Coffee and Tea LTD

’Here’s Hoping’ Teabox Round #4 – Tea #16

The black tea here is a little odd and also tastes a TINY bit like that cardboard flavored tea I don’t like (maybe that means it’s Ceylon?) but the almond sure helps. It tastes like marzipan! I think there is an almond flavoring here as well as the almond pieces. Not bad, even if the base isn’t my favorite.
Steep #1 // 1 tsp // few min after boiling // 3 min
Steep #2 // just boiled // 3 min

Thanks to carol who for my sample of this one! I have to say, this tea surprised me. When I first smelled the dry leaf, I thought, “Hmm, not much raspberry here, but I bet it’s a nice black tea.” Then I steeped it, and the raspberry scent became much more prominent. (Usually it’s the other way around!) The aroma was deep and rich; I found myself savoring it while the tea cooled. But I assumed the flavor would be mostly aromatic… And I was wrong about that, too! There’s a strong note of raspberry in this tea, very juicy and fresh, and it leaves a wonderful berry aftertaste. It also blends well with the base tea, which has a subtle cocoa note to it.

I have to say, I’m impressed! This is a fairly simple flavored tea, but it delivers on its promise.

The dry aroma was great. Lovely almond. I brewed it according to the directions on the baggie. 3-5 minutes, I chose 4 min. I found it rather astringent/bitter. The almond came through more in the aroma in the back of the mouth rather than in the taste. I see that other people recommend a 8 minute steep. I have enough for another cup so I’ll try it again.

Another sample from mj, and also, another cold brew. Is so hawt here, we are all sticky even with the AC on high. Ugh.

So the plum flavour in this is actually quite spot on, but it’s not present throughout. Some sips are plum and some are not. The tea base is nice, but nothing to write home about. There is a bit of a tart note in there as well, which is nice, because when you eat a plum, the skin is sour and the flesh is sweet and delicate. I wouldn’t say it is WOW, but it is ok, just an interesting tea to try a couple times, but not a restock imo.

I cold brewed this and WOW! It was so good! I followed mj1851 ’s advice of adding a lot more leaf than I thought was necessary and it turned out PERFECT! The raspberry flavour was a perfect complement to the base and I chugged this faster than anyone can say “yummerz”.

I can’t get over how amAzing this cup smells. The cocoa notes of the base mixed with the raspberry pieces makes it smell like a piece of high quality dark chocolate and raspberry coulis. Mmm. I don’t like chocolate and fruit together, but this smells so rich, I’m drooling.

To my great disappointment, no cocoa notes :( BUT the raspberry flavor is very well executed. I have a hard time with raspberry flavored things, as I find it can sometimes taste like children’s medicine, but this is not that. I want to cold brew this so bad. Oooooooh raspberry iced tea! Yes!

mj1851 sent me this, thanks for making me believe in raspberry again gurl!

Another sample from mj1851 :) I love this tea! I added a bit of sugar and some milk before tasting it, just because I couldn’t do straight black this morning, so the flavours may be a bit different straight, but I’ll make another tasting note when I have it black.

I don’t know if it actually contains amaretto flavouring, or if they used a super fruity base with a bit of a malt taste plus the almond flavour, but whatever it is, it works! This is really very good. I’m usually not the one to jump on a tea containing nuts, although I enjoy them but I would definitely buy some of this. I wonder if I cold steeped it and added lemon juice, would it taste like an amaretto sour? Probably not.

I’m not going to lie, I bought this mainly because snow monkey was in the name. That just sounded interesting lol. The dry leaf smells tart mainly, if the makes sense. I can’t really pin it down as one thing, the smell just makes me think this tea will taste tart. It makes me want to sneeze if I sniff too deeply. Brewed, I smell the black base mainly with an undercurrent of the tart smell. The taste is mainly the black base as well, which tastes like an english breakfast tea to me, with the fruit taste stronger than the smell would lead me to believe but still quite subtle. There is an undercurrent of juicy fruitiness to the sip, which finishes with a strong tart stone fruit flavor that reminds me of the skin of a plum rather than the flesh. This is a pleasant cup of tea and quite interesting but not something that I would crave all the time.

This tea is my favorite raspberry tea! It’s tart! It’s sweet! If you add milk, it is a delicious raspberry cream experience. I’m sipping while I’m waiting for stuffed peppers to cook. WHY SO LONG?? I’m getting hangry. This tea is helping to distract me.

I tried cold-brewing this time. This tea is just as delicious cold brewed! It could have been a bit stronger, but other than that it was one of the most delicious cold teas I have ever had. Since I am from the southern US (Florida), that’s saying something! I used 2 tsp into 500mL of cold water and then let it sit for 24 hrs in the refrigerator. It was perfect on my walk to work this morning and I will definitely make this again, but maybe with more tea. Thanks to Courtney for the cold-brewing instructions!

Coffee and Tea LTD has already lured me back since my inaugural purchase of their Black tea with almond pieces, which is so so good. In addition to the almond black, I also picked up some raspberry black tea to try. It is a gorgeous tea!! In the bag, it smells like raspberry candy and there are dried raspberries mixed in with the tea. It smells just as heavenly while brewing. Surprisingly, the raspberry flavor is not overwhelming at all! It is just smooth and lovely, especially since I added some frothed milk to my cup. I’m just as impressed by this tea as I was by the almond tea and I will definitely be purchasing some again! Great for my taste buds, not so much for my wallet hehe

So good this morning! I tend to get into tea ruts and drink the same ones over and over again, but Steeptster is inspiring me to add more variety. I’m not-so-patiently waiting for my Butiki tea order to arrive. I can’t wait to try all the teas I ordered and all the samples!!

Another review for this tea because it is truly delicious! It has such a great almond taste. It’s not like eating almonds, but more like a almond flavoring in a baked good. It reminds me of my Mom’s sugar cookies :-) (She puts almond flavoring in the cookies and the icing, in case that wasn’t obvious). With drinking H&S’s Soho blend this morning and now this, this must be favorite tea day for me!

This tea has a delicious almond flavor and it smells even better than it tastes. I really am in love with it right now! The black tea base is also great. I drink it with a bit of milk to mellow out the almond flavor. It’s a great way to start the day. I think this brand is only sold in Minneapolis and not on the web at all. But for anyone in the area, it’s worth the trip to Coffee and Tea Ltd. They have a TON of flavored black teas. This is the first one I’ve tried from there and I was completely impressed.