Two more from Tea Forte's Dolce Vita Collection

A couple of "dessert teas" today from Tea Forte's Dolce Vita Collection. This collection is one of Tea Forte's newer offerings of pyramid tea sachets. I was sent a set of these 6 pyramids to try and I previously reviewed the Vienna Cinnamon very favorably. I was looking forward to trying the rest of these.

I started with the Orchid Vanilla - funny since I was just bemoaning my "fruit and flower fatigue." This is a blend of black tea, Madagascar vanilla, and coconut. I never would have guessed their was coconut here. I did notice on the packaging it said "Tropical Vanilla" but I was a bit baffled by that. Now I guess I know why. The website recommends milk and sugar but I tried this one plain first. The tea bag definitely smelled of vanilla, but it was kind of an artificial smell to me, like scented candles. It smelled more like extract than real vanilla. I think that was because of the sweetness of the aroma. The tea brewed to a pretty medium brown. I didn't flip over this tea. The vanilla was definitely strong and flavorful, but it just didn't taste genuine. The flowery notes combined with the vanilla made it too heady for me. A bit of milk and sugar did mellow the flavor, but I think I preferred Mighty Leaf's Vanilla Bean.

Later in the day I opened up the Belgian Mint. This was a tisane, thus contained no actual tea. It is a combination of cacao beans and peppermint. The mint scent of the pyramid reminded me of mint dental floss. There was also an earthy note that reminded me of rosemary. The liquor was a dark honey. This tisane had a really nice flavor. The chocolate and mint came through loud and clear, but were not overdone. There was a richness and heartiness that I never would have expected from a tisane. I had to double check that there was no tea! A great brew!

Teas: Orchid Vanilla / Belgian Mint
Source: Tea Forte
Type: Scented black tea / Tisane
Brewing details: Tea sachet at 212 degrees for 4 minutes
Comment: So far I'm impressed with the Dolce Vita collection. The Vienna Cinnamon and Belgian Mint were big hits and the Orchid Vanilla was an okay cup. Great treats without the guilt!

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Taken from http://teapages.blogspot.com/