I discovered this gem while touring Celestial Seasoning’s plant in Boulder Thanksgiving of 2011. I highly recommend the tour and tasting room to anyone who finds themselves in the area! While on the tour, the guide told us about an extra-caffeinated tea that had been discontinued, but recently brought back into production due to its large cult following. Being a graduate student who regularly works late into the night, I had to check it out. From the first sip, I was hooked!
I bought an entire case (6 boxes) in the gift shop after the tour and ordered another case online a few months after that. I went through a phase where I was completely obsessed with this tea. I still adore it, and it’s probably the only bagged tea that I will regularly buy when it runs out. My caffeine tolerance is not what it used to be, so I haven’t enjoyed a cup of Fast Lane for a very long time until last night when I needed an extra caffeine boost. I was a little surprised by how much I still love it after making the switch to loose tea.
I love the smell of this both bagged and brewed. The cinnamon dominates and has the quality reminiscent of baked cookies (rather than red hot candies). There’s also a sweetness that I think comes from the cola nut. It’s divine. This tea is really smooth, so long as you pay attention to steeping time.
It sounds completely crazy, but sometimes I wish there was a caffeine free variety of Fast Lane. I know it completely defeats the purpose, but it tastes so damn good that I wish I could drink it more often without staying up all night!
