Snowflake

Well, this one seemed appropriate to try.. with about three feet of snow in NY in as many days. Ick. Thanks for sending the sample a while back, Momo! This one smells so sweet and tastes so sweet. A lovely mix of almonds, coconut and vanilla. The black tea base is so light, it just makes the other flavors sweeter. I think its a bit odd that the almonds and coconut are the same color. Less white than almonds and coconut usually are in other teas, which seems odd for something called ‘Snowflake’. Well, maybe it’s dirty snow. ha ha. I think the flavor is more almond than coconut. I think I’ve had a similar tea to this once, just can’t remember what it was. I like it! Definitely dessert like! I imagine an almond sugar cookie in the shape of a snowflake with white frosting and white sparkling sprinkles. Is it spring yet? At least winter is good for tea drinking… like I need an excuse. Sipdown!

I’m so excited to be trying this tea, another goodie from TeaEqualsBliss! It smells so awesome! Like a coconut macaroon covered in icing. So yeah, awesome. Brewed it’s like fresh macaroons. So yeah, still awesome.

The taste? Well, that’s pretty awesome, too. It tastes like the much loved Almond Cookie, but minus the cinnamon and plus a dash of coconut (so almond and bake-y plus coconut). I imagine this is pretty freakin’ tasty with some sugar and milk, too, but it totally doesn’t need it. It’s dessert in a cup already. Awesome dessert.

Yeah, totally gonna have to order some of this. In case you haven’t guessed, it’s pretty awesome. Thanks TeaEqualsBliss!

It’s that time again. Sample Cleanup. It started with Prince Vladimir, and will continue with St. Petersburg, but I took a break and used up the rest of this sample first. I still REALLY like it. I’ll have to look into putting an order in with GTC. There seems to be a lot of good things said about them, and this is just a really delcious, deserty, sweet coconut tea. Vanilla, coconut, almond, leaves a sweet aftertaste on the tip of my tongue. Mmm.

Removing it from my cupboard and adding it to my shopping list.

I am going to be bouncing off the walls after I finish drinking this one. I am way over my caffeine allotment for the day, but I couldn’t help it. Daniel from Georgia Tea Company sent me some samples to try and they arrived in the mailbox today. I just HAD to try this one immediately. And… I love it.

I don’t tend to drink a lot of flavored blacks because the black tea tends to overwhelm the flavor (and the other reason is the caffeine). This tea is balanced, the flavors are strong, and there is no bitterness. The vanilla and almond are rounded out by the coconut. It definitely reminds me of cookies. I don’t think this sample will last long. And, I can see why this tea is listed as ‘a Christmas favorite’. It has that sitting by the fireplace, watching it snow out the window, & drinking tea, quality.

Almost 2 tsp to 10+oz water. Steeped for only 3ish minutes because I was worried the black would go bitter. Sweetened with Agave Nectar.

Big thanks to my tea twin Amanda for sending me some of this to try!

I really love the combination of coconut, almond, and vanilla. This is a tea that I feel has a lot more potential then what I gave it. (Just a normal steep with sugar). I am for sure going to have to make it again and add a splash of cream (or almond milk in my lactose intolerant case) I am really interested in finding out what that would taste iced as well. Iced snowflake late anyone? Sounds good to me!

Will post a note when I try that experiment. For now, a generally good dessert black coconutty almondy tea.

Steep Information:
Amount: ~2 heaping teaspoons
Water: 16 oz filtered, boiling
Tool: Adagio IngenuiTEA 16 oz
Steep Time: 3 minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: sweet, almond, coconut
Steeped Tea Smell: sweet, nutty
Flavor: sweet black tea, almond, coconut, almond joy!
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: almond, bitter, astringent
Liquor: opaque dark cloudy brown

I won these teas in a contest that was run by Dan on Steepster that was great fun, and got me tea prizes!

I find the labels on the tea samples to be perfect, they include the company name, tea name, tea type, and steeping directions. I have been informed that the samples that you buy on the web site, or any teas purchased on the site, will come in food safe, plastic lined, kraft bags which keep light out and keep the tea fresh for about 4-5 months. Tea is best stored in tins which are not clear and air tight, since light activates the steeping process and moisture as well. The sample bags I received were about 2-3 cups each, where purchased samples are larger.

Delicious candy like tea, but not so perfect as to get 4 leaves, but if you are an almond joy fan I recommend this strongly.

Images: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/08/georgia-tea-company-loose-leaf-black.html

Thank you to TeaEqualsBliss for sending me a sample of this tea!

The aroma of the liquor is delicious – coconut and vanilla! My mouth waters as I smell it.

The almond, coconut and vanilla flavors are very nicely balanced in this cup. The black tea base is smooth and strong with some astringency. There is a little bit of bitterness to it as well, but it does not disturb the sweet flavors that are going on with this tea, and might even give it just a little more interest.

Overall, a very pleasing cup of tea.

This tea was very good! Thanks to Dinosara for the sample! This tea tastes almost exactly like the Green Almond Cookie tea that I have. The only noticeable difference is that the green almond cookie is a green tea and this is a black. It tastes very almondy and warm! I really like it. This is a very sweet tea and is a perfect afternoon tea. I generally bring a t-sak of this to lunch no Tuesdays and Thursdays when I have class all day. I then steep it while I eat my hurried lunch at take the tea to my Asian History class. This tea definitely makes that class more enjoyable, even though I already love it!

Hmmm..I don’t know why I didn’t write a tasting note when I’ve had this previously. Whatever!

I love this. I actually didn’t even order it, but Daniel included it in all my other teas which is awesome but I’m sure it’s part of some sort of addicted to his teas plan or something.

It reminds me so much of the almond crescent cookies that my mom makes for Christmas. And because I am in fear I don’t get to have them since I’m going on vacation on Christmas, I turned to this tea. I probably don’t have to worry since I have to go visit beforehand but still…excuses to drink this.

To me this tastes just like a cookie. It even smells like they’re baking while it’s steeping. You could really ruin someone’s day with that (then make it all up with a cup). It’s like I know the coconut is there but I think it works so well with the vanilla it reminds me just of sugar.

I love this. I am so getting more once the sample bag is done.

This is very yummy! The scent, when steeping, is almost like a cake. I LOVE teas that smell and taste like cake.. and this is the first one that gives off that scent. Sipping: I really am liking the almond and coconut flavor combination. I can’t say that I can separate and identify which is which, but they’re delicious together. I’m tempted to see what milk would do to this.. if any addition would make it more rich. At this moment, though, I don’t think I can spoil a good cup of tea like this. Thank you Brandy3392 for sharing!