Almond Biscotti

From Dustin!   A while ago we were discussing possible similar teas to almond teas we loved in the past (Teavana – Almond Biscotti, Butiki, American Tea Room – Brioche, Simpson & Vail – Almond Sugar Cookie), so Dustin wanted to pass this one along. Thanks very much!  Just looking at the dry blend, I can tell it isn’t the same tea as the others mentioned.  The differences: the black tea leaf is HUGE (the black tea really looks more like a Big Red Robe oolong), there are more almonds, and really, the scent is definitely more of a ‘biscotti’ type than a sweet amaretto type that the other teas have.  The black tea is quite light brewed up.  But the second cup deepens in color.  The flavor is super almond!   It’s more like a toasty almond and this particular black base really melds well with that flavor.  The cold dregs of the mug the next morning tastes especially great.   This is a solid almond tea that is unique enough that I wouldn’t mind keeping it around when I’m craving almond!
Steep #1 // 1 1/4 teaspoons for a mug // 20 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // 3 minutes after boiling // 4-5 min steep

Actually, checking their site, The Tea Smith has quite a few blends I loved that I thought were gone forever, and also you can purchase them by the ounce for fairly cheap!

I have been searching for a replacement almond tea for some time. It’s been a journey. First it was falling in love with Teavana’s Almond Biscotti, then turning to Butiki’s Almond Indulgence, then turning to American Tea Room’s Brioche, then….. emptiness. Each tea is discontinued and/or the company goes out of business and the search starts over again. I love a good cinnamon almond black so much that I need to go full hoard mode next time I fall hard in love and just have a bathtub full of it so I never run out.

Anyways… I feel like this tea is close, but not * quite * there. The leaves are much larger than any of the other blends I mentioned. It does have a good cinnamon almond flavor to it, but I feel like it’s missing some depth that I can’t quite put my finger on. It smells really good. It tastes pretty good too, but it feels like it’s almost, but not quite there. It makes me a little crazy that I can’t quite pin the difference. I like this tea and it will for sure patch a hole for now, but it doesn’t quite fill it for me. Thank you to Mastress Alita for pointing me in the direction of this tea!!!

On a side note, I was marveling the other day between the difference of French almond and American almond flavoring styles in tea. I feel like American almond is more of a baked heavy prominent rich almond often paired with cinnamon while French almond is more light aromatic marzipan fresh and paired with fruit. I lean more towards the American, but I do enjoy the French versions as well.

This tea was kind of meh. I had high hopes for it, but it just felt a little bit weak. Maybe I need more leaf. It tasted fine, but I mostly only picked up on the cinnamon notes. I’ll try more leaf next time. I noticed it said 1tsp per 6-8oz of water, and I used my 12oz mug. I used a heaping tsp, so I figured that would be enough. I’ll try 2tsp next time.