Tea Forte

This is a queued tasting note.

Sipdown (140)!

So, I’m gonna try and work through my queue of tasting notes today but I also made a bet with a coworker that I couldn’t watch the complete first season of Mr. Robot in one day and I have to prove him wrong and binge the shit out of this; so I think I’m just gonna work on writing three or four notes in between each episode as a bit of a break. Really liking the show so far, though! Rami Malek is bae.

This cold brew was solid though; I think I liked it just a touch better than the hot brew because it was a little less sour/tart which made for a smoother drink. The cherry notes were very sweet and vibrant although not super natural tasting. The apple notes were also still very strong. One thing that was quite different, though, was how strong the raspberry notes were. I don’t remember really observing them at all with the hot brew but they’re just as intense as the cherry notes in this cold brew – and I actually think they drastically improve the tea and give it more depth/make the tisane more interesting as a whole.

From the Herbal Retreat sampler.

This was the one tea in the sampler that I was the most low key excited for. I say low key, because in my head I knew all of the reasons that logically this would be a bad blend (too much hibiscus and cherry things often tasting very tart or medicinal) but I was still holding out hope that it would surprise me and be quite tasty.

I drank this one hot; a gamble, I know. It was surprisingly ok but I would’t go as far as saying great. There’s a weird, sparkling effervescence and freshness to the aroma as well as the taste. It’s something that’s honestly a little more of a feeling rather than a flavour, but it really makes me think that this would be very well suited as a tea pop where the fizzyness of the carbonation would kind of bring the liquor a little more to life. As it stands, the flavour was still kind of tea from all of the hibiscus in the blend but still had a nice cherry sweetness as well as a beautiful sweet, red apple note that kept cropping up and a very faint berry undertone that I suppose would be the raspberry? The semi tartness and fruity sweetness on top of that enchanting effervescence reminded me of some kind of cherry fizzy candy the whole time I was drinking this.

Also, I can’t put my finger on which tea/tisane I’m thinking of, but there’s definitely something about this one which reminds me of another blend. The entire cup left me with a feeling of flavour deja vu.

Sipdown (130)!

Finished this one off hot the other night. It’s a little weird drinking this one as a late night tea because it is soothing and comforting but also there are really bright, and lively flavours in the blend as well that seem more like the kind of thing that makes you want to get up and go, and be productive. Bright juicy citrus notes!? Ah – better get a move on with my day and get started on all this shit I have to do.

I think there’s some weird association in my brain between strong, bright orange flavours and early mornings and starting your day. Likely something to do with the “orange juice for breakfast” mentality that I have where if you’re eating breakfast and also drinking orange juice it must be at an appropriate time of day (ie. not two in the afternoon) and you must be eating something hearty and good for you. And the idea of that translates into “you must be properly adulting”. And that then becomes “well, if you’re properly adulting then you must have your shit in order”.

So, to summarize, orange flavour means productivity which means not a good tea for night time…

Makes sense, right?

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxu02vp_Vm0

Midday cuppa that I had forgot I’d made, so I drank it at that weird lukewarm/just about room temperature state. I hate tea at that temperature. Hot? Yes. Cold? Yes. But room temp… ugh.

More orange than anything else. Very little mint in general, and that’s kind of all I have to say about that. Song accompaniment for when I drank said lukewarm tea:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GN6SJARg3bQ&list=PUXCm2kopCvjmGGCEN3VyQTA&index=6

I’m kind of really into the idea of pairing tea and music, right now…

- More mojito than marmalade
- The spearmint is crisp and refreshing, and doesn’t overwhelm the cup
- Though there’s no denying the orange flavour…
- It’s just that it’s not sweet enough/“jammy” like marmalade should be
- Taste of the rooibos is present, but light and in the background
- Tasty; and great for late at night!
- Like a ‘discount’/Off Brand Cocteau (from August Uncommon)
- Or Midsummer Night’s Dream (from DAVIDsTEA)

Sipdown (138)!

Finishing this one off hot tonight while I watch a movie with the boyfriend…

I’ve just noticed, but a lot of the teas in Tea Forte’s Herbal Retreat sampler are alcohol themed, aren’t they? Like, four out of five. What’s up with that?

Anyway; this actually does taste a little better hot than it did cold brewed. I think that’s because I was able to control the brew time a little better and I strained out the leaf before this could get too sour/tart. That said, it is still a very tart drink with these under ripe blueberry notes that really pop and not necessarily in the nicest way. Also, as a hot brew, the flavour of the sage is actually very present and I think I’m liking the pairing a little less the second time around.

So; to conclude… Aspects of this are definitely negative, but it is a little better overall. Not by a whole lot, though.

So I found myself in Chapters earlier this week because I needed to pick up a birthday present for my brother, who turned 18 on Friday. That’s never a good spot to be in when you’re both a tea addict and a book lover.

In addition to the D&D starter set I bought him, I also wound up getting a Flavor Bible (I feel like it’ll be a great tool when it comes to tea and food pairings, but also making cocktails, potentially blending teas, and just cooking in general) and another tea related book. And, I snagged myself the “Herbal Retreat” sampler from Tea Forte because I’ve been drinking a lot of herbal tea this summer in between late night cuppas and pitchers of cold brews. Plus, this is a sampler and that seemed like a better idea to me than committing to 50g-100g of one kind of tea prior to sampling it.

- Cold Brew
- Very tart/sour blueberry notes dominate
- Lacking sweetness; and I think it would benefit from it
- I CAN taste the sage A LOT in the finish
- I think it was a weird choice to pair with such sour fruit
- But it keeps this from being a hibby overload
- With a pinch of sugar, this would probably be great soda

This is a really light, refreshing green tea. The flavor is not overpowering, and it is a nice tea for a spa day or general relaxation.

A weird name for this tea. Marmalade is not something you ever find in a mojito. Like usual the spearmint takes over all flavor. There are some citrus notes but not quite as many as expected.

This is a delightful tea if brewed to your taste. Less leaf and a short steep will result in a light honey and grapefruit scented green tea. A longer steep and more leaf can result in a syrupy mouth feel or a bitter brew. Some experimentation required to match your tast.

Holy crap, it reeks of alcohol. Could be sweet and spiced and enjoyable without that, but can’t get over the smell/taste of alcohol. I guess they succeeded at getting that rum flavor across!

I’m not a huge chai drinker, but out of the ones I’ve tried, this very well might be my favorite. Most of the spiciness comes from cinnamon and ginger, making it quite mild for a chai, but there’s an ample amount of each spice so that they really shine. The rooibos base is your average rooibos and definitely fades into the background to let the spices take over.

Lovely plain, even lovelier with a splash of milk and a dash of sweetener !

This is a nice green tea with a hint of cherry. I really like it.

Here’s Hoping Traveling Teabox – Round #5 – Tea #55
A single serving taken from the teabox before it was sent. Not much to say about this one. I like the idea of coconut chai. The scent of the dry leaves was lovely dessert-like coconut but the flavor just isn’t great. There is a tangy, oldness to the coconut. I don’t know how because it certainly didn’t smell like old coconut and the packaging couldn’t be better. Then the black tea itself seemed too light to be the base of chai. The spices also took a backseat, so the whole cup was almost only not-good coconut. Always up for trying teas anyway!
Also… I’ve been drinking a billion coconut teas lately. I guess because I know they get old the fastest?

Not my favorite-ever Earl Grey tea, but much better than the worst I’ve ever had. It steeps SUPER strong so you don’t need much to get a caffeine hit. The bergamot flavor tastes a little fake to me, though I couldn’t explain why…but the tin it came in does include “natural flavors” in the ingredients.

This didn’t leave much of an impression the first time, but today it’s like a Mars bar in liquid form — yes please! Not much more to say about it. It’s just rich, creamy goodness.

I don’t taste the metallic taste that other drinkers have noticed. The one thing that I noticed is that I didn’t taste enough apricot for my liking in the tea. I was hoping for it to be a stronger flavour and was disappointed when it was not.

Sipdown! One of hopefully many in the near future as I have now made a list of ~20 teas that I need to sipdown before I can buy more. I have my eye of August Uncommon Tea’s Spring/Summer 2016 collection but I just can’t justify it until I’ve drastically reduced my current stores (especially with the Canadian dollar being so low). Hopefully this whole postal strike ordeal will be over by then.

On to the actually tea. It’s okay, but just okay. There’s a hint of milk chocolate and maybe a suggestion of something floral, but overall I’d say it just comes across as a weak, cheap breakfast tea. Going to lower my rating on it, as it really is nothing special.

I’m kind of surprised by the poor ratings for this one as I found it rather nice, though admittedly I didn’t brew it strong. Not a hugely intense flavour—slightly floral and smooth. There’s a hint of chocolate here but it doesn’t exactly scream it. There was a slight bitterness that might have been unpleasant had I brewed it longer, but at 3 minutes it was fine.

I can’t stop drinking this tea! Truly addicting and has a great aroma and flavor. One of the best teas I have had in a long while. I bought the single steeps and loose tea and can’t seem to get enough of it!! The tea has a wonderfully subtle sweet finish that lingers on the back of the tongue for a long time. Keeps me going back to kitchen and making more and more :)

So disappointed. I like lychee. I like coconut. But I don’t like wax tasting teas. Introducing, tropical candle-the drink! Brought to you by Yankee Candle and the Tea Forte.