Another from the GCTTB. I’ve been on Della Terra’s site before but I’d not seen this one listed (I see it now though!) and so when I saw it in the box my first thought was “hmmm, almond biscotti?!? Ok I’ll bite.” (well drink really, but you get the idea.)
Dry this tea is almost overpowering in its scent profile, sweet and filled with artificial cherries. There were a few mild almond notes underneath but nothing to write home about. I also couldn’t find any hint of the green tea. Speaking of it, I was really surprised to find that this was based on a green rather than a yeasty black or a buttery oolong, but I guess I’ll see.
The pale yellow-green liquor gives off a less intense scent, it’s still filled with cherries, but I get a few more buttery almond tones mixed in with a sweet almost pastry like scent. The flavor is even milder, though the first few sips of the freshly steeped tea felt very disconnected with all the different notes almost fighting each other. Once the tea cooled a bit I finally started to see the biscotti coming together. The darker almond notes do show up quite nicely and mix reasonably well with the cherries and buttery notes. As for the coconut… The more it cooled the more those notes came out as well; they actually helped to balance the profile quite nicely.
I don’t get much flavor from the green tea but I can see where a “lighter” base lends itself to the overall profile better than a black tea would. That said though there is a creaminess to this tea that I’m guessing comes from the base leaf; overall the mouth feel is really quite a nice complement to the overall profile.
In the end it was an interesting tea to try, decently balanced once it cooled and not as sweet as I was expecting. That said, it’s not my… well, cup of tea ;) If I had a package I’d certainly drink it but I don’t see myself going out of my way to order more.
