Tea Forte

I wanted an early wake-up call today, but not the one I received at 5:30 a.m.: a cat doing, um, what you don’t want cats to do on the carpet. Thus, two large mugs of unleaded PG Tips and Partridges later, I’m switching to lower caffeine options early in the day. (Sorry, I always feel honor-bound to explain external tea motivators.)

With that totally unnecessary verbiage out of the way…I would never have expected peach and mango paired with peppermint. Several interruptions kept me from starting the cup fresh and hot, so at slightly above room temp, the peppermint comes through first with the fruit behind it. Two completely different streams of thought, but they play together nicely. Nothing notable about the green tea, just a light, almost invisible carrier for the main ingredients.

I guess we can call this one a sipdown—I’ve been working my way through the last of a Tea Forte sampler—I’m down to lots of chais and wintery flavors that didn’t appeal during the summer, and this was the last of that particular flavor. Looks like it’s no longer a Tea Forte purchase option, perhaps because it was just “eh, OK” in personality. Good quality black tea with orange and ginger. It did taste more like a ginger snap than Bigelow’s Ginger Snappish, and was just fine for an afternooner in between dishes and laundry. (Must there be housework in December?)

This was part of a Tea Forte “Warming Joy” sampler from last year and doesn’t appear to be in the 2021 lineup, nor have I found a trustworthy tea description on alternate retail sites.

So you’re stuck with my observations. Black tea base, which just serves as the pack mule for the big hunks of ginger I can see through the pyramid bag and some peppermint. Nothing sweet added to the mix, so what you get is warmth and bite. There’s one more bag in the second layer that I may hang on to for sniffles and sore throat season.

The neighborhood lawn mowers have finally laid off; I’ve got the window open, and other than these soft keyboard clicks, the only other noticeable sound is a few robins and cardinals catching up on the day’s news. Delicious after a rowdy afternoon.

I can’t decide whether the tranquil setting is subliminally boosting my rating for this Tea Forte blend, or whether I just hadn’t paid attention to how nice it is. A base of soft rooibos, a little blueberry and elderberry, a whisper of vanilla (or so saith the tea description). Just berry, no tartness.

This is a pyramid from an aging sampler box I haven’t yet exhausted, but I’m thinking that a fresh tin of loose leaf would be just ducky.

On to the rowdies. (I’m sure you were just waiting to hear;) service project day with the most disparate, wacky, maturity-levels-all-over-the-map group I have taught in years. My work group was on trash and weed control patrol on the church campus when they weren’t doing high hurdles over the shrubbery. Then on to the roller skating rink. Skating rink technology has not changed much in 45 years. Black light, disco balls, limbo, and middle schoolers darting around on wheels like bugs. My job was Watching The Stuff. At one time, I was custodian of eight pairs of shoes, two watches, an asthma inhaler, two tubs of cotton candy, one tray of Don’t Let Anyone Touch Those Nachos, and my fellow sponsor’s phone and ID. All returned safely to their rightful owners.

I’m down to the “I really don’t know how I’m gonna feel about this” pyramids from my Tea Forte sampler, and I hesitated to give African Solstice a go, particularly when I saw that rosehips were a key player. I was braced for a mugful of tartness, but this is surprisingly sweet. My taste buds can’t detect anything but a general “unspecified fruit” flavor, kind of like that one single good chew of Fruit Stripe gum before it goes tasteless. Same with the roses—a nice team player in this rooibos-based blend, but they don’t stand out.

None of that sounded very complimentary, did it? It’s a really nice evening cup, especially out of my new favorite hissing mug (just the favorite one that hisses, not my very favorite). Go ahead. Say I’m nuts. I think this little ceramic mug, which had been stashed in storage for ages, was from a donation center when we were trying to cobble together a kitchen after our tornado. Brown with little curlicue hearts on it. I don’t know if it’s the porous texture of the ceramic, or the shape (it tapers inward the tiniest bit at the lip) or the slight flaw in the inner glazing … but whatever it is, it hisses when it’s full of a warm cuppa. Shhh. There. Hear it?

Mastress Alita’s sipdown challenge Wednesday, August 18th: National Pinot Noir Day Tea #2

This one is from TreeGal!  Thanks very much!  Another Darj for the challenge today!  I’m noticing some fruit and hibiscus in this sample, along with a fragrance of strong bubblegum. uh oh.  I have never had quince but apparently it should be like pear.  This doesn’t seem like pear to me.   The brew color is quite dark and red.  It doesn’t really taste like pear or even Darjeeling.  It’s very tart, and then has a very earthy flavor… maybe even a hint of grape! When cooled, definitely red wine.  But yes, still bubblegum, even though the description mentions grapefruit.  Second steep is even harsher, not liking it.  Glad I only had one serving of this.. it was fun to try anyway!
Steep #1 // 35 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 //  20 min after boiling // 2 min
2021 sipdowns: 112

Being of the non-hibiscus camp, I wasn’t especially anxious to give this a try; most of the blood orange blends I’ve tried are so tart they make my eyebrows sweat. But I’m trying to sip down the remains of a Tea Forte sampler, so there they were, and I felt honor bound to sample them.

I fridge-steeped two pyramid bags overnight and was very pleasantly surprised. No tartness to speak of—just a pleasant, deep, almost grapefruity citrus peel and pith personality. Surprise!

I’ve had this sample for a few years…and it still held up. Smelling it, there was a bit of a hot grass heaviness, so I cold brewed it in my tumbler throughout the day to hold off on astringency. The florals were brought out and quite creamy after about twenty minutes sitting in the cold water, and refreshing. Like the other reviews, this is a decent jasmine that’s unassuming and easy to drink. I was afraid it might be too strong and perfumy. Luckily, it wasn’t and something I’d have again if offered. No idea how much it would cost on it’s own, but I wouldn’t overspend on it personally.

Tried this tea from another Reddit TTB. It sort of tastes like beets. It’s too savory. I guess I could see cherries, but it’s just kind of tart and bleh. Maybe with a shorter steep it could be better, but I’ll save the last bag for someone else to try.

While this was a gentle and desserty afternooner, neither the peach nor the vanilla was a standout. I didn’t concentrate on it much (I was zoned in on a “25 Words or Less” episode) so inattention may have contributed. I’ve got one more little pyramid to try; we’ll see if conditions improve.