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Drank this again iced and decided that it is a pretty tasty black iced tea. The thing that would keep me from buying a ton of it for summer iced tea is the size of the tea leaves. The tea leaves are like coffee grounds. I had to pour it through my metal filter 2x and still had a significant amount of leaves floating around.

Upton Tea sent a sample of this with my latest order with a note saying it would be good for iced tea. I threw it in a drawer to wait for a day when it was actually above 50 degrees, when I’d want iced tea. Well, it was 55 yesterday so I threw it in a pitcher with some cold water and left it in the fridge for 24 hours to cold brew it as indicated in the directions on the sample.

It’s pretty good. More interesting and more complex than a tetley iced tea bag. Not bitter. It’s got a bit of astringency to it, but not too much. Overall, I like it but I’m not sure I’ll order it.

This tea tastes pretty much like a plain rooibos with the essence of something fruity in the background scent. Not much flavor at all. Such a shame. I was so excited when I saw that Lisbet had included a sample of this in her package to me. I really wanted it to be full of raspberry and strawberry flavor, but not so much.

This is my 3rd free loose tea sample (our of 3) from Tea Forte and I think it is my favorite of the 3 so far. It definitely tastes of mango and there is some minty coolness to it too. The smell is peachy. I do wish it were a little stronger as it is on the edge of being bland. It’s ok though.

Link to full review and pics:
http://parkcityvegan.blogspot.com/2010/04/tea-fortes-kati-loose-tea-system-and.html

This was a free sample of loose Earl Grey from Tea Forte. I don’t think I can give this a rating because I really hate Earl Grey tea. I did try a few swallows of this because I am supposed to review it, but I can’t tell you if it is a good Earl Grey or not.

The loose tea leaves smelled like a old man’s cologne. Once brewed it tasted very bitter and actually tasted like someone poured cologne in my tea. I really really don’t like Earl Grey. I had to rinse my mouth out and I can still taste it. Caveat – this is what all Earl Grey’s taste like to me.

I really appreciate the sample from Tea Forte so that I could try it but it’s definitely not my thing.

Link to full review and pics:
http://parkcityvegan.blogspot.com/2010/04/tea-fortes-kati-loose-tea-system-and.html

I had a really frustrating day and needed a tried and true go-to tea. I went to make tea and grabbed this. Then I started thinking about how much I am drinking this tea lately and it made me realize that I need to up my rating. I mean seriously, I am drinking this all the time. It is definitely one of my favorites in the tea drawer at the moment. It has grown on me.

Tea Forte sent me a few free samples (including this one) along with their Kati brewing system to review. The samples are designed to be the exact right size for the 12 oz brewing system. Just open the packet and dump the tea into the filter.

I think really nice. It tastes a lot like a Celestial Seasonings Sleepytime tea… but much much better. It’s minty. The minty flavor leaves a nice cooling feeling in the mouth. It also has chamomile and lemongrass flavors. I kind of wish I’d saved this one for my evening cup instead of mid-afternoon. It’s so nice and calming that I might just fall asleep while working!

As for the brewing system (http://www.teaforte.com/store/tea-accessories/other/kati-loose-tea-system/), it is a ceramic double-walled mug without a handle. It has a very fine mesh loose tea strainer and a brewing lid. I really like the Kati. It did not get overly warm for me as AmazonV’s did. That could be due to the difference in our brewing temp. Since I am at high altitude, my brewing temp is somewhere between 198-199. My mug just got nicely warm on the outside. Just warm enough to wrap my hands around and warm them (it’s snowing here and a bit cold).

One thing I didn’t like about this particular sample with the brewing system is the amount of leaves that got through the filter. I think other types of tea will work in it very well, but the herbal left cruft. I am a big hater of tea cruft and will usually use a paper filter for teas that are very fine. Since the system is designed for newbies to the loose tea scene, I think this will be a concern for them too. I can’t wait to try my rooibos tea in this cup because I think the strainer is fine enough to catch the rooibos.

Update – all the fine leaves settled to the bottom of the cup after a few minutes so the cruft wasn’t so bothersome after all.

Link to full review and pics:
http://parkcityvegan.blogspot.com/2010/04/tea-fortes-kati-loose-tea-system-and.html

I don’t think I’ve ever had rhubarb so I can’t really tell you if this tastes like rhubarb. But, if you gave me this tea without telling me what it was and asked me to name it, I’d name it “Peaches and Cream”… maybe I’d even go as far as to name it “Peach Cobbler”. Yep, that’s what I getting out of it. Peaches. It’s good though. It has a nice flavor and the rooibos flavor doesn’t take over.

Update – I forgot to mention that this was a sample sent to me by my friend Lisbet! Thanks Liz!