Tea Forte

I don’t drink enough vanilla teas, as the strong and delicious cookie scent had caught me by surprise. You can practically smell your bites into soft and decadent sweet cookies, with an extremely well balance of vanilla and coconut.

Unfortunately, as you steep the leaves, the sweet decadent cookie aroma fades into a just as sweet and slightly more nutty, but clearly pale scent. This now worries me. Thankfully, and with knowledge of experience with most flavored black teas, I had added equal amounts of rock sugar to the leaves; this should help the vanilla and coconut maintain their cookie flavor.

And, indeed, it has. The tea can be sweet, with the vanilla and coconut helping to keep the pale black tea under control. The pale flavor is there, but not as prominent as the other flavors.

I am a bit relieved that I would not be entirely disappointed with this tea, but maybe a half teaspoon of rock sugar would suffice next time. I cannot see myself steeping the leaves a second time, as the paleness tells me this black tea will only maintain its full flavor on the initial steep.

But, a still sweet and slightly decadent tea before lunch, and during these stressful holidays, is great nonetheless.

I could not recall at the top of my head the last time I’ve had Darjeeling tea. Looking through my tea log, it appears it has been 6 months since my last steep of Darjeeling tea, which is quite surprising considering how much I love Darjeeling tea.

There is a very musty, toasted aroma to the dark brown and black leaves, with a very light woody scent. Steeping gives a similar scent, more woody than toasted, but still musty, and floral.

The flavor brings out a more floral taste, giving it a more delicate body. Any astringency compliments the light toasted notes, almost giving it a buttery flavor.

It is a little too delicate to be a morning tea, but as an early or late afternoon tea, this would be perfect.

I got this one from Azzrian!

I was a bit worried about this one. I don’t typically like cucumber or melon flavored teas, they just never seem right, somehow sour, like overripe fruit. I opened the bag and didn’t get much of a scent. Brewed up I can smell the cucumber and the mint, the mint is light.

The taste is a little odd, I’m not quite sure what to make of it. I can taste the cucumber, but it’s more of the cooling sensation that you crave in hot summer months than actual taste. It’s not gross or sour or anything bad, it’s just not what I was expecting. The mint is there, but it is, like the smell, light. I think the mint is spearmint, it doesn’t have that bite or herb-y taste to it that peppermint does. This is much sweeter, it might be part of the hint of blueberry sweetness I get in the tail end of the sip.

I’m still not entirely sure what to make of it. It’s good, but it’s different. It’s very true to cucumber flavor too, this is what surprises me most. It re-steeps well, I’m on number three. I think I may have to cold-brew a small mug of what’s left of the sample.

Thank you Azzrian for sharing this with me!

First tasting note! Wee! I liked this tea. It was sweet enough that I didn’t have to add sugar and it really packed a kick. The first steeping was just a little too tart for my taste but the second steeping was just right. I have a love/hate relationship with hibiscus but I found it worked well in this. Probably wouldn’t buy it again (I have wayyy too many rooibos teas already) but I enjoyed it!

I am not really a chai person but like the black pepper in this. Otherwise it is pretty unremarkable. If you do not like peppery teas this would not be for you. I can’t really taste any other individual notes.

I don’t like this tea at all. I thought I would really love this honey based tea, but I don’t taste any honey. It has some odd I can’t even explain taste to it. I’ll finish my cup so I don’t waste it, but I will never buy this again.

This tea has a really nice taste. I was afraid the cherry would be too overpowering, but it’s not. I like that you can still taste the almond in the tea. I tried this tea both hot and cold and it was very good both ways. The nutty taste comes through a little more when it’s cold, but it’s still good. I do think it tastes better hot though.

This is my first tea from this company, and I have to say I did enjoy it. It has a very nice taste to it. I like the apple taste and the spice mixed together and that neither taste overpowers the other.

I guess I haven’t had enough cucumber mints to compare so I don’t see why this tea has a low rating. I thought the mint was superb and the tea was amazingly refreshing.

There is a strong potpourri scent when opening the bag of leaves, followed by a sweet hint of coconut. The potpourri is a little annoying, as it can give me headaches, so I can briefly take this scent.

The leaves are a nice mixture of bright and dark greens with deep red petals. There is a very detailed texture, with full leaves, curled and uncurled, and stems.

Steeping gives a deep and clean golden color, with a better sweeter coconut aroma.

The flavor is all white tea. The coconut is a subtle touch, the safflower very difficult to detect. But, it all blends extremely well with the white tea, which is beautifully dark and clean, with a slight astringency.

The aroma of the dry leaves left me worried this would be wholly floral, but upon brewing, the coconut scent had assured me that this is a quality white tea blend.

Enjoyed with milk and sugar

Got this in a swap from darby. :) So glad I did! My husband made this for us when it was rather late, and we wanted something to sip while watching a movie. I think what I love best about this tea is how powerful each flavor is! The brew smells mostly of ginger, but as you sip, you really do get the flavors in the order they’re in in the title—first the kiwi, very juicy, then the lime, and then the ginger, making a tangy finish. I love it, even if I’m not sure I’ll be in the mood for it all the time. Again, I’m very grateful for a chance to try it! I’ll be logging this one again. :3

Had this at work yesterday, I’ve transported a small collection of bagged tea there to both get rid of it and enjoy tea at work. This is probably end up with me buying more bagged tea but eh.

Anywho, if you like cinnamon tea this is loaded with it. I love cinnamon in tea but this was almost a bit much (I may have also over-brewed a tad). I could feel the cinnamon swish around in my mouth. It was good but man it had a kick. :)

This is very much a proper coffee alternative. I am reminded of the hazelnut coffee sweetener, with a nice sweet nutty aroma.

Steeping lessens the sweetness, but gives a more full coffee-like scent with hazelnut highlights.

The flavor is a very rounded nutty chocolate, with subtle hints of the hazelnut and coconut. I like that it works unsweetened, with a very mellow characteristic.

Not bad, it would probably be better as an early afternoon pick-me-up, with a bit of rock sugar.

This will be the first tea to try in my new Kati tea brewing system from Tea Forte.

The leaves remind me of Tea Forte’s Sweet Orange Spice, which is also very cinnamon-y and festive.

Because the tumbler is smaller than my Starbucks/Bodum double-walled glass, I used only 1 teaspoon of leaves instead of my typical 1.5 – 2 teaspoons.

Steeping gives off a slightly concerning pale cinnamon scent, akin to the pale character of typical teabags, which makes for a more slight disappointment.

The flavor is interesting; there is a very barky spice that tries to follow through, but you also have that underlying pale taste. There is also a dull sweetness, which somewhat improves the pale flavor, but not significantly.

This is not bad, better than your typical teabag, but not on par with how delicious the Sweet Orange Spice surprised me.

I’m drinking this tea as I type. It’s about 9:45 p.m. and I have a strict no caffeine rule after 6 p.m.

Anyway, this is a good tea. It’s the perfect blend of orange and mint. Tea Forte did well striking the balance without this tasting artificial. Here’s the thing: mojitos are my favorite mixed drink. I would LOVE to try this tea with lime rather than orange. Although I enjoy oranges and mint on their own, I don’t adore the combination. It’s not bad. It’s just not fabulous. I’m glad I tried the combination, though.

The fact that this is a reasonably priced fair trade and organic tea is a huge bonus. It’s also a nice change to the chamomile and peppermint teas I normally drink at night. This is worth a try if you’re considering buying it.

I’m not sure how I feel about this tea. I steeped it for 6 minutes, and still found it quite bland. I kept steeping it for another 3-4 minutes, but probably should have stopped a bit earlier, as I found the tea a little bitter.

I thought there would be more of a chocolate taste, but the hazelnut is excellent. This tea is going to take some experimentation.

I plucked this from the traveling tea box. Originally i had passed over it, but went back to it. So glad i did.
The dry notes smell lightly, but so deliciously of cucumber and mint. It’s so fresh smelling. As it steels you still get the cucumber and mint, but also smells sligtly of… Ummmm….. marijuana :\
I accidentally let my water boil oops, then over steeped it… This is why I need a breville.

My first sip was really sweet. But that tamed over the next couple of sips. It delicious and fresh. Cucumber like and minty. Very nice. Definitely lovin this one.

It is slightly bitter and a little dry in the mouth, but I’m sure thats a result of my crappy brewing.

I don’t believe I’ve ever had mandarin orange tea before, much less a mandarin orange and spice tea.

The aroma is exactly what it says on the tin: sweet orange and spice. Very festive, and appropriately so, as it is mandarin oranges mixed with cinnamon.

I used one and a half teaspoons of leaves, which should give a significantly spicy brew. The color is a brilliant red, with a very cinnamon scent.

But, the flavor. Oh, the flavor. There is a nice slight biting of spice, followed by the warming sensation of sweet mandarins. It is close to a light Chai, with the cinnamon and cloves.

It surprises how sweet this tea is, with not too much a kick. Just enough spice to work with the very sweet oranges. In fact, I am a little suspicious on how this tea is so extremely sweet.

This is a wonderfully sweet surprise, and probably my favorite tea from this batch of Tea Forte tins I have recently bought.

The scent of the leaves is so alarmingly sweet, it sort of reminds me of biting into a chocolate covered cherry; such a decadently fruity aroma mixed with green tea and subtle nutty almonds.

The liquor is a light copper tone, and a little cloudy. But the aroma is still very cherry, with a stronger hint of almond and less of green tea. Very interesting.

Once it hits your lips, the flavor is a very subtle and smooth almond, with the strong cherry following. The green tea gives a nice slight astringency, but this is all cherry and almonds.

I am not sure why, but I have Grizzly Bear’s new album playing in my head as I am sipping this. I’m not complaining, it’s just a little strange.

This blend is very balanced and satisfying, but it is the aroma that is the star; very festive, lush and beautifully sweet.

As I recall my last time having Lapsang Souchong, it was from David’s Tea sampler set. This particular tea stands out significantly, with it’s strong potent and complex smokey aroma that would remind you of a campfire around fresh pine.

Tea Forte’s is no different, with equally strong leaves that just captivate and excite your whole body, transporting you to a great northern wilderness, surrounded by pine, surrounding an open fire-pit. Very tranquil.

The beauty is that it is also reminiscent of my backyard, which is the beautiful northern British Columbia.

The liquor itself is an unmistakable deep amber, that is also surprisingly clean, (I only recall colors reminiscent of mahogany) and does not let up on the smokey aroma.

The flavor is not as strong as it’s aroma would lead you to believe. It does retain it’s smokey traits, but you can also trace some smooth nutty flavors, and a slight astringency.

I can see myself drinking this tea overlooking a lake, after a nice morning or evening run.

My mother bought this, as I had convinced her to because she was very interested in how it would be, both in flavor and with all the advertised health benefits of antioxidants.

She doesn’t take to caffeine very well. Fortunately, this tea comes in a tin as whole leaves. So, I told her that you can simply wash the tea leaves before your actual brew, so there is less caffeine when you actually steep your cup of tea.

The thing is, I didn’t want her to waste a cup of tea, so I took the caffeine filled cup and steeped her a less caffeine brew.

The leaves are odd, and fun, with a very subtle fresh scent overpowered by the fruit and cucumber. The blueberries are very prominent.

Steeping gives a nice clean lime color, with a light fresh mint aroma, and subtle cucumbers and blueberries. So far, extremely satisfying.

The flavor is very fresh, very minty green with a hint of fruit. It is quite invigorating, as the mint and cucumber combined give it a very whole and healthy flavor in a light and cool breeze.

The cucumbers make this tea. Extremely fresh and extremely satisfying.

My first real taste of any of the finer, more expensive teas out there. Tea aficionados often call Darjeeling “the champagne of teas,” and now I can definitely understand what they mean. This tea is so good! I saw the word “muscat” in the description on the tin, so I looked it up; that’s a beautifully succinct way of explaining the grape notes in this one. It’s earthy and aromatic and beautifully complex. I’ve never tasted anything quite like it before.