154 Tasting Notes
I met Joseph Wesley at the recent NYC Coffee & Tea Festival. His packaging is amazing and he was great to talk to. He provided me with a sample of this tea and I brewed it for myself & my fiance while working from home today.
The tea is reminiscent of a meyer lemon tea I’ve tried from Zen Tara Tea, but it is very clean with a slight sweetness. It tastes almost similar to a dark oolong due to the astringency, but it is very balanced and refreshing. Upon smelling, I get a faint roasted, earthy smell which translated into a smooth taste. The middle of the taste is mineral and hints of roasted chocolate or caramel, with a slight end-of-a sip citrus hint.
Flavors: Caramel, Cocoa, Earth, Lemon Zest, Malt, Metallic, Mineral
Preparation
I was pleasantly surprised by this tea. I tasted a sample of it and took a bag home from the recent New York Coffee & Tea Festival. By the packaging and fact that it is a grocery store brand, I was not expecting to like it at all, but I did!
The smell is absolutely divine, like a a rich lemon. The taste is actually quite complex and well balanced. I could almost literally taste a nice zingy slice of lemon meringue pie while sipping, including the crust, filling, and even creamy topping. This is quite a unique tea and goes well as a “tea time” or dessert tea, but it is not too sweet to deter me from drinking it at other times of the day.
Flavors: Coconut, Cream, Lemon Zest, Vanilla
Preparation
Thanks Nattie for this sample in my recent Hapa-tite! Tea Swap. This is much better than the other rooibos I tried (chocolate chili), but I still find the actual rooibos leaves overpowering to the flavor. It tasted a bit watery and flat with a sweetness similar to honey coming from the rooibos leaves. I didn’t get any mint from this tea, and it would have helped.
Flavors: Dark Bittersweet, Espresso, Honey
Preparation
This tea has a very strong flavor that immediately evokes pumpkin pie and Autumn. As I sipped it more and finished the cup, it became a little too sweet and too spiced for my liking. A nice black tea, but nothing extra-ordinary.
Flavors: Cinnamon, Cloves
Preparation
The tea tastes very smooth and floral. The passion fruit lends a juicy flavor, but the green tea is a little astringent. Thanks Suzie for the sample
Flavors: Fruit Tree Flowers, Honeydew, Melon
Preparation
The smell is very creamy and smells strongly of honey. There is no chocolate taste, though on some sips the chili hits the back of the throat and lingers in an unpleasant way. Thanks for the sample Nattie, but this tea wasn’t for me.
Flavors: Cream, Honey
Preparation
Aw no, I loved this one! Funny how different teas taste different to different people – I get a really strong chocolate taste from this one. Sorry to hear I gave you a funky tea! Hope you enjoy the others (:
Thanks to Nattie I received a nice sample of this.
Clean and sweet but without being syrupy. The mint and Roobis keep the tea earthy and fresh and the chocolate adds a nice roasted and nutty deep sweetness. A really pleasant, mild tea that isn’t limited to just dessert.
Flavors: Chocolate, Cocoa, Cream, Dark Bittersweet, Earth, Espresso, Nuts, Tobacco, Vanilla
Preparation
This tea is more floral and delicate than the lychee burst. The first taste and smell is the green tea and jasmine. The end of the sip is sweet from the passion fruit. I could see this getting a little astringent if overbrewed, but I brewed it just right & it tastes great.
Preparation
I don’t usually reach for lychee teas because they can be too astringent. This one is just right. It’s pleasantly juicy and fruity without tasting artificial or floral. It is clean and the two stars (lychee and black tea) really shine through.
I would highly recommend this tea for those that have been burned by off-putting lychee flavored teas. I can’t find anything wrong with this tea and I enjoy drinking it. I love when teas that smell good have a matching taste, which this does.
Flavors: Fruit Tree Flowers, Lychee
Preparation
I’m glad that this is an organic tea from Tea Forte (Thanks Suziqzer!) I was worried because when I smelled it, it smelled very strongly of cinnamon, but thankfully once sipped it’s actually more balanced. It is a bit misleading to call it a “chai” since it is actually a caffeine-free rooibis and the only spice I really tasted was cinnamon. It was a good tea to sip, but I wouldn’t reach for it again.
Flavors: Cinnamon