Tea Forte

Steep Information:
Amount: 1 teabag
Water: 6 ounces filtered, boiling
Steep Time: a little over 5 minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: chamomile, perhaps a hint of mint if i kept sniffing at it
Steeped Tea Smell: chamomile, perhaps a hint of mint and lemon if i kept sniffing at it
Flavor: chamomile, lemon, mint
Body: Full
Aftertaste: mint and licorice
Liquor: varies! Bobbie’s cup as honey golden yellow-brown and mine was rose!

April 13 I started on a quest to find out what happened to the Chamomile Tisane for my brother-in-law, as he found he liked it while staying at a Hilton.

I found Chamomile Tisane is included in their boxed sets, and can be found online in little boxes, but you can’t get large amounts.

I said I would order some of the Chamomile Citron for him to compare against and see if it was close enough or the same, and I would drink most of the tea (hey any excuse to get tea right?).

April 14 I ordered and emailed support, they got back to me very promptly.

“Thank you for contacting Tea Forte. The Citron is a newer blend from the Tisane. It has the same chamomile but has a bolder taste, with a slight citrus flavor. I hope that it will not disappoint.”

Googling around it appears the Chamomile Tisane was “Tea Forte’s calming chamomile tisane with a delicate fruit finale. Chamomile flowers, orange peel and vanilla steep a gentle brew for relaxation after a long day.”

So the orange and vanilla were swapped for lemon and mint.

I believe he found the tea acceptable but not as good as the original blend. Sadness, as this was the first tea he really enjoyed. I do think that orange vanilla sounds luscious.

Usually I do not include both cups when i prepare multiple cups of tea, but in this case both turned out totally different colors! Quite odd.

Images: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/05/tea-forte-teabag-herbal-tea-chamomile.html

Steep Information:
Amount: 1 loose tea single steeps! just rip open the packet and dump into the strainer
Water: fill to line with boiling water
Tool: Kati
Steep Time: a little over 5 minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: lemongrass, floral, mint
Steeped Tea Smell: mint, lemongrass, floral
Flavor: sweet, lemongrass, mint
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: tingly, minty, lemongrass
Liquor: translucent reddish-yellow

The tea was a nice zippy herbal tea to sip on. You had better like lemongrass and mint as they are the predominant flavors here.

Now here is my thoughts on the Kati system’s goal – introducing bagged / pyramid tea drinkers to loose tea with minimal fuss – I think it does a great job.

I was able, with only boiling water and a timer (a clock would do) to make loose leaf tea. It’s simple – place strainer in cup, dump in packet of pre-measured leaf, add hot water to fill line, wait the designate (on the packet) number of minutes, set strainer on lid and enjoy.

My number one and only complaint is I think a handle would improve the cup. It now is 3 for 3 on being too hot to pickup after steeping herbal teas for 5 minutes with boiling kettle water.

Resteep: just as strong and tasty

>> Here is my kati loose tea system review from a loose tea drinker perspective.
http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/04/kati-review.html

>>Images of the Chamomile Citron loose tea single steeps™
http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/04/tea-forte-loose-leaf-herbal-tea.html

I think I used more leaf this time and steeped it for longer. I’m definitely getting more grass and OOLONG this time. I’m not really sure that I’ve ever gotten a “buttery” taste from oolong, so I’m not sure what it meant by that. It’s smooth, though. While it’s OOLONG, it doesn’t kick you in the teeth with it. It just sort of wraps you up in a blanket of OOLONG.

It’s good for an oolong, but I’m not much of a fan (I prefer fruit). It’s not you, it’s me! I’m sorry!

Angrboda and I were discussing oolongs this morning, so I decided to try this one. I obtained a sample of it in a (non-Steepster) tea swap.

I don’t have a lot of experience with oolongs (especially non-flavored oolongs, since my favorites have been Teavana’s jasmine and Lupicia’s mango), but this one is okay. It’s not overwhelmingly oolong, but it’s more delicate and smooth.

I’m sort of glad I bought this for the tin and the teabags ;)

Like the others, I struggled with this tasting. I’ve always enjoyed other Chocolate Mint blends so I had high hopes for this. I enjoyed all the individual flavors but it wasn’t what I expected. With Belgian in the title, I thought that it would taste like dark chocolate rather than the frosty malt taste. I like that it was caffeine free. I’ve always enjoyed the presentation of the Tea Forte pyramid bags in a shallow cup so it was a nice experience. Although I would probably pass on this as a loose tea.

Steep Information:
Amount: 1 teabag / silken pyramid infuser
Water: hot water spigot, 6-8 oz
Steep Time: a little over 5 minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: cinnamon, clove, red tea, woody
Steeped Tea Smell: cinnamon, clove, woody
Flavor: cinnamon, woody
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: spicy
Liquor: deep reddish-brown

Last year’s winter chai review http://amazonv.blogspot.com/search/label/winter%20chai

Resteep: 6 minutes or more, not as strong but drinkable.

Images: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/11/tea-forte-teabag-red-tisane-winter-chai.html

Steep Information:
Amount: 1 teabag
Additives: none
Water: 6 ounces filtered boiling
Steep Time: a little over 5 minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: cinnamon, clove, red tea, woody
Steeped Tea Smell: cinnamon, clove, MilitiaJim was getting cardamom
Flavor: cinnamon, woody
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: spicy
Liquor: deep reddish-brown

This was part of the Tea Forte Winter Collection I got as a holiday gift. This is the last flavor!

This is a nice spicy red tea (I can’t do caffeine after 6 pm). The cinnamon really dominates and you need to look for the other flavors for you to recognize their presence.

Perhaps I should have steeped it longer? I also can’t smell or taste the lemongrass. I could see it though.

Post-Steep Additives: lactose free fat free milk

Made it creamier less water and masked the rooibos woodiness (not necessarily a positive).

images: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/02/tea-forte-teabag-red-tea-winter-chai.html

Ok, so maybe the brewing circumstances weren’t optimal (my parents’ electric kettle is made of plastic which I am SURE does teas no good) and the tea is a couple of months out of date (my husband got it for me on special… he’s so cute sometimes! :) ) but seriously. This was one of the most pointless pots of tea I’ve ever made. Almost tasteless yet simultaneously slightly bitter… a hint of jasmine as it cooled… It’s a great concept but I didn’t like it at all. Shan’t bother with this one again, shall try making my own jasmine black tea instead.

Tea Forte, you are pretty but I fear you lack substance. Something below the surface, please!

Steep Information:
Amount: 1 teabag
Additives: none
Water: 6 ounces filtered boiling
Steep Time: a little over 2 minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: vanilla
Steeped Tea Smell: vanilla, sweet, coconut milk, black tea
Flavor: bitter yet sweet, vanilla
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: milky coconut, vanilla
Liquor: deep brown

This is from a sampler set I got as a gift, the “winter collection”.

This is a nice flavored black tea. The flavoring is not very powerful, but that is fine with me.

Post-Steep Additives: none

Resteep: It was a sad and weak resteep that totally lost all the smoothness and dark black tea flavor. (3 minutes) not recommended for resteeping.

The perky pyramid is back…and this time it has yielded much better results. It’s not too shabby for an herbal tea. One look at the ingredients and you will know what this tastes like. Yes, hibiscus is the 1st on the list. It’s really not too bad. The raspberry is present but in general this tastes very sour and very berry.
The color is outstanding. It’s kind of a cranberry, blood red. I love it. I steeped this in my clear glass cup and it was so cool to watch. Well, cool in a crime scene kind of way. A drizzle of red slowly seeped out of the mesh bag. It floated around and then fell to the bottom like a drop of blood. Slowly, the water turned light pink, then a tinge darker…then bloody.
Mmm, Mmm good.

Now these are some cute teabags! That little leaf at the end of the string? Too cute for words! And the mesh that the teabag is made of stays perky even after steeping. I’m not sure why that is important, but it made me smile.

The tea wasn’t that great, unfortunately. Uber-cinnamon-y and that’s about it. I never tasted the “Sweet Orange” or any of the spices. Just cinnamon. Red Hots or Fireball candy type of cinnamon. Too strong and on the verge of spicy.

But man, those teabags are cute.

Steep Information:
Amount: 1 bag
Additives: honey
Water: 6 ounces boiling
Steep Time: a little over 5 minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Smell: apple, pomegranate
Flavor: sour / citrus tart
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: apple, lemon, fruity and tart
Liquor: deep pink

i expected the honey to lessen the citrus tart, but this tea overpowered the light honey completely.

Steep Information:
Amount: 1 teabag
Additives: none
Water: 6 ounces filtered boiling
Steep Time: a little over 5 minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Smell: apple, fruity, tangy
Flavor: citrus, tangy
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: apple, tangy
Liquor: red, almost pinkish

Steep Information:
Amount: 1 teabag
Additives: none
Water: 6 ounces boiling filtered water
Steep Time: a little over 3 minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Smell: Clove – Orange, reminds me of christmas
Flavor: orange, tea, spice
Body: full
Aftertaste: woody spice
Liquor: light reddish brown

Too much spice, not enough tea. I know it says cinnamon but I tasted clove and couldn’t find the cinnamon.

Post-Steep Additives: Added sugar – also added honey (two separate brews) the sweetness in both cases brought out more of the orange, smoothed the flavor and gave a nice sweetness.

Resteep:
Weak spiced water, no tea flavor.
Not recommended

hmm same as last time, i like it but not love it

Amount: 1 bag
Additives: none
Water: 6 ounces boiling filtered
Steep Time: a little over 6 minutes
Served: Hot

Notes:
Amazonv: Added honey, had no effect but to sweeten aftertaste. It seemed like two separate flavors.
MilitiaJim: Are you kidding? The honey romped and stomped all over it.

Smell: Faintly raspberry / berry (I know there are no berries in it)
AmazonV Flavor: Citrus / sour
MilitiaJim Flavor: I am drinking sour Skittles, without the sweet center.
Body: Full
Aftertaste: Tangy berry
Liquor: dark deep red

Resteep tried for at least 15 minutes, it was too weak.

This tea was a gift and part of a pretty little Winter Collection set including a teapot. I do adore the pretty silken pyramid infusers and the cute leaf tag.

Braving this tea again today and I have to say I’m thankful I won’t have to drink it again. Tried steeping this for 1 minute this time instead of 3. While that did help with making the tea less strong, it still isn’t good to me. It is way more astringent than I care for in a tea and makes my mouth pucker. I also noticed an odd metallic bitter taste this time. Yesterday it was just flat out mega bitter, but with the shorter steep time the bitterness becomes metallic. Not something I enjoy.

I don’t like this one. Strong, bitter, extremely drying, and just not pleasant. Added sugar with no luck. Would have added milk but I have none. Drank half of my cup so I could at least have something to say about it, but this isn’t for me. Even at 3 minutes this was strong. Perhaps someone that likes teas to pound their senses will enjoy this? I may try steeping it for less with the other sample I have, but I’m gonna wait till tomorrow. I can’t handle drinking it again.

I know, I know. Chamomile makes my nose run but I’m still recovering from some chest and head crud so what does it matter. Besides, I love chamomile. I can tell this one is obviously chamomile but it is quite light and I can’t taste any of the orange peel that is in there. I wouldn’t keep this around because there are much better chamomile’s out there, but for an easy clean up infusion, this is OK.

Pleasing but not as flavorful as I remember.

Finishing up the VERY little bit I had left of this and I still think it is one of my faves Tea Forte Offers! YUM! And YES! I can taste it! YAY!!!!!

I have new teas to try – might start in with them again tomorrow…I HOPE…

I had the bagged version of this the first time I tried it and went back and noticed that I gave it a 45…see addition notes…ANYHOW…

This time I am trying this loose leaf and I must say there is a HUGE difference.

I really like this loose leaf version!

It’s flavorful and refreshing…minty and mango-E, Comforting and thirst-quenching! It says there is ginger root in it but I’m not tasting much which is fine by me but I can taste everything else and it’s yummy.

So…I’m changing this rating…it’s purely based on the loose leaf version…I’m still not thrilled about the bagged version of this…but Loose Leaf ROCKS!