Tea Forte
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There’s nothing really remarkable about this tea – it’s just pure chamomile (sorry, but I can’t really detect the orange peel)! But sometimes a soothing, light tea is all you need. Good for bedtime, or when you are feeling sick.
Preparation
A while ago, one of the local tea shops had a little class/preview session of the Tea Forte mixology set. You get 2-3 bags of each of their mixology teabags, two little steeping containers, and a recipe book.
I couldn’t resist. Booze + Tea? YAY!!!
My favorite of the set is the silk road chai – which I use to make white Russian chai drinks. Take the chai bag, steep in vodka, then mix with simple syrup and a milk product. Tres YUM.
Since I got this set, I’ve been experimenting with making a Earl Grey white Russian (and the testing process has been lovely) using other brands of tea. You can use any teabag to infuse in the liquor. And, if you go with Tea Forte, their teabags are strong enough to infuse multiple times (their literature leads you to think otherwise).
If you do not shun liquor, this may be something interesting to try. Their set is a nice way to start, but not necessary. Cheers!
Drank this morning. Got three decent infusions from one pyramid infuser.
Added milk each time for the perfect morning tea. Even though this blend is made entirely of Assam tea leaves, I did not feel that this tea was as robust as PG Tips. But, I did enjoy it very much this morning and would consider purchasing if and when I ever place a TeaForte order. I really should put TeaForte on my Christmas wish list along with a red Cafe cup….
I really thought I already logged this one but here goes (again)
I needed something to get rid of the super tarty hibiscus from my last cuppa. This did the trick! More Minty than Citrus but that certainly fits the bill! This is fairly gentle and I like it just fine!
After some debate, I bought a Hazelnut Truffle stocking stuffer. …For myself.
http://www.teaforte.com/images/361×285/3670.jpg
It didn’t say on the package how many pyramids were in it, but for six (nearly seven) bucks, I figured it had to be three or four, since it had room for that many.
No. It was two. Two. What a rip. The same favours are only five bucks on the site, but retail shop markup’s to be expected I guess.
However, they smelled delicious. Brewed, it’s still a wonderfully strong, sweet nutty smell. Holy crap. However, after I brought the package home, I realized it included rose petals (ick). I smelt a bit of rose in the dry bag, but I’m not getting any from the brewed tea, so I can hope it all goes well. I really need to read packaging more closely.
This has a wonderfully hazelnutty taste. The nut seems to be the main flavour, although I think I get chocolate as well… I’m not sure. I ate a cookie before I started sipping, which might have thrown me off. It may just be the sweetness of the hazelnut. They need to offer this blend in a canister. I’d buy it. And it’s such a STRONG nut flavour too—most nuts added to tea blends, I find, are usually very present, but still in the background. This one is definitely at the forefront.
So I’ve established hazelnut, and possibly truffle. Luckily no sign of the rose petals.
I like the ‘favour’ style of these packages. The christmas ones are meant to be used as stocking stuffers. If there were enough flavours, I’d pick up a bunch as actual stocking stuffers for my family.
Edit: Second steep. Hazelnut flavour is still goin’ strong. Delicious tea. They really need to sell a big tin of it. I’d get it.
Preparation
My very last pyramid from my winter collection package. I really like this one too. I think of the five different flavors in the package, this and the hazelnut truffle were definitely my favorites.
You can read my full-length review of this tea here:
http://sororiteasisters.com/2010/11/10/peach-jubilee-from-tea-forte/
Preparation
This is really good. The peach flavor is strong, but so is the cinnamon. I don’t get a lot from the vanilla flavor. I can taste woodsy/nutty notes from the rooibos, but none of that funky sweet aftertaste from the rooibos (a good thing).
Really delicious.
Preparation
Full review’s now up: http://www.itsallabouttheleaf.com/1712/tea-review-tea-forte-forte-breakfast/ Having had this in a small quantity, I’ve decided now I’d like it by the pound :)
Nice review at It’s All About the Leaf!!! :)
Thank you kindly, ma’am … I’ve been really enjoying the ones fellow Steepsters have posted there. (In the interest of trying to be a fairly interesting, if unprofessional, reviewer, I try to spend a little more care on those than my usual ungrammatical stream-of-consciousness ramblings over here :)
My new acronym for Assam is A Specially Strong Awakening Morning tea. This one fits perfectly. Further review and introspection (gladly!) forthcoming for www.itsallabouttheleaf.com, but suffice it to say that as an Assam fan, this one moves toward the top of my list.
Steep Information:
Amount: 1 teabag
Water: hot spigot
Steep Time: a little over 2 minutes (and then I went to have a discussion in another cube, not sure how long)
Served: Hot
Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: cinnamon, natural barky
Steeped Tea Smell: natural cinnamon, sweet
Flavor: black tea and natural cinnamon
Body: Full
Aftertaste: barky, sweet
Liquor: translucent dark red-brown
Delicious, reminds me of Harney and Sons Hot Cinnamon Spice.
It came as part of the Tea Forte “Holiday Spice” set of 20 silken infusers black and herbal teas. I purchased it specifically for the Winter Chai. The set listed on the website includes 20 pyramid infusers with Five infusers each of: Winter Chai, Sweet Orange Spice, Ginger and Vienna Cinnamon. Apparently this box does not have Sweet Orange Spice and instead has Winter Spice.
Images: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/11/tea-forte-teabag-black-tea-vienna.html
Preparation
Review’s up at www.itsallabouttheleaf.com. Starts something like this:
Many lemon-mint based herbal blends are pretty nondescript. It can be difficult to tell where one ingredient ends and the other begins. On the other hand, the ingredient line-up for Chamomile Citron is like a bunch of feisty schoolkids competing for your attention.
Finally had the opportunity to sit down and write a thoughtful and positive review on this one for www.itsallabouttheleaf.com. Then as hubby wandered by, I stuck the cup under his nose and asked, “What do you smell?”
“Bug spray.”
Rest assured…it’s better than that!
Steep Information:
Amount: 1 silken infuser pyramid
Water: 12? ounces hot spigot water (140°F ?)
Steep Time: a little over 3 minutes (walking to my desk + steep.it)
Served: Hot
Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: cinnamon, clove
Steeped Tea Smell: cinnamon, clove, mulling spice
Flavor: mild black tea with cinnamon
Body: Light
Aftertaste: cinnamon, spice
Liquor: translucent light orange-brown
Much milder than I expected. This would not be a morning cup of wake-me-up tea.
Mellow, spicy, and makes me think of mulled apple cider. I am enjoying the cup, but not sure I would seek this itself.
Post-Steep Additives: honey stick, sweeter, and spicier
It came as part of the Tea Forte “Holiday Spice” set of 20 silken infusers black and herbal teas. I purchased it specifically for the Winter Chai. The set listed on the website includes 20 pyramid infusers with Five infusers each of: Winter Chai, Sweet Orange Spice, Ginger and Vienna Cinnamon. Apparently this box does not have Sweet Orange Spice and instead has Winter Spice.
Images: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/10/tea-forte-teabag-black-tea-winter-spice.html
Preparation
Steep Information:
Amount: 1 infuser
Water: 2oz skyy vodka, 2oz ginger ale
Steep Time: a little over 3 minutes
Served: Cold
Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: lavender, citrus, chemical
Steeped Tea Smell: lavender
Flavor: vodka, ginger ale, lavender
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: citrus
Liquor: translucent pink
After 3 minutes the flavor was weak, so put the infuser back in, while I ate dinner, then it was much stronger.
This is from the Tea Forte cocktails collection.
I like it, I don’t love it, but that may have to do with the vodka?
Very pleasant aroma.
Images: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/10/tea-forte-teabag-white-tea-lavender.html
Preparation
So very interesting. In a good way.
I was already purchasing the holiday spice set for the winter chai, and had seen these coctail infusers before, and decided to give them a try, i’m really excited to try the chai!
I can see why. I may have to check these out myself.
This smells like orange and spice and it is very nice! As for the taste…it’s more spice than orange…or should I say…at the beginning of the sip it’s spicy and the end of the sip is sweet orange. I like the ending of the sip better. I also like this tea cooled down and/or iced better…seems to make it more sweet. The more I sip this as it gets colder I like it more, yes, indeed!
I am revisiting this Earl Grey. This particular cup comes from the organics collection, and it is a bagged tea – but not the pyramid sachet for which Tea Forté is probably best known. This one was in their newer eco-bags which are unbleached, conventional style tea bags, but instead of the staple on the top of the bag, it is knotted.
Interestingly enough, I am finding this even better than my previous experiences with the Earl Grey from Tea Forté, and I’m not sure if that has anything to do with the way it is bagged, or if it has something more to do with the fact that these eco-teabags are sealed in a foil pouch versus the origami-ish, folded pyramid paper. I suspect it is the latter, because of the freshness factor.
Anyway, this is a delicious bagged Earl Grey: bold, rich and flavorful. A good level of bergamot. Enjoying this immensely.
Starting my day with Earl Grey! I really like Tea Forté’s Earl Grey, it has a very brisk and invigorating flavor. The orange with the bergamot softens the sharpness of the bergamot just a little, while enhancing it’s citrus qualities.
Delicious!
Preparation
I was just starting to consider which tea with which I’d like to start my day, when the doorbell rang… it was UPS delivering my package from Tea Forté! This is part of the winter collection from Tea Forte.
After reading the tasting notes on here about this tea, I’m a bit taken back, because I really am enjoying this.
It is really quite tasty. The flavor is sweet yet it has just enough heat from the spice to it to keep it from being too sweet. The black tea base is mild enough to not overpower the delicious orange, cinnamon and clove flavors, but it is still smooth and provides a nice backdrop to the flavors.
