other sachets I’ve had from this collection appeared finer ground. This one steeps up in a nice amber color and smells strongly of peaches. There is a good brulee burnt sugar flavor and I do detect peach in the sips as well. Love it when the flavors match their names! I had expected it to be a very sweet tea but don’t find it that way.

The infuser smells more minty than I anticipated. I steeped this for about 3 minutes and let it cool some as its a humid warm summer morning. There’s a nice pale color to the tea. I get more ginger and mint than mango and peach. It’s not a bad combo but just surprising. I do taste peach but no mango detected in my sips. I enjoyed it but not overly excited by it.

Because these Tea Forte teas came in a holiday sampler, I don’t have full information about them. I read the label and thought this would be a fruity, tropical tea. After having the mug, I did read reviews and went to the Tea Forte website to see more about the ingredients, it makes more sense now.