American Tea Room

Wow this is really good! So pleasantly surprised. I don’t think I’ve ever liked an apricot black tea before. I will admit that the black tea is totally overshadowed by the saffron and apricot, but I’m actually okay with that. The bright fruitiness is really delicious. I’m going to have to nab more of this when I get home and can make iced tea. (Dorm room without fridge is not conducive to the iced tea making- alas, because it’s really hot right now in VT. I didn’t even know it got hot in VT, but I digress.)

Thanks Doulton for this tea sample.

I too liked the name and simply had to try it and I found it to be very yummy. I would say it is smooth in that the blend was well-balanced but not at all creamy. It feels high-brow and complex, rich and sophisticated as I suppose Notting Hill must be. :-). I am enjoying this cup and am glad for the opportunity to taste it.

What a perfect summer tea! I usually enjoy melon teas when paired with a white tea base but the green tea base almost seemed to add some authenticity to the melon flavor. I may have to buy a larger quanity of this to enjoy all summer long. Or wait, I need to drink through some tea first. :/

Still a fav…in large part due to it’s simplicity and excellent tea base.

The tea base on this one is worth the price on the admission and very S-M-O-O-T-H! It is obviously a good quality black tea and you don’t find that all the time. The black tea base pairs nicely with the apricot flavor and the saffron. I stock this one in my cupboard and it is not one that I will likely EVER allow myself to run out of.

Backlogging – I had this tea as a cold-brewed iced tea and I think it might have lost something. It tasted fine but mostly just tasted like a peach tea. No saffron flavor, not much black tea flavor. I probably need to try it hot to compare.

Naturally sweet, slightly malty with the lingering freshness of mint without a strong mint taste.

This is my last cup of this one and honestly, that’s ok. I bought a big bag of this and I’ve kind of gotten sick of it. I think it’s really good, but I need a change. Thankfully, I have two other chocolate teas on the way! I’m sure I’ll turn around and miss this one after it’s gone.

Another excellent cup of pre-snow-storm tea.

I’ve decided the right proportions on this are:
3 tsp/11 oz steeped for 5 min.

And you definitely need some sweetener if you want it to taste like hot chocolate.

Last weekend I had a craving for chocolate. I searched the tea drawer in vain not believing that I didn’t already own a chocolate tea… not that I ever remember ordering one. So, Monday morning I did A LOT of research into the best non-caffeinated chocolate teas out there and decided that this one must be it. I placed an order Monday morning and it arrived at my PO box on Weds morning!

On to the tea… everything about this tea is amazing and exactly what I wanted in a chocolaty dessert tea. The smell in the bag was like I’d opened up a tin of hot cocoa mix. The rooibos is mixed with large chunky bits of cacao husks and is quite interesting to look at. You rooibos haters stay with me. I didn’t taste any rooibos in this tea. I tasted a thin hot cocoa. I say thin because it’s tea… not a comment on flavor. The chocolate was nice and deep. The whole house smelled like hot cocoa. I think if I’d added some soy creamer to it, it would have had a thicker mouth feel, but it didn’t need it. This tea only held up for one steeping, but that is generally what I expect from Rooibos, so I was not disappointed. If you want chocolate, and nothing else, this is your tea.

I love hot cocoa and never drink it because I can’t take those kind of calories on a daily basis… so usually the hot cocoa comes out for the first snowstorm of the season. Now, I’ll bring out the Choco*late (and a lot more often than the cocoa came out of the pantry).

If you think it sounds like I am in love, you might just be right. ❤ I think this is the first 100 I’ve given out. It’ll be interesting to see if that opinion holds over a few cups.

Sweetened with a bit of agave nectar. 2 heaping tsp to 12 oz.

This is my last cup of this sample and as I stood in the kitchen singing a little song about it, I realized that I probably should have ordered some of this when I restocked the Choco*Late. Any tea that makes you sing songs about it while its brewing deserve to be bought again.

Nom!

This tea is so nice that I decided to reduce my coffee allotment for today just so I could drink this. Like Doulton, I was sad when I reached the end of the cup yesterday. I kept thinking about it for an hour or so… wanting more. It’s only 10 am here and this is actually a nice breakfasty tea.

Wow. This tea is great.

I bought a sample of this tea after reading others saying it was not exactly the same as SpecialTeas Almond Cookie. I didn’t like that tea and didn’t think it had much flavor, except bitterness. It looks the same in the pics, so I wouldn’t have ordered this if I hadn’t read the reviews.

This tea has lots of flavor. It tastes like fresh challah bread with raisins with a touch of cinnamon. Amazing. I don’t know how they do that! I don’t like many flavored black teas because I feel like they just taste like black tea. The flavors really come through in this tea.

The smell in the bag is just as great. Bready, raisiny.

The shipping on this tea was amazingly fast. I ordered this and Choco*Late on Monday morning (after having some intense chocolate cravings on Sunday). Package arrived today (Weds).

Not my personal cuppa, but worth a try, especially since ATR has samples. Definitely very interesting. I finished off my sample (each teaspoon steeped twice), but I wouldn’t buy this for myself.

I thought I just didn’t like chocolate teas/herbals because I’d never had one I liked, but this changed my mind. Bold, balanced, beautiful.

The tea smells exactly like a pastry or scone with raisins and almonds. I like the idea of these sweet foods, but maybe not in my tea. It doesn’t provide a superb taste.. Maybe a little bit too much raisin? Too much of the “bready” tone? I think this would be fantastic if you like the idea of drinking a breakfast pastry.

I’m increasing the rating on this one a little bit. It’s not the BEST green tea that I’ve ever had, but I do like vanilla & I think that this tea has a nice vanilla flavor. The green tea base isn’t bad, but it has some notes that I’m not fond of.. sometimes it’s a little bit fishy, a little bit like ocean water & a little bit grassy. These notes weave themselves throughout the cup, so they do not dominate, but pop in and out every so often. The vanilla is quite strong, not so much creamy, but more “natural” tasting. It reminds me quite a bit of vanilla extract. I should also mention that it leaves a very strong, almost unpleasant sensation that lingers in the back of your throat — sort of like what mint does.

I’m still not loving this tea enough to buy it by the ton, but it’s something that I might consider popping into my shopping basket in a future order. *I can’t seem to remember who sent me more of this in a swap — I haven’t been able to get to my message inbox to track down previous swaps… but thank you to the person who sent this to me!

So lately I’ve been so thankful for sample sizes… Not that the tea I’ve had is bad, but I like trying things before spending money on full-sized mysteries. I was excited about this kind because it had vanilla in it.. And you know how I like my vanilla tea. First steep was pretty darn good. This was a mix of green tea and vanilla pieces. The actual sweetness comes in the swallow of the tea. It was really powerful in the after taste.. So much I said, “wow!” while standing alone in my kitchen. The tea is quite good, but not consistent. I don’t think I’ll be buying this one again.

When I ordered from the American Tea Room, they were kind enough to include a couple samples that I have been dying to try. Since I am really craving an oolong tea today I decided to try the Bao Zhong Royale Oolong. According to their website, this is a lightly fermented oolong which normally means there is a vegetal taste. Now this is great for folks who like green tea but personally I prefer to get my vegetables in other forms.

This is a unique looking oolong in that the leaves look like they have been carefully folded lengthwise. Apparently during processing, the leaves are wrapped into paper to protect them. It has a delightful aroma of jasmine, lilac and amber.

I set up my teamaker using a temperature setting of 200 degrees. According to the instructions on the package, the steep time should be seven minutes but I have never steeped an oolong over 3 minutes for a first steep so I did cut that back. Especially as I tend to resteep oolongs at least a couple times.

This tea brews up a very pale clear gold and the aroma is to die for. When I close my eyes and just take in the scents, I feel as though I am in a garden with jasmine, orchids, and lilacs. I have to admit that it has always amazed me the aromas that a pure tea can give off and I am sure that my husband thinks that I am really loosing it as I am wandering around the house sniffing my tea rather than drinking it.

But I really have to actually taste the tea to give it a fair rating and I have to say that the taste does not disappoint. It has a creamy texture with that slight oiliness on the tongue that you get from the best oolongs. The taste is naturally sweet and you can taste the flowers. I am also able to pick up hints of plums and fresh coconut. There is a slight dryness at the end of each sip that has you reaching for more along with a lingering aftertaste of jasmine.

The aroma when I opened my sample about knocked me over. With the scents of almond and cinnamon wafting up, I was taken back to the time I spent in Paris wandering thru the little bakeries picking up pastries for breakfast. The blurb that American Tea Room has up about this tea is right on the mark. Visually this is also a very pleasing tea with the black tea leaves being mixed with almond slices and the scarlet of safflower blossoms.

I set up my first cup to brew in my Zarafina Tea-maker set on a medium black setting using 1 teaspoon of leaves. Once brewed the aroma of the almonds and cinnamon persist though they are lighter. I tried my first cup with just a touch of rock sugar and I have to admit that I was disappointed. The tea itself was very smooth but the cinnamon left a bitter aftertaste. Just not my cup of tea.

I am really glad that American Tea Room sends large enough samples that I could play around. For my second cup I used the same settings for brewing but once brewed I added a touch of creamer to go with the rock sugar. Oh my goodness, what a difference. My Brioche tea turned into the perfect desert tea. It was just like eating a cinnamon roll without all the calories. I also tried it with vanilla soy milk and I have to say that I am hooked. This tea is going on my list of order from American Tea Room.