Need a substitute for my favorite tea.

April 14, 2010 7:12 AM

My favorite tea blend has been permanently discontinued. Please help me find an almost-adequate substitute. Celestial Seasonings Almond Sunset tea is gone and will stay gone, according to them. I'm trying to think of finding a substitute as a new mini-hobby, but don't want to just start buying boxes of tea at random. Ingredient list follows.

The ingredients are roasted carob, roasted barley, roasted chicory, cinnamon, orange peel, natural almond flavor with other natural flavors (contains soy lecithin and almond oil), blackberry leaves and anise seed.

posted by kestralwing to Food & Drink (16 answers total)

Have you tried the other Dessert Teas? I love me some Vanilla Hazelnut.
posted by Pax at 7:15 AM on April 14, 2010

Have you considered trying to make it yourself? I know that almost all of those ingredients are easily obtainable, and I would be that they all can be gotten. Most of them are likely available at the Frontier Herbs bulk bins at your local coop.

I know this is my predilection, and it may not be yours, but trying to recreate the recipe seems like more fun as a hobby than buying new boxes of tea.
posted by OmieWise at 7:28 AM on April 14, 2010

No suggestions, but man, I love and miss that tea. If anyone glancing at this question has any ideas on where to buy some before the last few remaining boxes in the world are gone (assuming any still remain), I'd love to hear them!
posted by Eshkol at 7:31 AM on April 14, 2010

Best answer: I haven't tasted either of these, but their ingredient lists look similar enough to maybe be worth a try:
Roastaroma contains roasted barley, roasted barley malt, roasted chicory root, roasted carob, cinnamon, allspice, and star anise.
One of the flavors of Teeccino contains roasted carob, barley, chicory root, dates, almonds, figs, and natural hazelnut flavor.
posted by Ery at 7:37 AM on April 14, 2010

Have you tried Good Earth Tea?
Not exactly the same, but has some similar flavor notes.
Ingredients are: Red Rooibos, Chicory Root, Rosehips, Natural Flavor, Cinnamon, Peppermint, Lemongrass, Papaya, Chamomile, Panax Ginseng Leaves, Anise Seed, Ginger Root, Dandelion Root, Orange Peel and Orange Oil.
posted by Daily Alice at 7:39 AM on April 14, 2010

You can blend the teas from Adagio tea to come up with something, but their herbal selection leaves something to be desired. How about a blend of Rooibos Almond, Honeybush Chocolate, and Honeybush Orange? I find their spiced cinnamon to be too strong, so skip that. You could try adding the decaf spice. I think that tea was just OK, so don't know if you'd need it or not. The little samplers of each tea are $2 so you can just try buying the component flavours that you like and mixing your own.
posted by crazycanuck at 7:43 AM on April 14, 2010

I've never heard of this tea, but it sounds delicious! I regularly drink Cafix which is roasted barley, roasted chicory, malt barley and beet root. I'm going to add some cinnamon, orange peel and almond extract for my next cup, because it sounds tasty!
posted by Cat Pie Hurts at 8:01 AM on April 14, 2010

Nthing Adagio Teas - I've used them and their blends, and they are wonderful.
posted by GJSchaller at 8:17 AM on April 14, 2010

What? That's wrong. Well, it's no substitute, as it's not caffeine-free, but you could try the Republic of Tea's Vanilla Almond.
posted by salvia at 8:23 AM on April 14, 2010

Ery > I haven't tasted either of these, but their ingredient lists look similar enough to maybe be worth a try:
Roastaroma contains roasted barley, roasted barley malt, roasted chicory root, roasted carob, cinnamon, allspice, and star anise.

I'd go with the Roastaroma, and buy yourself a small bottle of natural almond extract or, barring that, a large bottle of almond-flavored drink syrup. Cherry-flavored extracts or syrups may work in a pinch, since cherries are related to almonds and many people find the taste of their extracts or artificial versions to be similar. Add by drop (extract solution with water) or teaspoon (syrup) until you get the almond flavor you're looking for. I've tasted the herbal tea you're looking for; the dominant notes to me are the carob-barley, the cinnamon, and the almond extract.

You might like a glass of hot milk seasoned with cinnamon and a drop of almond extract. Asian grocery stores sell barley teas and powdered hot almond milk mixes that would be good with cinnamon, too.
posted by hat at 9:27 AM on April 14, 2010 [1 favorite]

If it doesn't have to be herbal, perhaps this Christmas tea from Upton Tea? Ingredients: black tea, citrus peels, rose petals, chopped almonds, cloves, vanilla bits, cardamom
posted by queseyo at 9:52 AM on April 14, 2010

Bummer. I'll be watching this thread, as it's one of my husband's favorites also. Please update if you find a good substitute! (sorry I've got no suggestions for you.)
posted by leahwrenn at 10:06 AM on April 14, 2010

Bigelow has a Fruit and Almond tea - it contains

cinnamon, natural (soy lecithin), and artificial flavors, orange peel, rose hips, roasted carob, hibiscus flowers, roasted chicory root

So, it sounds like it has some of the same flavor notes, and might be worth a try - I haven't tried it myself, but I've seen it around. Maybe it would work along with the Roastaroma. The Roastaroma has the barley; both have chicory, carob, and cinnamon and; and the Fruit and Almond has the almond and orange peel.
posted by insectosaurus at 10:27 AM on April 14, 2010

I've consumed quite a bit of both Bigelow's Fruit and Almond and CS's Almond Sunset in my day, and IMHO the Bigelow is a worthy substitute. Same almondy goodness, but maybe a slightly "deeper" or nuttier flavor than the Almond Sunset (which, as I remember, is quite light and sweet). Seconding insectosaurus.
posted by Bardolph at 12:02 PM on April 14, 2010 [1 favorite]

I just tried mixing equal parts Celestial Seasoning Roastarama and Yogi Raspberry Leaf, adding in a bit of crushed (but not powdered) cinnamon stick, and then stirring in a bit of almond extract to finish it off. That got me something very good, but the almond flavor wasn't quite round enough. Next time I'll add in some sliced or slivered almonds as well, which I think should do the trick.
posted by Eshkol at 11:39 AM on April 22, 2010

Response by poster: Thanks for all the suggestions! I'm somewhat awed by all the at-home chemists here: add a bit of this, add a bit of that. Have to admit I'm a plop-the-teabag-in kind of girl.

Bigelow's Fruit and Almond seems to be available only online, in a package of 6 boxes. I sprang for it -- I loved Almond Sunset! -- and although it's okay, I find it to be a little more flowery than I like. But Roastarama tastes almost exactly the same as Almond Sunset to me, as long as it's hot. Not so good when it cools down, but a problem I can solve without too much trouble.

If you're interested in trying Fruit and Almond, send me a message with your address and I'll mail one of my boxes to you.
posted by kestralwing at 3:08 AM on June 13, 2010