Amandine Rose

What a tough week. It crept up to me out of nowhere and pounced. I found a puddle of blood on the floor on Tuesday morning. I was really worried and figured that my dogs had somehow gotten hurt. After thorough inspection I determined that my dogs were fine, I cleaned up and went to work. The next morning I saw my oldest dog peeing blood. I freaked out and took her to the vet. After a quick ultrasound, bladder stones were confirmed. Scheduled for surgery on Thursday. Thankfully surgery went well and my Sencha is now home recovering.

After taking the puppy (my other dog) out for a walk this morning, I am determined to lounge around all day with Sencha drinking tea and making sure she is feeling OK. It has been a terrifying experience, and I am glad it is almost over.

I bought this tea on my last trip to the US. I love rose flavored things, so I figured that this I would love. It smelled pretty good, so I figured I would have to give in to buying the minimum 2oz (!!!) to taste it.

The leaves are decently sized and are decorated with almond slivers and bright orange-red safflowers. I didn’t see any of the candied violets it claims to have, but they were probably hidden in there somewhere. The scent of the dry leaves was a light almondy dough. I got a sweetness note and a hint of cinnamon but sadly no rose.

The brewed tea was a nice orange brown that smelled a lot like plain flavored macaroons (the french kind). The taste was smooth and doughy, almost like eating almond cookie dough raw (yes… I am guilty of cookie dough eating…). Sweetened a tiny bit of something floral popped up, but nothing that seemed like rose to me. The aftertaste was pleasantly sweet and not overwhelming. Unexciting but overall yummy.

I did like this cup of tea, but I didn’t find the rose I was hoping for in it. I will drink my 2oz happily, but I don’t think I will be back for more.

Now… to go figure out which tea to drink next while lying down beside my beautiful Sencha as she recovers… She is such a sweet little dog that I think something sweet will be had in her honor!

I traded brandy3392 some tea I wasn’t a fan of for this tea, which she wasn’t a fan of. Even so I was intrigued because I do love almonds and rose. The dry leaf on this one smells very cookie-ish with almond and cinnamon and other bakery-ish aromas, and then a rich, sweet rosey aroma comes out, but still kind of remains separate from the other scents. It is truly the scent of rose candy, like fresh turkish delight, not fresh roses.

I steeped the tea at a cooler temp because that seemed like what people were doing with this tea. I probably didn’t need to go that cool considering my previous experience with Almond Biscotti, but it still turned out fine. In the steeped tea the rose and cookie aromas meld much more and it smells great to me. It reminds me of a middle eastern market/bakery where you would get almondy-cinnamony aromas as well as the scents of rose confections.

I am actually really digging this tea, so thanks a bunch for the swap, brandy3392! It’s not quite marzipan-almondy, but it is very almond-cookie-ish. There is a decent helping of sugary rose-candy flavor; it is actually a hint sweet, which likely comes from various candied agents (almond, violet) in the mix. This actually reminds me more of what I feel like the now-defunct Rose Marzipan Delight tea by Teavana would be like, though I never did try that one. This is totally one of those teas that I kind of hate admitting that I like so much because it is from the evil empire, but what are you going to do? At least I have a nice pouch of it in my possession without ever having to have dealt with the shop!

Another one from my birthday Teavana order. Candied violets, rose, almonds, cinnamon, saffron!?!? All flavors I love, but I wasn’t sure how they would go together. I decided to throw caution to the wind and give it a try!

I taste….Mmmmmm, nutty cookie! … Pow, fruity sweet rose! It’s just like that – pause and all. Completely different experience from one of the subtle French everything-but-the-kitchen-sink teas where all the flavors dance together, but good in its exuberant disjointed American manner :)

Again, I think I could have used just a touch more tea. I think these blended teas are heavy on the stuff, and light on the tea for my tastes. I am going to have to use an extremely heaping perfect teaspoon (yes! I finally got two – one for work and one for home!) when I drink these blends.

Dry leaf smell – cinnamon cookies. There is no other way to describe this. This is cinnamon cookies or cinnamon coffee cake straight up.

Steeped, it’s a beautiful red-gold. The cinnamon has abated a bit and the almond comes out. It smells a bit like a rooibos, to be honest. I added milk and a bit of sugar, which brought out the cookie flavor of the tea. It’s very creamy and very smooth, and definitely something for dessert!

This tea looked really good to me when I saw it in one of Teavana’s emails. I love marzipan teas and the rose petals and candied violets decided it for me. The ingredients list rose petals, but I didn’t see any in my bag, and the only candied violets were in one large, kind of strange-looking, clump. The tea liquor smells amazing – all warm marzipan with a really nice sweet floral note. The flavor is lightly of almond and it’s the strong floral finish that leaves the most impression. I really can’t detect any cinnamon at all. Adding sweetener alone seems to only bring out an artificial over-the-top floral-sugary taste, but adding milk and sweetener brings out a more toned down floral flavor and also creates a little creaminess for the almond marzipan base. I will admit that I am a little let down by this tea, I was hoping for a bolder flavor instead of all of the fake floral notes. I don’t dislike this tea, but for the rather expensive price I probably won’t be purchasing any more.

-Dry blend has small black tea leaves, orange petals, pieces of almonds and purple candied violet pieces.
-Dry blend smells nutty, sweet and slightly floral. Tea liquor aroma is of sweet marzipan with a floral hint.
-Tea liquor is a medium orange brown color.
-Faint almond flavor with a strong floral finish.
-Best with milk and sweetener.
-Good tea. Weak almond/marzipan flavor. Floral notes are slightly artificial.

This slightly resembles a few other teas I have tried such as Almond Cookie and an Almond Biscotti flavored tea. It’s pretty good. The black tea is alright – not overly strong but not totally weak, either. The Almonds are nicely done. The “Candied” almonds and roses aren’t what I would call “Candied”, really. If they are trying to upgrade their Rose Marzipan I think they really missed the mark. I’m not saying it’s BAD – I’m just saying it’s NOT an improvement – I thought their Rose Marzipan was far more superior. I’m also confused by the addition of thickening agents, beet root, and gum arabic in this flavored tea, too.

Alright but not wonderful!

Holy perfume! Wow, this one is very strong. Has a french inspired way about it. Strong rose floral tones and a nutty almond flavor as well. This was one of the samples my co-worker brought in. Glad to try it, would’t add to my cupboard permanently though. If you like rose teas, this one is definitely a strong one.

I love almond teas and rose teas so when I saw Teavana had an Amandine Rose tea, I jumped on my poor penpal Jackie to ask for a sample and she very kindly put up with me. What a delight this tea is. It’s a very unusual combination but boy is it satisfying. It’s posh and comforting at the same time. The rose comes off really strong and the almond behind is so interesting. I’m really enjoying this with stevia.
Sadly the base was super weak when I resteeped it so I can only enjoy this once a day at most (I usually resteep my morning tea as a dessert after lunch so now I’m sad).

I’m actually really glad I ended up picking this one up today. Had I known I’d like it so much I would’ve purchased more!
So, unfortunately this is not almond biscotti. It is almond biscotti plus rose and it has its ups and downs. First, I felt that the base is less finicky than the original one; which was easy to embitter. It also had a weird play doh undertone every once in a while that was a bit odd that I completely missed today. The rose isn’t too prominent in either cuppa I had, but again, I’ve still got the sniffles so I’ll have to see if I notice it more later. The second steep was very thin tasting. I really liked this one for the price though and I’m really glad I tried it out! There aren’t any candied violets in mine and only 1 rose so this might change the flavor a bit.

Thanks to The DJ Booth for this one which came to me as the result of a recent swap.

This one is pretty good, maybe Teavana should try some more black tea blends with less fruit in them. The aroma is very almondy and I am definitely picking up the rose. I wonder if I ended up steeping this too long because it got slightly bitter and also a bit “soapy”. I will try again and report back if my rating changes.

I think I like the smell of this a bit better than the taste of it. I was really glad I got the chance to try it!

My fiancee decided to take advantage of the great post-new year’s sales yesterday. As my reward for trudging through the women’s sections of several department stores, and helping her critique her potential new wardrobe, she offered to take me to the nearby Teavana store and buy me some more tea! No wonder I’m marrying her!

Teavana also had some great sales and I left the store with three new teas to help kick off the new year! This morning I reached for the Amandine Rose.

This tea has a rich sweet almond aroma while brewing. It is almost like almond biscotti. I’m not sure but I think I started to drool as I waited for my one-touch Breville tea maker to beep its completion.

Brewing this tea at 195 degrees for three minutes (as recommended) resulted in a dark honey-like color. The hue is similar to orange pekoe tea.

When I took my first sip, my throat was filled with the sweet taste of an almond cookie. (My fiancee is a pastry chef and her professionally trained palate discerned the taste of Cap’n Crunch cereal!) The flavor is steady and well-defined but not strong.

I don’t go out of my way to buy or try flowery tasting teas, but the rose flavor in this blend seems to just make this selection a little sweeter without drawing a lot of attention to itself. My greedy sweet tooth hungrily lapped it all up.

Like Teavivre’s fine products, Teavana teas have yet to disappoint me. If you like sweet, medium-strength black teas without astringency, you may enjoy this tea as much as I (and my sweet fiancee) do.

I think Teavana might have a problem with the consistency of their blend on this tea. While others have said the rose in this is subtle, I found the rose in my bag to be unbearably strong. The best way I can describe this tea in taste and smell is 25% Almond Biscotti and 75% rose air freshener. I’ve had plenty of rose teas before, but this just seems artificial and extremely overbearing. Somehow I managed to finish the cup, but it was probably just because I was too lazy to make something else. Considering this was supposed to be a “tweaked” or “upgraded” version of Almond Biscotti, I am seriously disappointed.

If someone is brave enough to give this tea a try, check out my swap list in discussions. I am willing to swap this for absolutely anything.

I received a sample of this tea from Dustin. Thanks Dustin!.

This tea is unlike anything I’ve ever had before. I don’t really like rose, so when smelling the dry tea (with a very dominate rose smell) I was hesitant. After brewing the rose smell still is very present, but you also smell something ‘behind’ the rose, something sweet and dark. It’s really very intriguing.

The taste holds up well to the promise of intrigue. The first or top note is floral, but the roasted almonds and cinnamon follow fast on its heels, so that overall the first impression is a dark and intriguing rose+. It has a body and complexity that is very similar to expensive red wines. A very true desert tea and one that has converted me to not strike rose teas off my list of to-try-teas.

This isn’t an everyday tea though. More like a special occasions or special mood tea. And it probably is a hit-or-miss tea as well. My partner can’t stand the smell of it and complains when I brew a cup. :-)

I went into teavana yesterday, hoping to try the almond biscotti. I walked right up to the counter and asked for it, as I was advised by fellow steepsterites, in order to avoid any hassling salespeople. It worked wonders! When I asked for the Almond Biscotti the sales lady told me that they it was now Amandine Rose, since it was still a Ceylon Almond tea I didn’t mind. (I had a scrumptious tea from a little boutique in Spa that was a Ceylon black tea with almonds. However, I finished it off before I found this website, and so thinking I could never have it again I threw away the packaging without writing down what it was.)

Anyway, they brewed it up for me and allowed me to smell the dry leaf. YUMMM! The smell was exactly what I was looking for, a rich Ceylon with comforting almond tones. Once I got my cup I was pretty stoked to try it. Like some other reviewers I got no rose out of it whatsoever, but I did enjoy the almond flavors. It’s a very comforting tea, but I’m glad I only bought a cup, and not any loose leaf to bring home. On a side note, I was pleasantly surprised by the price, she didn’t give me a receipt, and along with what I’ve heard of them I was a bit concerned. When I looked at my credit card statement it was only $3.18 or so, considering they gave me a very large cup I was pretty content especially when that’s a pretty normal price for something at starbucks.

Teavana, you’re not fooling anyone. Amandine Rose is just Almond Biscotti with a less appetizing name and a slight hint of something different (probably the rose).

That said, I preferred the almond biscotti, but this is close enough that I’ll mix the two just to save storage space.

Final verdict: yummy, but not as cookieliscous as it used to be.

I’m a sucker for flavoured blacks, and I’ve never had one I didn’t like, but this one is beyond DELISH!

It’s definitely a dessert tea. It’s not lying about the rose either. You can really taste it but it doesn’t overpower the other flavours. It’s slightly nutty, but not so nutty that is the main flavour. All of the flavours balance out very evenly, which is lovely. (That’s kind of my biggest peeve with flavoured teas, is when one flavour is kinda sticking out too much to enjoy the others).

If you want something that’s really black tea-y then I wouldn’t suggest it. It’s really floating around in there with all the other stuff so more difficult to pick up on.

It is full bodied, very tasty hot, and if you accidently let it sit for a bit and it cools off too much it is not at all bitter.

Probably my new favourite dessert tea (but nothing will surpass a perfect creamy earl gray).

Tea of the morning. :) Prepared black, with a little less sugar than normal. This tea didn’t smell like it needs much sweetening.

The loose leaf is VERY marzipan! I’m not a fan of the texture of marzipan, but I love the smell, so I didn’t mind. I also smell the almond, and a little of the flower petals. My husband was very intrigued by the candied violets, which are present only sparingly in HUGE chunks. I made sure to get one of those in the infuser. :) After steeping, the black tea smell comes through to bind all those scents together. The marzipan is definitely present still, while the almond seems to have faded a little bit. Wonder if this foretells anything for the taste.

In the first few sips, YES, there’s marzipan in there all right. The candied violets are there in the flavor as well. However, I’m not getting a very almond-y taste. Despite the fact that marzipan is MADE from almond paste, it never tastes very much like almonds to me, so I guess I was hoping that this tea would have more almond flavor—after all, there are almond pieces galore, along with the marzipan. I do like that the floral notes come through; after all, the name of the tea is Amandine ROSE.

The overall effect is a very creamy, sweet brew, with a somewhat astringent aftertaste. I was hoping that this would be an adequate replacement for my ever-dwindling supply of Almond Biscotti, which Teavana has discontinued, but it doesn’t look like it holds the same appeal for me. I won’t be having this one with shortbread or scones anytime soon. I will, however, drink it when I’m looking for something sweet but not fruity or caramel-y.

I like the almond cookie taste here but the rose just doesn’t seem like a good mix with it. Perhaps it’s the hint of cinnamon that the rose doesn’t blend well with. I found there is a strange after taste that is quite sweet but unpleasant.

I always thought that I’d never like this tea. I tried it once a while ago back when it was Almond Biscotti, and I did not like it. I liked it a lot this time around, but I may never drink this tea without milk/cream, since I believe that’s what was missing. The addition of candied violets gives the liquor a slight tinge of purple (not so much so as Lavender Dreams). I got nice hints of rose, and, of course, almonds.

Another Heavenly Sale purchase.

My 2oz bag is full of roses. Not a hint, it’s a bag of roses with a few almonds and some tea thrown in. The scent of roses knocks you off of your feet when you open the bag.

I ordered this because a lot of the reviews hinted at a baked goods taste. I didn’t get that without sugar and milk. I’ll be honest, I have a little trouble with heavily floral teas. Without the milk, this was like drinking potpourri. With the milk, I was able to pull out the cookie flavor that everyone else seemed to get, but rose was still at the forefront. (This may be due to the extra petals, or it may just be me…not sure.)

All in all, I liked it, but I don’t see myself reaching for it often. This bag will probably wind up being blended into a Valentine’s Day tea or two.

I would love to try this one at another time, when it’s blended properly.

Edited to add: Just tried to re-steep this. It went from a very strong, almost overwhelming tea to nothing at all. Weird.