Alpine Punch

Thank you to Krystalyen for this one!

I’ve had some pretty yucky rooibos blends in my day but am happy to report this isn’t one of them. I’ve been curious about this particular one for a while now. I can’t help but wonder if I would enjoy this more in the dead of winter but it IS kinda foggy here today so I’ll just pretend. :)

I’m getting a lot of cinnamon in this cup, then apple, almond & ginger. I’m a big ol’ ginger freak so I would have liked more, even! This tea reminds me a lot of hot apple cider with almond added. I think there’s also some coconut slivers in here too? The cinnamon seems VERY strong in this blend!

I like it but am not totally in love with it. It does smell slightly medicine-y in the aroma but I’m not too bothered by that. If you think you’d really like a hot apple rooibos chai then this would be your thing, for sure.

It is a good blend and one I am enjoying tonight. I added vanilla soymilk to this tonight to make it more dessert like, but this is one I could also drink plain.

Thanks again, K!

My tea stash has been shrinking and although I have a couple of tea orders on the way, my selection has been looking a little sad lately. Every day I think, “o.k. this is the day that the mailman is going to knock on the door with a special tea delivery”. But with each emptied packet and passing day of a tealess mailbox, I question if any of my tea orders will arrive before my collection is depleted. So I caved and treated myself to a Davids shopping spree which included this tea. I probably bought more than I should have, considering I have the mail orders on the way, but I bought sample sizes, so I tend to polish those off fairly quickly.

I was especially running low on the caffeine-free options that I drink in the afternoon/evening/night. It was busy at my DT store, so I selected this one based on a quick sniff. When I got it home I had a better look at the ingredients and realized that it had a few of my not-so-favorite ingredients including the dreaded cardamom. The very thought of cardamom makes my nose crinkle, and my brain think “ugh yuck”. I should also add that I tend to be indifferent to red rooibos tea most of the time, and cinnamon and rose blossoms are also ingredients that I don’t want to dominate a tea. This tea is an exception to my fussiness towards these ingredients. It’s delicious! I’m not sure how DT managed to find such a perfect balance of ingredients that I tend to be fussy about in my tea, and make them dance so wonderfully on my tongue. I kept waiting for the disappointment…Drank it hot – I liked it…Tried it cold – delicious!

Minor imperfection – This tea has a light grease residue on the top, and it’s left behind on my glass, which I suspect might be from the coconut, but it’s not that obvious, that’s just me looking for something wrong in a tea that’s so right. It’s not a tea that I’d keep stocked year round, as the flavors taste like a Fall/Winter tea palette to me, but I’d definitely look forward to repurchasing this as a seasonal treat.

SIPDOWN! Thank you raritea for this one.

I don’t even know how to explain how disappointed with this one i am. lol both kittena told me to re-steeps this and watch how the flavour changed. So i brewed this. and damn near gagged when i smelled the aroma of the first brew. I tried to drink it, but the artificial coconut like flavour was just too much. Funny story though? If this tea tasted like the aftertaste left in my mouth? I’d totally be in love with it!

So i resteeped this a bunch of times, and gradually the coconut went away and i was left with a creamy cherry coconut tea…that was tasty…but all previous steeps were pretty much down the drain lol.

Ah well…at least i tried! Thank you raritea for letting me try this one :)

Whew, haven’t had a tea like this in a while.
Yes. Amaretto in tea form.

No rooibos woodiness. SO SO flavourful (less almond flavour on the second steep, but good for 2 at least). The apple is barely there (thank goodness). It’s creamy, and the aroma is just as strong as the dry leaf. Amaretto, all the way.

I’ll admit I don’t think I would drink this all the time, or in the summer months, but in the fall/winter it’s going to become as permanent a tea in my collection as I can make it.

A great pair with my… bologna and baconnaise sandwich. Jealous? Probably not. But you have to admit I’m pretty damn fancy.

http://www.baconnaise.com/

I’m surprised by how many Davids Teas I have managed to accumulate considering they don’t ship to the UK and it’s all thanks to you wonderful Steepsterites. :)

It’s 11:25pm and I’m still up in an over tired state which has given me more energy than I wish to have so while my body is sluggish my mind is racing. Hopefully this Rooibos tea will calm me down a little, it can’t exactly aid in my caffeine intake so theory says it should work.

This blend has an interesting set of ingredients and I’m at a loss on how this tea will taste other than fragrant and spicy.

I opened the packet and took a big sniff and was greeted by sweet almond (very marzipan like) with a pinch of flowers. It’s making me and my husband drool. I just realized I don’t think I have ever told you his name… it’s Richard. :)

The blend has large flakes of coconut, whole cardamom pods, big chunks of nuts, nice flakes of almond and a finely chopped mix of Rooibos and what looks like rose petals. All of this is easily visible.

After the long 7 minute the tea is red brown in colour with the same marzipan scent. I’m craving chocolate marzipan treats now that my nan used to share with me (RIP).

Well the taste doesn’t match it’s aroma exactly but it doesn’t need to be, it’s yummy in it’s own way. Sweet nuts with a spicy and refreshing glow that has depth yet remains fragrant and light. There is also a touch of flowers in there but it’s subtle and maybe pushing into light fruit territory. The nuts however are very strong but much nicer than Davids Teas Forever Nuts.

Even though it’s rooibos I can’t taste it other than a little in the after taste of the sweet almond. I’m starting to think that I’m going to miss this tea now it’s gone.

Got a sample of this thanks to Krystaleyn its very nice. The top was a little scummy due to all the flavoring oils and such but thats not a big deal and pretty typical of a lot of flavored teas, for some reason I notice it even more in Rooibos so maybe it is a rooibos thing too, I dunno. But whatever, it is nice, flavorful, spicy but not too spicy, sweet but not too sweet. I kept looking for some nasty after taste but found none so plus 1 there. I will re-steep as long as I can quit eating all the coconut, apples, and such out of the mesh basket. This is probably not going to be on my “to order” list but I would not turn it down if offered to me by a friend, like this was. :)
Its good.

I’m in complete shock. Seriously. I made this tea because it was the only thing in my sample pouch that was totally herbal and I didn’t mind wasting if I couldn’t taste it. This was one of the samples I received with my David’s order. Not chosen by me. Nor would I have ever chosen a rooibos. I have never liked them. The after taste just kills me. But, wow, this one is really good! Maybe my cold is doing me a favor and blocking the aftertaste in which case it goes to show there is often a silver lining!

Anyway, I’m so glad I made this. Too bad there isn’t enough for another mug on a day I’m not sick. I don’t know if I would order it only because I’m not entirely sure of what it normally tastes like. Or maybe I should order some to have on hand for occasions such as this. Hmmm…

It’s my first time having this and I don’t know why I didn’t get excited about this tea sooner!! how lovely!
I’m wiped out after my 8 mile run this evening all I wanna do is lay down asap. so I didn’t sip this slowly like I wish I had. But next time I will give it plenty of attention. Probably tomorrow even.

What’s this? A tea with almond that I can stand? GASP.

It’s not overpowering, maybe thanks to adding coconut milk & agave because once I saw the almond slices I figured maybe those would bring the fruit flavors out better (or at least the coconut, just something that wouldn’t be the almond slices). And they did, because this is like spiced cider with a shot of amaretto. I am loving the cardamom in here instead of them just going with plain old cinnamon apple.

The milk made it so creamy and it’s so good. I probably won’t seek out more of it but it’s good to know there are some teas with almonds that don’t make me run for cover.

Thanks, Kittenna!

Thanks for the sample Raritea!!
Almond and coconut, two of my fave things. yum!
Wow this reminds me of a coconut blend I had from Tealish, only that one was black tea and this is herbal.
The coconut and almond work well together, but it hits the back of my throat in a funny way that I’m not sure I like. I can get past it. Overall a very tasty cup!
The second steep was nice, creamy and mild. No sugar added to either cup so that was nice!
I would consider picking up a cup if I was on the go and needed something decaf to warm me up :)

Dry Leaf Nose: A blend of rooibos, spice and fruits.

Liquor: Reddish-brown and clear, with a spicy and fruity aroma.

Flavour: Fruity rooibos notes blend well with the apple and spices to give this blend a range of flavours.

Sip down day #3/tea #3

Oh the almond goodness. This smells just like almonds. We’ll see if that’s enough to mask the Rooibos.
Almond-ie goodness. I love when the good flavours over power the Rooibos. It means I can have a yummy cuppa before bed without dissrupting the little sleep I do get.

This tastes just like almond biscotti . So delish!

Yum. This smells strongly of almond and fruit. I can’t believe I haven’t rated it yet and this is the last of my 30g bag! Sipdown!

It seems like the almond dominates the flavour, but I still get traces of cinnamon and apple and ginger. It’s pretty good, and would be nice on a cold night, but right now I’m a little indifferent to it.

Sorry Alpine Punch! I’ll try you again next year!

Ok, can I say…YUM?

Firstly, it smells awesome and yummy, and that’s hard for me to say, because I usually dislike anything with rooibos. There is that certain unpleasantness…I think rooibos is a love it or hate it tea. I really only like it when it isn’t so bold, and takes a backseat in flavour…or basically if I can’t taste it. There are very few blends that I am ok with.

Anyhow, taste? I figure I should get to that. As Daisy says “Yes. Amaretto in tea form.”

I love amaretto. I LOVE AMARETTO!!

Funnily enough, when I first tasted the tea, I knew I liked it, but I couldn’t peg my finger on the taste or why I liked it until I reread the tastings here and saw the mention of amaretto and then I made the connection. I was like, “Aha! This is it! It’s all the almonds! That’s what I’m tasting!”

I am not sure I get the fruit punch flavour, but perhaps that comes out with a second steep? It doesn’t matter though, because I love the almond flavour, and that’s all I care about.

I think this is a tea I can get more of! It is something I will feel comfortable with drinking later in the evenings when I want something without caffeine.

I really didn’t think I’d like this tea, but I do!

This was a sample that came with my David’s Tea order – yay for free samples!

So when I smelled the dry leaf all I could think was that it reminded me of Cha Yen Thai from Teavana. And that smelled like some cherry almond hand lotion (not a bad thing- it’s just what it reminded me of). So I sort of get amaretto, too.

Steeped, the smell is much the same- this seriously is still Cha Yen Thai all over again. Looking at the ingredients between the two, the only thing that’s really different is apple versus pineapple. So…that’s probably why I think they’re similar! This one does have a fruit punch sort of note when I drink it plain, which I don’t remember in Teavana’s blend. Actually, the sip kind of alternates between fruit punch and amaretto. I don’t really think the flavors go together, though, so I’m going to add milk to see if that gets rid of the fruit punch and brings out the amaretto.

Yeah, the milk helped. It’s pure almond/creamy goodness now. With some background spice that the apple overruled before. It’s definitely good for this time of year, and I can see why it’s so popular, but I’m glad I just got the sample size. It doesn’t stay cold long enough here for me to enjoy 50 grams of this!

2nd steep: Okay, this has more apple/cinnamon notes to it! I am going to bump it up a few points because it’s a completely different tea from the first time around!

I used 1.5 David’s Tea Perfect Spoonfuls for my Aqua-ovo tea tumbler.

The brewed leaf smells overwhelmingly like vanilla cake or sugar cookies. There is definitely a baked goods quality to the scent. I can smell the almond which always reminds me of artificial cherry aroma.

The vanilla cake smell definitely carries through to the flavour right from the beginning to the end of the sip. I am detecting a very strong nutty flavour (mostly coconut with some almond). I’m getting a fruity taste as well which I think is a mixture of the rose and apple (a great combination, in my opinion). I can’t taste any ginger in this brew. The cardamom and/or ginger taste may be present very close to the end of the sip, giving a little bit of a spice taste. I can’t really detect the rooibos but I have a feeling that it may be contributing to the fruity taste; for me rooibos has a taste that I would describe as juicy.

Very sweet and smooth.

Second infusion at 7 minutes is very sweet and still retains that baked cookie flavour.

Third infusion at 20+ minutes is noticeably weaker in the nutty and baked cookie taste. The flavours that do come out are the cinnamon and the apple. This one reminds me of apple crisp. I can feel a little tingle in the back of my throat on the aftertaste- it seems to be ginger-derived.

I don’t think that this tisane would do well past its third infusion.

The moment I smelled this tea, I knew I had to have it. I was at the David’s Tea store with a huge assortment of silver tea canisters sitting in front of me. A helpful lady is opening canisters one after the other as I point them out. I sniffed each tea 2 or 3 times before deciding if I wanted to get some. But then this tea came along. The lid was barely open before I said, “Yes.” I don’t know what it is about the flavor of almond extract, amaretto, marzipan, etc, but it is intoxicating and alluring. It’s not much like fresh actual almonds, but it is amazingly decadent.

Anyway, this tea is almond extract and marzipan and amaretto merged with fruit punch. I feel like I’m having spiked fruit punch for breakfast. This actually sounds like a good idea. Am I normal? AND, the best part is, my drink is from a second steep. I made my husband this tea last night, then put the used leaves in a cup of water and put it in the fridge for the night. It tastes awesome. How does a second steep of a rooibos taste so awesome?

I like the smell of this one. It could be a little toned down but overall pretty good.

This isn’t bad. There’s a trend I’m finding with rooibos, in that I’m tasting what seems like alcohol. Not really loving that. Perhaps I’m steeping it too long? Or not long enough? I steep on the short end of what’s recommended on the package (usually 4 mins). Hmm.

However, the “alcohol” taste is not too apparent here (much worse in Creme Brulee) so I can manage and enjoy this one. Also reminiscent of a not so in-your-face Amaretto from DavidsTea.

This one is awesome.

The smell of dry leaves remind me, like everyone said, of AMARETTO!
You got the sour cherry and the creamy almond smell blended together.

Once steeped… Damn it, i’m in love. The cherry here is a little weaker on the smell which is great and… THE taste, of Amaretto. I can’t feel that woodsy feeling of rooibos and it’s really pleasant in this blend, because it would not be appropriate here.

The cinnamon and black pepper gives it some spicy notes, it’s what makes this blend be a little wintery, hahaha. For me amaretto is especially for summer time, like the one i’ve spent with my girlfriend with awesome friends playing music in front of a fire camp.

Anyway, now it’s winter and I do enjoy it so much with a little nap in front of the fireplace with my lover with some tea… Or some wine hahaha :)

Have a good winter everyone, sincerely!

Mmmm. This tea.
There’s the spicy, warm-you-up-from-inside quality, balanced by this awesome creaminess that comes out at the end (probably the coconut?). I forgot how freaking delicious this tea is. I wonder if it would be good iced? (Now that it’s summer I’m wondering that about EVERY tea!!)