Tea Forte

This one is pretty good. The mint is strong enough that my sinuses are a little happier as the trees are trying to kill me with their pollen. The citrus comes through almost as if I had added lemon to the mint tea. There is a grassy flavor to the tea as well. It is not a favorite but it is something I would take again.

I enjoyed this one quite a bit. It was just sweet enough for me without any add ins. The strawberry definitely stood out.

Someone in town gave me an advent calendar from last year that they never used. Checked the expiration date and it’s still “good” for 2 more years but I decided to use it today. I started with No. 1 after dinner. While I get the nougat, I definitely don’t get the caramel. I do smell it (if I put my face in my mug) . It tastes nutty, like toasted hazelnuts or almonds.

Sipdown 35

Mehhhh. Smells vaguely like amaretto and overripe stone fruit. Tastes like generic fruit with a medicinal aftertaste. Not a fan.

Had this in a Tea Forte sampler box and really enjoyed it, so much so that I ended up buying a tin of the loose leaf. It’s like thin mints or peppermint patties in tea form! Normally I find herbal teas not to my liking (too tangy, too perfumey, etc.), so whenever I do find one I like I make sure to get it. The mint is what’s coming through primarily, with a chocolate-cocoa note as a finish. Pleasant and refreshing, especially after dinner when caffeine could be an issue.

TTB sample! I usually drink fruit teas cold, but I tried a bit of this warm and thought the candylike cherry was quite pleasant. I had the rest cold, and it got a little too tart for me, and some less wonderful flavors pushed their way in. It also seemed thinner and just all around less special.

Sipdown 77

This was not good. I’ve been generally unimpressed with the Tea Forte sampler I got.
Had a really strong synthetic caramel flavor that was not tasty at all.

I’m visiting my brother and sister-in-law and helping myself to their stash of random loose leaf tea that they never use. ;) This is a decent rooibos chai, nothing to write home about. Very cinnamon-heavy, as others have said. I can taste cinnamon, and rooibos, and maybe if I really concentrate a hint of ginger or vanilla but that could just be wishful thinking. Nice enough tisane to drink before bed.

Mastress Alita’s sipdown challenge – December Tea #1 -A pear tea

This sample was from TreeGal a while ago!  Thanks so much!  The leaves look like mostly white tea — very finely chopped white tea.  I really should have steeped this sample in two sessions, as the leaf is so small.   The scent of the dry leaf is full ripe, super sugary pear.  (Not to mention the steeped leaf has a very off-putting fragrance but it doesn’t appear to taste like that.)  It’s white tea with a nice pear flavor – always a great combination.  Since I had steeped twice, very quickly, I went for a third steep. More of the white tea peaks through, with less of the pear. I actually really like this tea, since it’s not doing that weird Bubblegum “Pear” flavor thing AT ALL (despite the age of this sample – at least a few years old by now)  but rather than anything “cobbler” the tea should be called Ripe Pear or something else…  Luckily this tea is fairly nice that the missing “cobbler” wasn’t too much of a disappointment.
Steep #1 // 35 minutes after boiling // 1 minute steep
Steep #2 // 28 minutes after boiling // 1 min
Steep #3 // 20 minutes after boiling // 2 min

2022 sipdowns:  119

Sipdown (1953)!

Look, I get why it was done. However, the inclusion of so much chamomile in this blend was an unpleasant discovery for me. It totally tainted the otherwise nice balance of floral and soothing lavender with simple, bright lemon. I hate chamomile so much. Hard, hard pass. If you’re putting that much of it in a blend you should indicate something to allude to it in the name.

Sipdown (1947)!

As someone who dislikes jasmine green tea, I liked this much more than I thought I would. Still tastes very much like a classic jasmine green in its delivery of perfume-y florals on a grassier green tea base, but the soft orange notes added a playful twist and more dimension to the cup. Not tart/acidic or even sweet, really. Kind of like that way that most people think orange blossoms should taste. A bit floral and aromatic but still like orange in a delicate way. I’d drink again if served, but wouldn’t seek this out.

Sipdown (1912)!

I feel like this is definitely on me for assuming and not checking before brewing this one up, but I really thought this was going to be a straight oolong. Something like a Four Seasons Oolong. Instead, I was surprised by the fact this is flavoured. Once I got over the initial shock I found myself enjoying this quite a bit. It’s simply flavoured; seems like just an addition of juicy sweet peach flavour. It works well with the greener oolong base which adds a layer of floral flavour and creates these lovely peaks and valleys of dimension to this mono-flavoured blend. Soothing while also being, like, lush.

I wouldn’t buy it again because it’s a little simple and not especially unique, but if you wanted a reliable and just nicely executed peach tea this would be a pretty solid option.

Sipdown (1903)!

I find the pear flavour really pleasant in this tea. It’s pretty bold but not bolder than the white tea itself, and it’s sweet lush orchard fruit flavour with a hint of creaminess and a bit of a floral undertone really compliment the natural floral character and warmth of the white tea itself. I don’t particularly taste the “vanilla” half of “vanilla pear” but the pear is the more important part anyway so I guess I’m pleased enough since that element is so well executed.

Sipdown (1883)!

This is interesting. I’m not sure I totally get the point of flavouring a Darjeeling since their inherent astringency doesn’t usually lend itself in a complimentary way to blended tea but I’m trying to be open minded about it.

There is astringency here though, especially as the tea cools. I don’t really mind it, but it feels like more than the average flavoured tea drinker would probably expect. It’s not quite quince to me, though it has that pear-like orchard fruit element. Lacking the aromatics and florals I think of as part of quince, though. Unless you count the hibiscus and the floral element, but I don’t think I do.

Overall though, I actually love the flavour direction here. It’s got a really strong “juicy fruit” vibe to it, sort of like the gum that I feel like so many of us grew up with but fruitier and less sugary/cloying. I get notes of pear, banana, and grapefruit as I drink this. It feels lush. So even though it’s not quince it’s shockingly complex yet cohesive and distinct from other fruity blacks I’ve had in recent memory. A bit sad I only had the small sample of this since Tea Forte isn’t actually terribly convenient to get here in Canada, and I would probably buy more of this if it was.

I was thinking I really enjoyed this one the last time I had it, but this cup was pretty mediocre. Not one I’ll restock, I think.