Marzipan Sunset from Design A Tea

Tea Information:

Leaf Type:  Rooibos (Red)

Where to Buy:  Design A Tea

Tea Description:

What’s better than an after dinner treat while watching the sun set? Maybe a almond cookie or two or three or four… But all that sugar is sure to keep you wide awake. We took naturally caffeine free Rooibos tea, mixed in a few ALMOND pieces and added NATURAL VANILLA and MARZIPAN (tastes a little like eggnog) flavorings to come up with Marzipan Sunset. A nice substitute to the German known Marzipan cookie… your pants will thank you!

Learn more about this tea here.

 

Taster’s Review:

I don’t care much for rooibos, well green rooibos I like quite well, however the traditional red rooibos, well I am just burnt out on it, and find that its difficult to get past that rooibos base flavor. So often I find anything that a tea company tries to blend with a red rooibos base just falls short for me, rarely am I impressed.

Marzipan Sunset from Design A Tea however has been one of my stead fast favorite night time and dessert teas for a long time now. It has been awhile since I have indulged in this blend but I was craving something yummy and thought maybe it was time I put an old favorite to the test.

Marzipan Sunset is filled with wonderful almond flavor that really does taste like true almond, you will find almond pieces in this blend as well, not just flavoring. Whatever flavoring they use is really quite good. You also get a lovely vanilla flavoring as well which makes the blend quite creamy. Its sweet but not too sweet. Some people even add a little extra sugar to this tea when I have introduced them to it. I prefer it without added sugar. I have added cream to this tea on occasion and it is dreamy!

I doubt I will ever fall back in love with red rooibos but Design A Tea did manage to make a solid blend here for late night sipping that does not have that intense rooibos flavor I cringe at. I don’t feel so much even that Design A Tea covered the rooibos flavor up as much as they managed to find quality flavors, and the right flavors at that to work with the rooibos instead of against it.

Brian at Design A Tea is a really nice guy too, excellent customer service and always happy to make your specific blend for you! You can have a lot of fun being your own mix master on his site!

As for this blend, its one of their Signature Blends and I always have kept it in my tea cabinet, after tonights sipping session I am assured it is one I want to continue to keep in my stash.

Maple Zabaglione from Design a Tea

Tea Information:

Leaf Type:  Black

Where to Buy:  Design a Tea

About Design a Tea:

Design a Tea brings choice to the marketplace. The simple concept of offering choices is the number one difference between Design a Tea and other artisan tea blending companies. Who doesn’t like choices in life? The feeling of creating and personalizing a product you order. We want consumers that deal with us to know they are dealing with a caring company. Caring, in that we hand package each order, and we pride ourselves on customer service. 

Learn more about designing your own tea here.

Taster’s Review:

Design a Tea has a free sample offer, which allows you to design your own tea flavor and try it out … free!  All you pay is $1 postage.  I figured I’d give it a shot.  The two flavors that I created were My Pacific Northwest Blend (Apple Hazelnut Green Tea) and this one.  When I tasted the Apple Hazelnut Tea, I felt that the flavors were a little more subtle than I would have liked.  Something that I learned as a tea artist is that the flavors need time to “cure,” and I think that the subtle flavor had a little something to do with the fact that I tried it as soon as I received it!

With this tea, I decided to hold off on it and try it at least three weeks after I received it.  Now, it’s actually closer to two months later, so I think I’m safe!

And I’m really glad I waited!  This is really a tasty combination.  The black tea is delicious.  It has a certain boldness to it without being overpowering.  It is rich and pleasant tasting.

And the flavors are good and strong this time around!  I taste the maple (yum) and the zabaglione.  It tastes creamy and sweet.

It was fun designing my own tea with Design a Tea, and I’m really thrilled with how this one turned out.  I like it so much that I may just end up getting a full-sized package of this tea.

PecaMint from Design A Tea (Also Known As PeacaMint)

Tea Type: Rooibos

Where To Buy:

Design A Tea

Product Description:

“PeacaMint” Tea – Was our 2008 Holiday Blend. A smooth mix of earthy pecan flavor with that seasonal and traditional peppermint hint, makes for a “manly, yet soft” concoction. Blended in a Rooibos base and being naturally caffeine free, this holiday blend is PERFECT for cuddling up on a sofa and watching the snow fall outside your window. Which is always better than watching it snow inside your house I guess!

Tasters Review:

I’m assuming, although I don’t know for sure, that this one did so well, they now offer it full-time!  What once started as a holiday blend – seems to have people talking year-round!  OR…at least it has ME talking about it year-round!  I LOVE THIS Flavored Rooibos!

This has some hearty peppermint on top of a decent amount of pecan and rooibos which makes for a unique combo of flavors!  If you have tried Pecan Butter and then had something pepperminty afterwards you might get the idea of this flavor, here!  It has ‘just enough…EVERYTHING” for my personal palate!  It’s refreshing – yes!  But it’s also quite fulfilling, too, like you just had a nice dessert!  The peppermint lingers long after the cup is finished.

I think this is just dandy!

Apple Hazelnut Green Tea from Design A Tea

Tea Information:

Leaf Type:  Green

Where to Buy:  Design A Tea

About Design A Tea:

Design a Tea brings choice to the marketplace. The simple concept of offering choices is the number one difference between Design a Tea and other artisan tea blending companies. Who doesn’t like choices in life? The feeling of creating and personalizing a product you order. We want consumers that deal with us to know they are dealing with a caring company. Caring, in that we hand package each order, and we pride ourselves on customer service. It doesn’t stop there.

Design a Tea even cares about the environmental issues around us. We use recycled paper products, labels, even environmentally friendly inks. We make every attempt to purchase from Tea Wholesalers that support Ethical Tea Partnerships (ETP) with the growers. We try and purchase organically grown teas when possible. All our flavorings are 100% from natural, organic and gluten free!!

Taster’s Review:

I’ve tried several of Design A Tea’s signature blends, but, I had not, until now, designed a tea for myself.  And since they make it so easy to do so (it costs just $1.00 for shipping to create 2 of your own samples!) I decided to finally go for it.

This is the first of the two teas I created for myself – a green tea flavored with apple and hazelnut flavors.  My “Pacific Northwest” blend.  And it’s really yummy!

The apple flavor is reminiscent of a green apple, it’s a little tart and has a juicy, sweet apple-y flavor.  The hazelnut is a bit more subtle, although I suspect I should have allowed the flavoring to settle onto the leaves a little longer than I did – I was just so excited to try it out!  With my next sample, I think I’ll wait at least a couple of weeks before I try it, so that the flavors have a chance to absorb.

But as it is, the tea is quite delicious.  The green tea tastes light, and there isn’t a strong grassy taste.  Instead, it just tastes fresh and it marries quite nicely with the green apple flavor.

If you’ve not yet tried designing your own tea with Design A Tea … well, all I have to say to that is:  What are you waiting for?  It’s affordable and fun … and who knows, you might just discover a phenomenal new flavor combination!

 

Coconut Pineapple Black Tea from Design a Tea

Tea Information:

Leaf Type:  Black

Where to Buy:  Design a Tea

Company Description:

Design a Tea brings choice to the marketplace. The simple concept of offering choices is the number one difference between Design a Tea and other artisan tea blending companies. Who doesn’t like choices in life? The feeling of creating and personalizing a product you order. We want consumers that deal with us to know they are dealing with a caring company. Caring, in that we hand package each order, and we pride ourselves on customer service. It doesn’t stop there.

Design a Tea even cares about the environmental issues around us. We use recycled paper products, labels, even environmentally friendly inks. We make every attempt to purchase from Fair Trade teas from international growers and suppliers and use only organically grown teas and ingredients when possible with all natural flavorings!!

Taster’s Review:

This is not one of Design a Tea’s signature blends, it is one that you can custom “design” (if you wish) – simply visit their Design a Tea page on their website and select “black tea” as your base, and then choose “coconut” and “pineapple” as your two flavorings… and you will have the same tea that sits before me now.

The black tea base (a delicious blend of black teas from Sri Lanka) is a pleasant one – it is brisk and holds its own with the flavorings.  It is strong enough to not be overpowered by the flavor, while still being mild enough to not overwhelm the cup.

The coconut and pineapple are sweet and deliciously tropical.   Having tried a few teas from Design a Tea and not being disappointed by any of them, it is clear that the flavorings that are used at Design a Tea are of the highest quality.  They do not taste fake or chemical-y.  They taste very authentic.

Design a Tea is a wonderful company that not only offers you the unique service of designing your own tea blend; their customer service is commendable as well.  Two thumbs up!