Tea Forte

Details:
Kettle: Breville Tea Maker
Temp: 212
Steep Time: 5 min
Type: Herbal, Loose

I have to say the first time I tried this tea I found the hibiscus to be very overwhelming, but once I sorted out the brew time and got a decent kettle it balanced out fine. Slightly sweet and floral it is just what I want in a evening herbal.

DO NOT EVER STEEP FOR MORE THAN 5 MIN!
Seriously, makes this tea undrinkable.

Details:
Kettle: Breville Tea Maker
Temp: 212
Steep Time: 3-5 min
Type: Black, Loose

Very bold flavor. If you are not a fan of Earl Greys I’d stay away from this one. If over steeped becomes undrinkable mess, bitter and coats your mouth.
Quality of tea leaves very poor, broken and leads to a granular mouth-feel in even when filtered twice.

Rating: Ok, unlikely to to purchase

My first tea with yuzu in it! And forgive me if I’m describing it funny, I have no clue what it’s supposed to taste like.

The bag smells like real honey, but also something very sour and sort of fruity. It’s a confusing scent. Part of me wants to taste it, and the other part of me wants to wash my hair with it. As it steeps, the water changes to a sunny yellowish tan and smells more like toasted fruit, maybe lemon. Really trusting you here, Tea Forte!

The flavor is surprisingly pleasant after a little sweetener. Sure, it’s a little strange, but it’s basically like a lemon and honey green tea. Only the lemon is yuzu, maybe yuzu peel. I believe the bee pollen is what’s making the honey aspect seem toasty. As usual with Tea Forte’s flavored greens, the actual tea aspect is buried and hard to detect. All that’s there is a bit of bitterness in the finish. But this isn’t as terrible to me as it seems to have been for other Steepsterites. I wouldn’t buy it again, since it’s not really my thing, but it’s not awful.

I tend toward black tea, but have been known to try any tea once and I love coconut, so I thought this was a match made in heaven. I absolutely disliked this tea so much. It tastes like malibu rum tea. I tried putting less or more tea in, higher and lower temperatures and longer and shorter steeping times and nothing seemed to work. The closest I got to drinkable was by doubling amount of tea and adding some assam for more tea flavor. It just tastes like an herbal chai and the coconut overwhelms. I wanted it to have more cinnamon and star anise and have more tea flavor.

I think I finally have a handle on why I don’t like this one. It doesn’t have enough tea flavor and what tea flavor there is tastes bitter. The three spices that predominate, I don’t like in my teas (ginger, black pepper and licorice). The coconut tastes very fake and artificial. Even cream and sugar doesn’t seem to help this one. I vow to never make it again . . . yuck! It embodies the unholy trinity of all that I hate in a bad tea: bitter low quality tea, fake fruit/spice flavor added, unbalanced sip where the flavors instead of slowly blooming on your palate are like a heat seeking missile of awful taste.

I did end up returning to EcoDenizen, as their prices are very similar to Tea Forte’s online ones. It would actually be cheaper for me to get my teas there because of the website’s shipping charges. But sadly, they don’t carry any of the black teas or chai I’m after.

So this is a green and rooibos blend? That’s certainly new to me. But strangely, it works. The cherry compliments the green, while the almond compliments the rooibos. And I’m really liking the cherry. Plus, the rooibos gives it a little boost of strength that almost reminds me of a black tea. It leaves a bit of bitterness in my mouth, but I like that in a tea.

My only regret is steeping it for three minutes. The packaging said three to five minutes, but I erred on the side of caution. Four minutes next time, to see if more fruit flavors come out.

I was happy to find a bookstore on a recent trip that sold individual packets of the Tea Forte skin-smart line. I had been curious about them, but after buying a huge can of Honey Yuzu (which my boyfriend and I can’t stand!), I wasn’t willing to buy a whole container.
The bag smelled quite strongly of cinnamon, but I was surprised that it didn’t seem strongly brewed after 5 minutes. I left the bag in the tea as I drank it, hoping that the flavors would become more pronounced.
I think I can taste a bit of sweet apple at the start of each sip, and if I think about chocolate I can imagine its flavor as an aftertaste. But in a blind test I would never have come up with chocolate.
It is a light flavor, but very good for a decaf tea! I don’t usually like herbals and I’m not too fond of a strong rooibos flavor, but I don’t get a strong rooibos flavor from this tea.

I added more of this to my stash yesterday. Quite pleased to have another cup on National Hangover Day. Mine’s not that bad, just a headache, but I do kinda want to stick with something soothing and light today. No chai or puerh, thanks.

Mainly, since I’ve written about this tea already, I just wanted to mention that with a longer steep time, more cucumber flavor surfaces. That’s exactly what I was hoping for. Of course, the mint gets stronger, too. But that’s definitely not a bad thing.

The bag smells gorgeous as soon as I open the packet. Again, I am reminded of Bath and Body Works, but in a good way. It smells so clean, fruity, and lightly minty. I’m also getting hints of lime. I wonder why the art on the packaging doesn’t show any blueberries, though. They’re a pretty ingredient! Wouldn’t that be something enticing to show off?

The liquor brews up to a yellowy tan and smells more strongly of spearmint than the dry tea did previously. The flavor is similar. Mint is the first thing I taste, followed by sweet cucumber and blueberries. Again, the green tea aspect is very muted and just barely there. It’s a little hint of sencha in the aftertaste. (But I’m a little weird about green tea, so this is fine with me.) I’m really enjoying this stuff. It’s something I can see myself drinking year-round. Again, I am impressed by Tea Forte. Eco Denizen will be seeing me again soon to get their little variety pack, I’m sure.

I also want to note that I’m getting a pleasant feeling in my sinuses from this tea. I think it might be the soothing effects of the mint? Either way, I’ll have to remember this tea next time I get sick.

I agree that the name of this tea is misleading. There is hardly any orange flavour in the liquor and it is not exactly sweet! But if you like spices, especially cinnamon, you will probably love this tea. In fact I think Tea Forte’s spiced teas are generally spicier than teas of other brands. The tea smells strongly of cinnamon, but the taste of cloves is more present in the liquor. The end of the sip can be a bit bitter. I only detect sweetness in the last few sips of my cup, but still, it has more to do with cinnamon than orange…

So, in midtown there’s a cute little shop called Eco Denizen that had a variety of Tea Forte’s offerings for .50 a bag. I nabbed one of each because I couldn’t help myself.

The dry tea smells wonderful. Like sweet, bright fruit and warm, realistic coconut. None of that weird vanilla coconut you smell in scented candles. It’s like a Bath and Body Works scent, only drinkable. Once steeped, it comes up to a darker tan color than I was expecting. The scent of the tea is mostly coconut now and very soothing. I’m surprised I’m not smelling much lychee anymore… its perfume usually hits you in the face above everything else!

After tasting it, I realized that this is something I’m going to want more of. The lychee flavor is very pleasant, but it doesn’t remind me of the real thing. It tastes more like some kind of generic “red fruit”, but I like it. You know how lychee can have a sort of strong, peppery, rose-like quality? Well, there’s none of that here. This stuff is smooth sailing, and the coconut is great. Very real. I can’t say much for the white tea base, since it’s mild and covered up by the fruit flavors. But anyway, I’m loving this tea. I’ll probably get more tomorrow.