Review: Tea Forte Jasmine Green Tea

Nov 10

Review: Tea Forte Jasmine Green Tea

Troy’s Teaview Snapshot

"Great package, but a little too strong on the Jasmine."

Troy’s Teaview:	5/10
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Tea Forte has made the Hospitality tea business their trade and developed a product line based on their signature "stand up" pyramid bags. I know I've ranted and raved about the evils of nylon teabags, but since I've already done so, I'll point you to that, and spare you the same here. The Teabags themselves are actually pretty firm to the touch, and vaguely resemble Nubian pyramids, e.g., very steep and very pointy. Each pyramid is topped with a stiff but flexible line, leading to a little paper leaf in place of a tag that is left to stick out of the individual paper wrapping, and lay serpentine on the surface of the package.

The folks at Tea Forte have put a lot of work into their packaging, and it shows, though I'm not a fan of excess packaging, I have to admit that the bags fit very nicely with the tea ware they also sell from their website. They sell pots, and lidded cups with holes for the "stem", as well as small square trays spaced to hold the bottom of the bag, and a dispenser for hotel displays. They even sell dessert cups for dessert teas. Although I suppose all this packaging, and branding, and other aesthetics is meaningless if the tea doesn't stand up to par.

I followed the steeping guidelines on the Tea Forte website to the letter (a cleanly designed site BTW), and was not at all impressed. It wasn't a bad tea, I do not want to give that impression, and I'm sure others would like it just fine, especially those in their target audience, but for me it struck one of my pet peeves square in the peaver (an organ only I and Lewis Black seem to have). It was soapy, or rather I'd call it soapy, which is a word for that sort of overly strong laundry detergent or fabric softener smell, and a slight, er, "fuzziness" to the flavor. Its just something that bothers me personally to no end, and is sometimes so prevalent in Dragon Ball Oolongs as to make it taste like stale cereal. Still in this case it wasn't overly strong, and you could still taste the green tea through it.

I don't know that I would, personally, recommend this particular blend from Tea Forte, but I also wouldn't reject it if served, or explicitly tell someone not to purchase it, If they found one with a slightly milder Jasmine, or a much stronger green or black tea it would balance it a bit better, but as it stands its really just OK. But I have another review coming up for a different blend from Tea Forte thats a little more positive so I wouldn't let this particular tea jade your opinion of them.

For a wide selection of Gourmet Organic Teas be sure to visit Tea Forte.