Secret Weapon

I bought this a while ago as part of David’s 2 for 5 deal. I was buying another tea I really wanted and this was just a careless decision because I wanted the deal, I think I must not have liked any of the other teas offered.

I have been putting off trying this because the ingredients list does not intrigue me. It seems like a random combination of flavours just thrown together with no thought. But I read some reviews and one said that it was really nutty, and I like nutty teas. So I finally gave it a try today and that review was right, it is very nutty! I wouldn’t say it tastes like almond even though that is the only nut in there, its just a general nutty flavour. There’s other flavours in there that I can’t quite pinpoint. Citrus, VERY faint cocoa, and chamomile, even though there is no chamomile. I do not taste licorice, which is good because I didn’t think it would go well with the other flavours.

I was pleasantly surprised by this tea. I wasn’t expecting much. In fact, I was expecting to not like it at all, but it was delicious!

Day 17 of my advent calendar

I recently reviewed this tea as i got as a sample in a recent order.

Nice surprise t see it in the box, it’s bringing back memories of chocolate cake i feel all warm and fuzzy!

See previous notes…

So woke up today felt a little under the weather…phlegm and sinus uncomfortably as well as a slight feeling of something in my lung so I’m finally drinking a wellness white tea using my Breville one touch tea maker…I want to make babies with it…anyways…I digress.

I’ve always been scared of wellness teas but DT does good flavour in a wellness tea so it doesn’t take like dirt or worse. Also I can mix them with good results.

Dry it smells nice,sort of nutty with a light touch of something creamy and sweet. I smell cocoa and a tinge of berry. Smells great for a wellness tea.

As for taste it is warming and nutty with a little creaminess. Doesn’t taste like a traditional wellness tea but is frankly not much to write home about but I’m drinking it for the effect not the flavour. I will hold off a number rating until I can tell if it helps. I do like the warming sensation but I almost feel like mint should have been involved in some way. I’ll rate on flavor but if I get miraculously better you’ll see my number change and it will become a staple.

Let’s hope this helps since I’m back at work.

Once brewed it smells nutty,rich and a lovely base of white bai mu dan tea.

Opening this tea, right away you’re awarded with an almond scent freshly sweetened with the goji berries, not too strong, but enough to get your mouth watering.

The scent while steeping is even better, as it releases the toasted accents and mixes with the almonds, you are left with a lightly buttery smell.

And you really taste every fine detail in the resulting brew. Lightly toasted and buttery almonds and cocoa nibs sweetened with the goji berries really give you a unique and flavorful experience. You can barely make out the licorice and white tea underneath, but it gives for a subtle after taste.

I would think, if slightly sweetened with rock sugar, this would amount to a greatly delicious secret weapon.

I still have the tiny tin of this from the advent calendar. I had tried this before, but I guess I didn’t write a note. So on to the tea:
This was a good chocolate-y almond taste. Slightly sweet, but mostly a darker chocolate taste.
I like that the licorice is subtle but I can still feel it coating my throat a little.
2nd steep: boiling, 5 min, the almond is still there, and I can taste the goji more, but less of the chocolate.

Got this from a friend of mine who received samples of it and Exotica and didn’t like the smell. I liked the smell of both of them! Plus I just like tea swaps. But I digress.

This is nice, no more, no less. It’s got a light body and a pleasant nuttiness once you get down in the cup a little bit. I’m still not good at tasting white tea, so I don’t know if it’s evident or hidden in this blend. I enjoyed eating the little swelled-up goji berries (I usually keep a stock of dried ones around and like them anyway) from the spent leaves. I liked it enough, but I wouldn’t fork over money for it.

I should probably have learned from the time I only wore a hoodie while waiting forever in a line for a concert on a January night about 8 years ago. I had a sinus infection that was so bad I missed school for 2 weeks. Needless to say I woke up all sniffly today and haven’t felt good all day (though that’s not entirely related…)

So this came as a sample in my order and I figured I would give it a try. It’s very very almondy. It’s almost too much because it tastes like nothing but almond. There were plenty of orange pieces and goji berries in there so maybe I just need to let it cool a bit more. It’s kind of weirding me out to drink liquid almond.

Probably wouldn’t ever buy it, but interesting to try.

David’s sent this as a sample with my order. I love free samples! Sadly, however, I do not love this tea. I would never have ordered it because it contains two things I don’t like – licorice and almonds. But! It was free, so I had to try it. I had a hard time figuring out how much to actually use in my cup – the tea is about 50% sliced almonds, and they don’t fit in my teaspoon. I ended up adding extra because there was so much air in my scoops.

It’s sort of good/bad for me with the taste. On one hand, I can’t find any licorice at all, not even in the aroma. On the other hand? So. much. almond. If there are other flavors I can’t find them. I do smell something chocolatey, but I can’t taste it.

Without additions the taste is bitter almond. Again, to be fair I always think almonds are a bitter. I added a tiny bit of sweetener, which thankfully took away the bitterness. It was still almond though, but I drank the entire cup anyway! The tea coated my mouth and left a strange taste behind.

But I bet if I liked almonds this would be awesome. So if you like almonds? You should probably try this tea. Me, I’ll refrain from a rating, since I wouldn’t have bought this on my own, and it doesn’t fit my personal tastes!

Edited to add: and… an hour after drinking this I developed hives. I do not have food allergies (and certainly not to almonds – I drink 2 cups of almond milk a day!) I think it must be the goji berries… The internet (which is never wrong, right?) says they can cause hives in people with pollen allergies… which I have. I doubt I’ve ever had them before – good to know!

WOW. I love this tea. When you smell it, it smells like rotting cardboard and almonds, if you can imagine that. Brewed, however, is an entirely different story. I’m not sure how to describe it – The cocoa really comes through with a bit of citrus. It’s just so good! Give it a chance and don’t let the scent fool you.

Mann… I did not think I’d like this, in fact.. I had no intention of looking at this tea at all after looking at the ingredients.
I’m not a huge fan of white tea, I don’t like berries in my tea… and I HATE licorice.
The staff member at David’s took it off the wall and asked me to smell it before I could even protest and… Ok, hey.. that smells pretty good.. Uh, I guess I’ll get a few grams to try it..
Oh my god. Definitely a new favorite. It’s nutty, creamy and slightly fruity. It’s also thick, and not watery and weak like white tea normally is. (IMO…) I think the cocoa adds the thickness. I don’t taste the licorice, thankfully. Just a nice, nutty white tea. :)