Snowflake

There’s just something special about nearly all of the Georgia Tea Company Teas I have tried so far…intensely scented and I LOVE THAT!!!!

Coconut, almond and vanilla…and in that order is what’s going on with the aroma of this tea! WOW! I know there HAS to be a Christmas Cookie that is popular that smells JUST LIKE this – but I am unsure of the name.

This is a medium strength flavored black that is very much tasting like a cookie with those same ingredients in it…coconut, almond, and vanilla…it’s great! You have to really like coconut but if you do AND I DO please check it out!!! It’s a nice treat and the customer service over at Georgia Tea Company is wonderful.

I will be posting more on my blog this week about Georgia Tea Company so check out http://teaequalsbliss.blogspot.com and “follow me”.

I finally made my last groupon-style tea order. I tend to sit on my groupons (or in this case, kgb deal) until they’re just about to expire, and then I use them. I bought a lot of these types of deals when I first started really getting into tea, almost a year ago, and finally I’ve used them all up. I don’t have any more partly because there haven’t been any offered in a very long time, and partly because even if there were some offered, I’m way more picky about my tea these days so I probably wouldn’t buy them as readily. In any case this was a pretty good one because I could buy a bunch of 1oz samples. This tea I actually bought two ounces of, just because it got such good reviews on Steepster and I thought I would like the flavors (coconut, almond, vanilla). I’m not a big fan of Georgia Tea Company’s packaging, which are the kind of pouches that just fold over to close, not with an airtight zip seal. Now I have a ton of teas in non-airtight packaging and nothing to put them in. Oh well.

This tea smells really sweet and creamy and amazing dry. I wasn’t sure what temp to steep it at because the range on Steepster is amazing… from 165°F to boiling. Most people seemed to err on the side of not boiling, so I went with just under to see how it turned out. Steeped, it retains much of those sweet, creamy aromas, with the strong coconut and almond flavors vying for the main note. I don’t get much of a distinct vanilla from this, but I have a feeling it’s providing that creamy backing to the whole thing. The almond is a sweet, marzipanny, extracty-type almond, not as much the nutty fresh almond aroma.

Wow, there is no mistaking that this is a Flavored Tea with a capital F. Sweet, coconutty, and with an almond flavor that coats your mouth. Is there black tea in there? Well, yes, but it doesn’t really make itself known. Actually as it cools there is a faint bitterness coming out from the black tea; not the kind of black tea flavor I’m looking for. Otherwise it’s smooth, creamy and pretty tasty overall.

I really don’t know what I think about this one. On the one hand, the flavors are really delicious and lord knows I’m always looking for a really almondy tea (and am usually disappointed). On the other, my tastes have changed and I find myself wanting more from the base. Honestly a year ago I probably would have rated this one into the 90s because I didn’t care if I couldn’t taste the black tea, but now I want more from my flavored teas. Nevertheless I do still really like the flavors in this one mostly because it’s so intensely almondy and I never find teas that almondy. I guess I can say that I’m not sorry I bought 2 ounces of it.

Bleh, this one smelled/tastes a little bit soapy. I think we can blame coconut age here, as is irritatingly typical. The soapiness did go away a bit as the tea cooled, but I think this tea may be a bit of a write-off. Sigh. I shall try it again another day though!

Thanks momo for sending me some of this :D And sorry for the short tasting note… gotta run!

Thank you Amanda for sharing this tea with me!
Its lovely!
I visited the site and was shocked at the low prices there but I shall refrain (for now) in placing an order.
This has the PERFECT balance of nutty, vanilla, and coconut!
It is also perfectly sweet without adding a thing.
Really a very nice tea.
Thank you again Amanda – this goes into the wish list!

Thank you brandy3392 for sending me this generous sample!

Another EXCELLENT tea! The smell of this is intoxicating! It smells like creamy almond goodness, oh my god I can’t even handle it! I got so scared that I oversteeped this one, but in reality it only really went for an extra minute or so. It was still excellent!

This was so sweet with just the flavoring! I added no sweetening and still got WONDERFUL flavor! Gahhhh I love this one so much. It’s sweet and creamy and almondy and sweet and sososososososoososososososososososososososososososo good! I’m getting annoying, I can tell, so I’ll stop.

Just.

Soooo good.

So I guess it’s supposed to be spring. Well not in Ohio. So, I figured Snowflake was appropriate to try since there was a light dust of snow on the ground when I woke up today. Here’s another delicious sample from Azzrian.

Vanilla, Almond, & Coconut, what’s not to love? This is a very fragrant tea with a bold flavor. Not something I would drink all the time but it really hit the spot this morning.

Well, this one seemed appropriate to try.. with about three feet of snow in NY in as many days. Ick. Thanks for sending the sample a while back, Momo! This one smells so sweet and tastes so sweet. A lovely mix of almonds, coconut and vanilla. The black tea base is so light, it just makes the other flavors sweeter. I think its a bit odd that the almonds and coconut are the same color. Less white than almonds and coconut usually are in other teas, which seems odd for something called ‘Snowflake’. Well, maybe it’s dirty snow. ha ha. I think the flavor is more almond than coconut. I think I’ve had a similar tea to this once, just can’t remember what it was. I like it! Definitely dessert like! I imagine an almond sugar cookie in the shape of a snowflake with white frosting and white sparkling sprinkles. Is it spring yet? At least winter is good for tea drinking… like I need an excuse. Sipdown!

ANGEL FOOD CAKE!!!!!

I’m not even 1/3 of the way through my huge mug-o-tea, but I couldn’t help myself because from the moment I smelled this tea I was transported to childhood when my mother would make angel food cake from an old family recipe (including homemade cherry frosting). The only difference would be if you substituted coconut frosting for the cherry and toned down the sweetness.

The cup is more coconutty, but the flavors still blend beautifully. I think that perhaps I may be transforming into a coconut fan. I think that the other flavors may come out more prominently as the cup cools, but I’m having trouble putting my cup down so it might not get a chance to cool off much before it’s all in mah tummy. I will edit if anything else needs noting, but oh my lordy: yum! TG

ETA: I think that I finished off my first cup in record time! The fragrance was pretty intense throughout all of it. I’m having my second steep now and I think that I like it even more than the first. The flavors are all meshed beautifully and I’m getting more of the tea base. I love the second steep of this tea. Another big thank you to Daniel Mann for this sample!

I’m so excited to be trying this tea, another goodie from TeaEqualsBliss! It smells so awesome! Like a coconut macaroon covered in icing. So yeah, awesome. Brewed it’s like fresh macaroons. So yeah, still awesome.

The taste? Well, that’s pretty awesome, too. It tastes like the much loved Almond Cookie, but minus the cinnamon and plus a dash of coconut (so almond and bake-y plus coconut). I imagine this is pretty freakin’ tasty with some sugar and milk, too, but it totally doesn’t need it. It’s dessert in a cup already. Awesome dessert.

Yeah, totally gonna have to order some of this. In case you haven’t guessed, it’s pretty awesome. Thanks TeaEqualsBliss!

I am going to be bouncing off the walls after I finish drinking this one. I am way over my caffeine allotment for the day, but I couldn’t help it. Daniel from Georgia Tea Company sent me some samples to try and they arrived in the mailbox today. I just HAD to try this one immediately. And… I love it.

I don’t tend to drink a lot of flavored blacks because the black tea tends to overwhelm the flavor (and the other reason is the caffeine). This tea is balanced, the flavors are strong, and there is no bitterness. The vanilla and almond are rounded out by the coconut. It definitely reminds me of cookies. I don’t think this sample will last long. And, I can see why this tea is listed as ‘a Christmas favorite’. It has that sitting by the fireplace, watching it snow out the window, & drinking tea, quality.

Almost 2 tsp to 10+oz water. Steeped for only 3ish minutes because I was worried the black would go bitter. Sweetened with Agave Nectar.

Big thanks to my tea twin Amanda for sending me some of this to try!

I really love the combination of coconut, almond, and vanilla. This is a tea that I feel has a lot more potential then what I gave it. (Just a normal steep with sugar). I am for sure going to have to make it again and add a splash of cream (or almond milk in my lactose intolerant case) I am really interested in finding out what that would taste iced as well. Iced snowflake late anyone? Sounds good to me!

Will post a note when I try that experiment. For now, a generally good dessert black coconutty almondy tea.

Steep Information:
Amount: ~2 heaping teaspoons
Water: 16 oz filtered, boiling
Tool: Adagio IngenuiTEA 16 oz
Steep Time: 3 minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: sweet, almond, coconut
Steeped Tea Smell: sweet, nutty
Flavor: sweet black tea, almond, coconut, almond joy!
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: almond, bitter, astringent
Liquor: opaque dark cloudy brown

I won these teas in a contest that was run by Dan on Steepster that was great fun, and got me tea prizes!

I find the labels on the tea samples to be perfect, they include the company name, tea name, tea type, and steeping directions. I have been informed that the samples that you buy on the web site, or any teas purchased on the site, will come in food safe, plastic lined, kraft bags which keep light out and keep the tea fresh for about 4-5 months. Tea is best stored in tins which are not clear and air tight, since light activates the steeping process and moisture as well. The sample bags I received were about 2-3 cups each, where purchased samples are larger.

Delicious candy like tea, but not so perfect as to get 4 leaves, but if you are an almond joy fan I recommend this strongly.

Images: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/08/georgia-tea-company-loose-leaf-black.html

Thank you to TeaEqualsBliss for sending me a sample of this tea!

The aroma of the liquor is delicious – coconut and vanilla! My mouth waters as I smell it.

The almond, coconut and vanilla flavors are very nicely balanced in this cup. The black tea base is smooth and strong with some astringency. There is a little bit of bitterness to it as well, but it does not disturb the sweet flavors that are going on with this tea, and might even give it just a little more interest.

Overall, a very pleasing cup of tea.

Hmmm..I don’t know why I didn’t write a tasting note when I’ve had this previously. Whatever!

I love this. I actually didn’t even order it, but Daniel included it in all my other teas which is awesome but I’m sure it’s part of some sort of addicted to his teas plan or something.

It reminds me so much of the almond crescent cookies that my mom makes for Christmas. And because I am in fear I don’t get to have them since I’m going on vacation on Christmas, I turned to this tea. I probably don’t have to worry since I have to go visit beforehand but still…excuses to drink this.

To me this tastes just like a cookie. It even smells like they’re baking while it’s steeping. You could really ruin someone’s day with that (then make it all up with a cup). It’s like I know the coconut is there but I think it works so well with the vanilla it reminds me just of sugar.

I love this. I am so getting more once the sample bag is done.

This is very yummy! The scent, when steeping, is almost like a cake. I LOVE teas that smell and taste like cake.. and this is the first one that gives off that scent. Sipping: I really am liking the almond and coconut flavor combination. I can’t say that I can separate and identify which is which, but they’re delicious together. I’m tempted to see what milk would do to this.. if any addition would make it more rich. At this moment, though, I don’t think I can spoil a good cup of tea like this. Thank you Brandy3392 for sharing!

Thank you, TeaEqualsBliss, for sharing some of this from your stash!

I really enjoyed this one, and it’s a must next holiday season. I love the base tea – it’s bold and brisk, and I need an extra kick this morning! The vanilla and almond taste comes through quite well and contributes to a festive feeling. Brews up quickly, too, which I appreciate.

This tea was very good! Thanks to Dinosara for the sample! This tea tastes almost exactly like the Green Almond Cookie tea that I have. The only noticeable difference is that the green almond cookie is a green tea and this is a black. It tastes very almondy and warm! I really like it. This is a very sweet tea and is a perfect afternoon tea. I generally bring a t-sak of this to lunch no Tuesdays and Thursdays when I have class all day. I then steep it while I eat my hurried lunch at take the tea to my Asian History class. This tea definitely makes that class more enjoyable, even though I already love it!

I see almond slivers and coconut shavings. Dry it has a creamy, sweet coconuty smell. Brewed is similar, but darker.

The taste is a creamy black tea, with a sweetness of coconut. I don’t think I’m getting anything from the almonds, but I figured those were just there for show anyhow.

Oh, maybe I am getting something from the almonds—a sort of nutty aftertaste.

Brewed this for four minutes, but I think it would have done all right at three as well.

Oh wow, before I even knew it my mug was empty. I clicked back to this window with the intention of finishing my review, but when I reached for my mug there was nothing left TO review.

Goes to show everyone that I enjoyed this. A lot. I will have to go back for a second steep.

Second steep smells good, although is considerably weaker in taste. But still creamy sweet. Mm.

Ahhhh my pouch is mislabeled as White tea, and I kept sniffing this bag and going ‘you know, this looks awfully dark for white tea’. Thanks for clearing this up, Steepster :) I have been enjoying my black teas in the morning and this one has made its way to the top. In the bag it smells of delicious angel food cake. The bag also says to give it a long steep time, so I am going to give that a shot.

Okay, this really is delicious brewed hot. This is the next candidate for my steeping in steamed soy milk with a touch of honey. It’s just desserty enough to be good for that. I’d love to see this flavor combined with decaf earl grey to make an amazing after dinner treat. Anyway, it retains its sweet -nilla wafer/angel food taste very well.

Overall, very nice.

The “almond” flavor is more of a sweet/slightly cherry/amaretto flavoring, not a natural nutty almond flavor. The scent of the tea in the bag is strongly dominated by this sweet component.

The steeped tea is not as intensely flavored as expected, given the strong scent. The coconut seemed to dominate, followed by the almond/amaretto, and vanilla was a distant third. But it has a really nice black tea base that never got bitter, and never overwhelmed the other flavors.

The second steep had even less almond/coconut flavoring, and the black tea base came through more. Still very nice cup due to the quality of the black tea.