Tea Forte

So I’ve now tried all of them and only really liked the Blueberry Merlot, all others were “okay” except the Kiwi Lime Ginger which is like drinking Vicks Vapor Rub.

As to the sampler set itself, I liked the easiness of the single-cup pouches. Though, I would ordinarily like two of such size as, unless I get a strong first impression, it takes me a couple cups to tell if I like a tisane. So, since they are single-serve only, my reviews of each are first impression and not fully rounded reviews.

All in all, I’m glad to have had the sampler and to have tried the variety; but only one drink stood out as one I’d buy more of.

So far I’ve had the Apricot Amaretto and the Blueberry Merlot.

I wasn’t huge on the Apricot, but am quite impressed with the Blueberry; it makes me look forward to the other samples.

I’ll be adjusting my rating of this as I try more of them.

The steeped scent is very yummy. Blueberry berriness with a strong kick of the sage. It mixes strangely but well.

It’s so far been my experience with most flavored teas and tisanes that, at best, the scent is wonderful but the taste is quite lacking. Not with this.

The flavor is strong and not watery. The blueberry is strong on the tip of the tongue and up around the top of the back of the mouth. The sage is strong but not overwhelming, giving the tea a very tasty zippiness. Each sip fills the mouth pleasantly, leaving nothing of the lacking feeling I get from all but two tisanes I’ve had.

I’d buy more of it.

I’ll admit the ingredients made me nervous because many of them I do not favor…but…it was Cherry-Fruity but not as tart as I thought it would be…there was a nice yet unexpected smoothness towards the end of the sip, too. I’m glad this wasn’t as puckery as I thought it would be. There is still a lot of punch there but it’s pretty good for a hibiscusy tisane!

Scent from a distance is very cough-syrupy, but when you get your nose down into the dry leaves the amaretto scent is a delicious single scent.

The steeped scent has amaretto sweetness and a bitter tone of perhaps apricot pit and alcohol mixed. It smells like a mixed drink.

There isn’t a lot of taste on the tongue itself. You get a smooth or buttery consistency on the inside of the lips and the middle of the tongue. There is a flash of the bitter+amarretto flavor/scent in the nose as you swallow. The tisane feels full in the mouth.

Im not familiar with honeybush and not huge on tisanes, but must say that if you are into either this is worth trying. This does give the feel of the name in its taste.

Just received my sample pack from Tea Forte’s Herbal Retreat collection http://www.teaforte.com/store/tea-gifts/herbal-retreat/
It’s a hot, sticky day in the midwest today, so naturally I chose the Mojito Marmalade. The first thing I notice is how convenient these single steep packets are. I just rip open the pre-portioned packet that’s just enough for 12 ounces of tea and pour it into my infusing basket.
The dry leaves smell gorgeous and make my mouth water! Bright, sweet orange marmalade and cooling spearmint. I just keep inhaling! This is like aromatherapy. I boiled 12 ounces of water and steeped for the recommended 5 minutes.
Steeps to a rich golden brown liquor. The honeybush and rooibos lend a soothing, smooth natural sweetness and set up a great base for the flavors. Satisfying mouthfeel. I next notice the perfect amount of mint! Just enough to make you take a deep breath and go, “Ahhhh.” Very relaxing. The orange marmalade is toned down very much in comparison to the smell of the dry leaves but it carries over very nicely and the flavors mix together very well. Perfect balance of citrus and mint. I iced the remaining of my tea once it cooled, added a touch sweetener and wow! I really like this! I will definitely be purchasing more of this to enjoy iced on the rest of these hot summer days. Thanks, Tea Forte!

I have to start by saying that I am not a big fan of blueberries. It’s 8:20 AM and I’m getting off of a ridiculously miserable night at work. I received my samples yesterday and I am very excited to try them.

I read the reviews while it was steeping and I was nervous to take the first sip. No sweetener/milk.
I can’t put my finger on exactly what it is, but something makes me feel very nostalgic while drinking this tea in bed.

I do enjoy it though. I’m trying not to. Damnit, I can NOT enjoy something that tastes like blueberries!

Would I buy this again? Possibly. It’s something light that I can drink before bed without any bitter aftertaste.

I received this tea in the single steep loose leaf format in a generous sampler offer from Tea Forte. I LOVE mojitos, so I just had to pick this one out first. As it is steeping, the mint and a jammy scent were very prominent. After steeping, it was nicely minty, but not overly so. The jammy quality was still present and made this tea very addictive. I iced the second half of my glass and it was also very refreshing cold.

This tastes exactly like Coco Truffle (also by Tea Forte) minus the cacao. It has the mildly spicy aroma of cinnamon and a nutty flavour. I am surprised that it tastes just as good as Coco Truffle despite the much simpler ingredients. Tea Forte has more impressive teas for sure, but this is a comforting tea after an exhausting day of work. :)

This is an interesting tea. It’s not as chocolatey as I have hoped, but it’s definitely nutty. :) Normally I stay away from tea with spices like cloves, cardamom and fennel as they tend to overwhelm the flavours of other ingredients, but the cacao in this tea has kept all these spices in control, giving a balanced, mellow and smooth taste. I won’t recommend this as a dessert tea as it’s not sweet enough for the purpose, but this is worth a try if you are bored and looking for something unique ;P

I have just reviewed this little curiosity. Here is the link for the full review…

http://bit.ly/pQyXYa

I was craving an iced tea and decided to go for this one, nicely prepared in the Tea Forte’s iced tea brewing pitchers: I added a little bit of sugar syrup on the second glass to taste the difference but it was perfect even without it, tasty yet not too sweet, with the right balance of ginger and pear. It is indeed a very good refreshing option for summer time!

This is soooo good cold. Steeped strong hot and chilled in fridge. Wonderful dark fruity flavor.

A fabulous iced tea. Very fruity and with a natural sweetness but not overpoweringly sweet. Not sure what I’d think about it hot, but iced is very good.

Terrible!
This was he last card that could have saved the brand for me. Nope, they are done in my books. I couldn’t even finish the cup. and I LIKE Orange Pekoe teas. It’s not like Earls where if I can’t finish it, no biggie because I dislike bergamot intensely and wasn’t really expecting or even hoping for much else. But this, well I had hopes! and they were dashed.
Mind you, I would sooner finish a cuppa this tea than a pu’erh or some of the others that made me queasy and I suppose it would warm me up on a cold day.
Ok so it could be worse. Still, I’d take Red Rose over this fancy mulch any day.

Ah, the pleasure of a good smelling tea. Often the dry leaves, as-of-yet un-infused, reveal a lot about the tea that is to come. The spicy and sweet notes of the dry leaves of this herbal tisane blend in an attractive melody that promises a deep and possibly heavy drink.

Utilising a Tea Forte Café Cup, I steeped this pyramid infuser for four minutes using just-boiled water. Smelling the infusion, it is clear that cinnamon is definitely what lends much of the spiciness to this tea’s aroma. However, with the first sip, it becomes immediately evident that cinnamon is not all that is in Tea Forte’s Flora. The sweetness of liquorice root melds with the explosion of flavour from the hibiscus in this blend. The hibiscus adds a lot of body to this tisane and sweeps through one’s mouth, filling it with flavour.

A re-steep of this herbal blend offers a much weaker version of the first cup, but with the same balance of flavours. This is one blend that is worth trying and might make a tasty chilled drink as well. I would give Flora an 83/100 on my personal enjoyment scale.

Steeped in a Tea Forte Café Cup, with the spent tea pyramid resting on a Tea Forte tea tray, all the pieces were set to provide an enjoyable tasting experience of this mango flavoured green tea. Impeccable as always, the packaging of this individual tea pyramid infuser bag was clean and sharply presented. After heating the water to the proper temperature, I proceeded to steep the tea for only two minutes before moving on to tasting it. The aroma is light, and the mango smell is lighter yet. My guess would be that the green tea base is a sencha or something akin to it.

The tea itself has light forward notes with a strong finish. The mango is present but not very prominent. Overall the tea is not very impressive in its taste. Not wanting to judge it by first try, I steeped a second cup. This time, I left the tea pyramid in the water for three minutes. The mango flavour is now a lot bolder and broader. It complements the green tea far more than during the first infusion.

Overall, I think this is not one of Tea Forte’s better blends. However, for lovers of fruit flavoured green teas, it may be worth giving this one a try. On my personal enjoyment scale, I would rate it a 76/100.

Steeped in a Tea Forte Café Cup, with the spent tea pyramid resting on a Tea Forte tea tray, all the pieces were set to provide an enjoyable tasting experience of this mango flavoured green tea. Impeccable as always, the packaging of this individual tea pyramid infuser bag was clean and sharply presented. After heating the water to the proper temperature, I proceeded to steep the tea for only two minutes before moving on to tasting it. The aroma is light, and the mango smell is lighter yet. My guess would be that the green tea base is a sencha or something akin to it.

The tea itself has light forward notes with a strong finish. The mango is present but not very prominent. Overall the tea is not very impressive in its taste. Not wanting to judge it by first try, I steeped a second cup. This time, I left the tea pyramid in the water for three minutes. The mango flavour is now a lot bolder and broader. It complements the green tea far more than during the first infusion.

Overall, I think this is not one of Tea Forte’s better blends. However, for lovers of fruit flavoured green teas, it may be worth giving this one a try. On my personal enjoyment scale, I would rate it a 76/100.

Hrm, I’m not sure about this. The black currant sings through, but I added some agave to help it along. I think it’s kindof like peach teas where even if it’s great, I would still prefer something else in that vein, only a different flavour.
Blueberry is not a flavour I really love, and this reminds me very much of blueberry.
Otherwise, the tea itself is good. A little sour, but not astringent really… I think it comes from the currant.
There is also a very fresh note, and a lively refreshing aftertaste that I actually like. If this tea had strawberry flavouring instead, it would have gotten top marks! so 85on the tea, and 75 on currant flavour (lower because I had to add sweetener)… which brings it to a nice middle ground of 80. I’m glad to have tried it, as always! :)

I’ve held on to this single steep package that I received along with my Kati cup for some time now, that’s just the way I am when it comes to chamomile. I generally assume I’m not going to like it and then I am surprised at how much I do.

This is pretty nice. I like the strong peppermint note and how it combines with the licorice root and citrus-y notes. I did expect this to have citron fruit in it, and I don’t think it does. I wish it didn’t have hibiscus in it (why does Tea Forte feel the need to add hibiscus in almost all of their blends?), but even with the hibiscus, it’s pleasant enough, and I am enjoying it.

I’ve noticed that Tea Forte teas smell absolutely amazing. This tea was screaming to be iced, so that’s what I did! The strongest notes are citrus and mint. It’s refreshing, but I feel like there are far too many flavors going on. Tea Forte makes nice teas, but they seem like they are trying too hard to be sophisticated with all of their blends. My mouth gets confused with the mint, the citrus and some other flavor I can’t identify. It’s interesting, but not something that I would purchase. Thank you very much to Ottawa Tea for a sample!

This was… boring! and a bit earthy? made me wonder if there was any bergamot in it…
So, I think I may have found another black tea that I dislike. There is no character, no sass… or identifying features whatsoever, unless you consider plain-ness a feature!
even with milk it was barely drinkable, but I did finish the cup. Oh well. Fingers crossed for the black currant and orange pekoe! the only other teas in the pack that I look forward to tasting.

The scent right out of the pouch is very fruity and very strong. The flavor is a bit difficult to describe. It’s fruity and with a little bit of something that tastes like sage. This flavor makes the tea more savory instead of sweet. The finish gives me that interesting fizzy sensation, like I’ve had a sip of soda. I think that this would be so much better iced, but even then I don’t think I’d go crazy for it. Thank you Ottawa Tea for a sample!

This tea looks like creme brûlée from DavidsTea. I love the rooibos and the bright petals. The tea is sweet with that distinct amaretto flavor and a nice bit of peach and apricot (I can’t tell the difference between the two), but the fruit portion is quite juicy! This is a great combination. The tea is very rich and actually makes me wonder if I had eaten a very large dessert. Yum! I am not sure if this will be a purchase for me only because I find it slightly similar to the creme brûlée (richness-wise) and I like that one a bit more. I am so glad to have tried this, though. This is a great treat! Thank you so much, Ottawa Tea!