Swiss Apple

Oh dear, it’s a rooibos. Rooibos and I don’t really get along, but that’s with one exception: apple cinnamon. I’ll admit right here in front of all of Steepster that I genuinely like Tazo’s Organic Apple Red, which is also a rooibos. (What?! You got something to say?!) I had a feeling that this might be similar, so I’m giving it a chance even though this one uses chocolate instead of caramel.

It smells divine. I actually made a “mmm” noise when I sniffed the bag. I can’t smell the chocolate, but that’s alright. As it steeped, the aroma spread throughout my kitchen. As I sip, I can’t really taste the chocolate either. But more importantly, I can’t taste that strange rooibosness that I dislike so much. This is just a yummy apple cinnamon treat to me. Smooth and comforting, well-spiced without it being too much. Yep, I’ll be picking this one up again, too.

Of the teas/tisanes from the skin-smart line, I think that this one is my favorite. Which is pretty surprising to me since this is a rooibos tisane. But… it doesn’t taste like rooibos. What it tastes like is apple cider with a hint of chocolate. YUM!

And even though it IS in a teabag, and I generally rate bagged tea lower, this tea deserves a higher rating because it doesn’t really matter to me that it is a bagged tea. It just tastes good. Definitely one of my favorites from Tea Forte.

I received my sample from Tea Forte Saturday. I finally got around to trying it at work yesterday. When I opened the package my mouth began to water. The bagged tea smelled really good! Even my boss wanted to try it and she is NOT a tea drinker….coffee only (note this is the Flower Shop where I work, not the tea shop). I sadly got more apple and cinnamon in this than I did chocolate. Which bummed me out a little. But it was still a yummy tea. I was also hoping these would be the loose leaf teas like the last sample, rather than just bagged. Still good and easy on the go.

_{This is my 4th review in a series of six Skin Smart Beauty Tea Samples}

Experience buying from Tea Forté: Good. Website is very colorful and easy to navigate. Sent free samples after responding to an invitation on Steepster. Package came in reasonable amount of time. Other than sending my address, no e-mail or phone contact.

Age of leaf: Unknown. Steeped within weeks of receiving.

Packaging: Colorful: each tea came attached to a colorful paper backing labeled as a "Skin Smart” sampler. Each tea bag comes in standard tea bag packaging, with a picture of the flavors that the tea replicates prominently displayed on it. The tea bags themselves look like standard paper teabags with a small Tea Forté label and string attached to the bag by a staple.

Dry leaf in the bag: Good, strong cinnamon smell.

Brewing guidelines: in a ceramic cup with a touch of Stevia.
……………1st (and only): Boiling, 4’

Aroma: cinnamon!

Color of liquor: honey color, tending toward red.

Flavor: Apple flavors come though, but the cinnamon flavor is stronger (yet, not overpowering).

Value: I am grateful for the free sample (thank you Cindy at Tea Forté!), but their price on their website is more than I would be willing to pay if I purchased it.

Overall: I really liked the cinnamon smell. And I did like the taste of both cinnamon and apple in the tea liquor. This was a little better tasting than the Honey Yuzu for me. This is a tea I could enjoy drinking.

The apple is lovely. The Chocolate is just-so. The cinnamon adds a tingle but isn’t overly spicy and I like that. I like these three flavors together and Tea Forte did a nice job combining them in a bag! Pretty good, indeed!

There is a strong taste of cinnamon and a barely there flavor of apple. There’s a slight sweetness from the fruit. There is an earthy base that might be either the chocolate or rooibus. Though I am not a rooibus fan, I didn’t really notice the medicinal flavor I usually associate rooibus in this one.
Despite the fact that there is no real noticeable chocolate flavor, I really enjoyed this tea. It was perfect with my apple pie. the flavors really worked together. :D

I had extremely high hopes for this tea, but I have to say I was a bit disappointed. Initially, the aroma was very off-putting in an alcoholic sort of way. Usually I wouldn’t mind but since this isn’t a cocktail-esque flavored tea, I was a bit confused. After pouring the water on the tea bag, the alcohol aroma turned into the scent of rich chocolate. However, the taste of the tea is just apple, granted it is a very natural apple taste, but the chocolate is nowhere to be found.

I am grateful to have the opportunity to try this tea, but I would not purchase this particular flavor.

This Swiss Apple is another sampler received as part of the skin-smart antioxidant amplifier tea.

Naturally caffeine-free rooibos herb with the taste of fresh crisp apples, with the euphoric flavor of delicious dark alpine chocolate and tingling cinnamon.

Steeping instruction recommends:
bringing freshly drawn, cold water to boil
place filter bag in cup
slowly pour water over filterbag and allow to steep for 3-5 minutes.

1st steep the liquor is golden amber, reddish. I taste apple mixed evenly with cinnamon and the lingering effect of the cinnamon is heady.

2nd steep the liquor is lighter with the cinnamon lingering throughout the cup.

3rd steep seems to be as second cup with prevailing note of cinnamon; I could not discern the Alpine chocolate but then perhaps I know not what alpine chocolate is and cannot recognize it somehow.

I don’t particularly like cinnamon except a cinna-roll bun; gooey with some walnuts added on top. This tea might go nicely with that possibly but no buns I am sorry to say.

This tea is meant to support the skin and I so need blemish free skin, I would need more dose of this.

This is one of the free samples I got from teaforte thankyou very much. This smells like cloves and cinnamon. I honestly did not brew this very strong I will see if the taste changes if I can get another cup. I have this and waited until just warm and this taste clove like then abit of cinnamon some natural apple and abit of chocolate. I think this is really good and am thankful I did not not taste the roobios.

Yesterday was my birthday, and I turned 27. But alas, I was unable to celebrate it because I was working a 12 hour clinical shift at the local children’s hospital. I got lots of phone calls and birthday texts to make the day wonderful, but the curling up and relaxing with tea didn’t happen because I fell into bed exhausted by 8 PM.

Ah well, there’s always next year to celebrate. Or in this case, there’s a next day to drink some of the free samples that Tea Forte so generously provided me with. I’ve wanted to try the skin smart teas for a while now because some of the flavors just look amazing! This one caught my eye first and it just smelled so fall-like that I had to give it a go.

The smell of dry leaf and steeped tea is strongly cinnamon, and maaaayyybe a hint of apples in the background. As to the taste, there is a strong cinnamon tinge and a juicy texture reminiscent of apple juice. The flavor is really all cinnamon, though. Not bad, but not accurate to the description. Luckily I like cinnamon, so it’s drinkable.

*I will say that I made a mistake and brewed hot water in my Keurig and accidentally put on the large setting, with is 9.5 ounces, whereas I’m pretty sure the tea bag was supposed to be used with only 8 oz. of water. Not a huge difference in volume, I know, but the tea tastes a bit watery and that may be contributing to it. I’ll use the smaller size next on the other teas in the collection, and out of fairness will refrain from rating it formally, but as it is right now I’d give it a 65 or so.

I have to thank Tea Forte for this sample!
I am sitting here with my piping hot cup and recovering from a three day down time from the newest school-stress induced cold. I’ve been waiting for this to arrive and it couldn’t have come at a better time! I saw this product when it was first released on the Tea Forte site and I was really excited when I saw the flavor combinations. I was even more excited when I found out I was going to be able to sample them!
This is a pretty good tea! I like the more subtle cinnamon in this mix and I think I can taste some of the chocolate that the description talks about. I think that this would be very nice on a cold, autumn day. The added bonus for me with this particular tea in the set is it is the only rooibos tea; so it is a good anytime tea. I think that some rooibos blends lack flavor and this one wasn’t skimping!

I was happy to find a bookstore on a recent trip that sold individual packets of the Tea Forte skin-smart line. I had been curious about them, but after buying a huge can of Honey Yuzu (which my boyfriend and I can’t stand!), I wasn’t willing to buy a whole container.
The bag smelled quite strongly of cinnamon, but I was surprised that it didn’t seem strongly brewed after 5 minutes. I left the bag in the tea as I drank it, hoping that the flavors would become more pronounced.
I think I can taste a bit of sweet apple at the start of each sip, and if I think about chocolate I can imagine its flavor as an aftertaste. But in a blind test I would never have come up with chocolate.
It is a light flavor, but very good for a decaf tea! I don’t usually like herbals and I’m not too fond of a strong rooibos flavor, but I don’t get a strong rooibos flavor from this tea.

I’m really starting to love rooibos! This tea is excellent.

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.