Brioche Free

This is not really a tasting note because I opened this up, took one whiff, and realized this is American Tea Room’s version of Forever Nuts. Does anyone want this because I won’t be drinking it. At least it was a free sample that came with my order.

When I heard that there would be a caffeine-free version of the Brioche tea, I became very excited! I have enjoyed the original and knew that I would like the ability to drink it in the evening. For some reason, I thought that it would be a caffeine-free black tea brioche blend, so I was surprised to see that it’s completely herbal. The dry blend smells identical to DavidsTeas’ Forever Nuts.

It looks like they have the same ingredients: apple pieces, beetroot, almonds and cinnamon… perhaps in different amounts. Darn, I feel like I know what this is going to taste like even before sipping. Still, I am very much a fan of Forever Nuts, but can’t buy it regularly as I need quite a bit of the blend to make a tasty cup… and simply don’t find it to be a good value. That being said, it looks like this version from American Tea Room is slightly.. and I mean ever-so-slightly cheaper.

I used about two teaspoons for an 8 oz cup.. which makes the whole sample good for about two cups of tea. Sipping… yep. It’s Forever Nuts, though perhaps not as tart and with a better aftertaste. Sweet, a tiny bit tart, with nice touch of cinnamon. Yummy! I definitely prefer this blend to Forever Nuts. I can see myself adding a pouch of this to my next order if I can get beyond the large (and therefore pricey) amount of blend I have to use for each cup.

Thanks to ATR for the generously sized free sample!

Smells great (unsurprising given its predecessor!) but alas, has apple and that hot pink hue beetroot-nut-and-apple blends often have that tells me what I’m in for is likely not going to be my thing. (There’s a Joy’s Teaspoon blend that psyched me out by smelling divine and then being tart, with this exact same color; I believe David’s has one too…Forever Nuts IIRC. It’s funny how certain tea blend components are always found together.) If you don’t mind apple tartness in tea (I almost always do), this is a nicely done version of that aforementioned blend type. It’s not much like Brioche except a bit in the smell (it’s got a nuttier aroma though) so I wouldn’t recommend ordering it expecting anything like that; if on the other hand you’ve had those David’s Forever Nuts type teas before and like them, it could be a winner. Since apple is really not my thing, and this general blend type which I’ve tried 3 or so times from different companies never works for me (usually sent as free samples; I know not to pick it myself usually), I’ll pass. But again, as these things go it’s a well done version.

This was a free sample in my order with American Tea Room. I picked up a bag of Brioche with that order and absolutely fell in love so I was eager to compare. If I don’t compare this tea with Brioche, I like it. It’s very similar to Teavana’s Caramel Almond Amaretti in ingredients, but the flavor is smoother.

If I compare this to Brioche, Brioche wins hands down each time. This blend misses the flaky pastry taste of the original, which is a huge reason why I fell in love with it.

Again i turn to my brioche free, after adventuretime based melancholy. Sugar and milk will help, too. Oh, Simon!!

Similar to, but a little better than Capital Teas Roasted Almond, mostly because it lacks the sweet-ish aftertaste. I haven’t had the black tea version yet but can imagine the tannins would help it out quite a bit. Perhaps they should consider making a decaf black version? Verdict: meh+.

Yet another sipdown. It feels like all the tea I have at this point is either pounds or tiny little bits. Luckily the tiny little bits are easy to use up!

This one is so good. I’m picky about herbals but I’ll almost always drink this one. It’s like a liquid cinnamon roll, which is pretty much the best idea ever. I can’t help it—I love tea-as-dessert all day, every day. For whatever reason the Breville made this a little weaker than I usually do, but it’s still rich and sweet. I’ll definitely consider buying this one again, but because so many companies have a tea like this (DAVIDsTEA Forever Nuts and Benjamin Tea Roasted Almond come to mind) I may get someone else’s variation.

This was a free sample with my American Tea Room order. It isn’t something I would have chosen as brioche tea just doesn’t sound very good and I don’t often drink herbal tea anyway. I did like it though. It is lightly sweet and tastes like cinnamon french toast. I’d be interested in trying the black tea version.

Pass the Stash TTB #2

This is delightful! The smell is incredible and the flavor is fantastic. I suppose it’s supposed to be nutty. I have no idea what this smells like to me, but I love it. It’s just so… different and delicious. I like. Very like. Wow. I keep this. :)

I got a sample of this one for free with my recent order of the original Brioche. I’m not going to rate this because I generally do not like this type of herbal, where it’s just a bunch of “flavorings” added to some chunks of nuts and or dried fruit that do not apart any flavoring of their own. (A la David’s Forever Nuts) Slap this flavoring onto some high quality decaf black tea, and we’ll talk ;)