Celestial Seasonings

I love to brew this with loose black teas or earl grey!

We went to a new Korean BBQ place for dinner tonight, which was extremely delicious, and I had a nice green tea there but of course I have no idea what kind or brand of tea it was. It was kind of a plain, grassy green, but I found it really tasty which surprised me a little because I feel like I’m not usually very into grassy greens. It paired nicely with our BBQ, and it kind of made me appreciate a plain, simple tea with a meal.

Anyway, we stopped by a bakery afterward and I decided to get a small cup of tea because I was feeling really wiped out and we were going to see a movie (which didn’t end up happening, because I totally didn’t expect it to be sold out, guess that shows me). Anyway, they had a small selection of Celestial Seasonings teabags and I chose this one. I was honestly expecting very, very little from it, but I was pleasantly surprised. They don’t say anything about other flavorings added besides bergamot, but I got strong lemony notes from this one along with the bergamot. I am shocked to find out that the tea base is partly Assam (and apparently also Kenyan black), because I liked it fine and I tend to not like Assams. Of course, these teas are probably blended to be as inoffensive as possible to your casual tea drinker, so I’m sure the base is toned down from other Assams I’ve tried. It wasn’t bitter or astringent or harsh in any way, and I didn’t feel like I wanted to add milk and/or sugar to tone it down a bit. Anyway, it was perfectly drinkable, and I would pick it again if I was in need of tea.

Tart. Going to see how fast my office fridge can cool it because it’s way too darn hot in here (29C… IN MY OFFICE.) for hot tea.

Trying to finish off some old bagged tea that I was given/bought before I discovered DavidsTea (and became all discriminating!)

I like tart teas, so I tend to enjoy the Celestial Seasonings ‘Zinger’ teas, although they don’t always all appeal to me. This one’s out of one of the sampler boxes. Steeped, the smell is fruity and tart, which I like (and haven’t been able to find in a DT so far). And, it actually tastes nice and tart too! A bit cardboardy as well, but that’s probably because it’s a bit on the old side… ok, a lot on the old side, and hasn’t been stored very well. My bad.

Anyways, this one is not too bad, other than the “old” flavour, which is unfair to judge it on. I probably won’t ever drink these bagged ones again though…

If you pride yourself on being a tea connoisseur (raises hand), then you probably have noticed something about raspberry tea: it’s either really “fake” and overly sweet, or it’s pretty freaking awesome. It’s one of those teas that’s a hit or miss. Well, the Raspberry Zinger from Celestial Seasonings is a hit. Big-time. Like bases-loaded, let’s-score-the-winning-run sort of hit.

My favorite thing about this tea is the tartness you can detect: nothing sugary, but a taste slightly sour, like it should be with a raspberry tea. My second favorite thing about the tea is the wonderful aroma. Seriously, candles should smell so good. Basically I’m saying that I love the taste and the smell, so what else do you need?

I’ve never drank the tea iced (I’m a sucker for a cup of hot goodness), but I’ve heard that it makes fantastic iced tea. The listed ingredients for the tea are hibiscus, rosehips, roasted chicory, orange peel, blackberry leaves, natural raspberry flavor with other natural flavors (contains soy lecithin), raspberries and raspberry leaves. Just brew your bag in about 8 ounces of boiling (or near-boiling, in my case) water for around 5 minutes (4 to 6, the company says), and enjoy!

i don’t know what it is with this tea, it never does anything for me, but i still keep drinking it!

i believe this tea has potential for some people! i believe for some the valerian (the “extra” in sleepy time extra) works and it’s enough to help lull them in to sleep. i am not one of those people >:( i have trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, and usually average about 2-5 hours a night. so yeah, basically insomniac – which is why i had such high hopes for this tea! it does, only on occasion, help calm my nerves if they’re feeling particularly restless. i do however drink this fairly frequently, and always have a box in my cupboard, if only as a last resort.

the taste…well, when i first started drinking it i found it absolutely offensive. the closest thing i can describe it to would be a foot. i REALLY did not like the taste or smell, but over time have gotten used to it and now the scent is synonymous with bedtime. if you’re looking for something to help you sleep, i think this would be the tea to try, but if you’re like me and the regular chamomile or valerian don’t seem to help, try something with kava or tulsi in them. i’ve had really positive experiences with both :D

this flavor is really intoxicating. the green tea just goes so well with the toasted rice, it makes for a delicious combination. it tasted almost like popcorn, but not in a bad movie theater popcorn way. it wasn’t as bitter as some green tea, but by no means was it sweet. its going to take a while for me to get used to the taste, but its such an interesting taste i see a lot of potential in it.

with that being said, even though this was my first try at green tea with rice, i could tell it was not quality, and could only imagine what having a freshly steeped loose leaf would be like. so while celestial seasoning is not a great representation of this tea, i strongly recommend trying the flavor! very unique!

I bought this around Christmas and fell in love with it. The first time I brewed it, I wasn’t really sure what to do with it, but now I steep it quite a while, give the teabag a good stir in the water before I remove it, add half a teaspoon of sugar (come on, it’s sugar cookie tea!) and a dash of milk. This tea is the color of snow, it smells heavenly (very buttery-smelling to me!), and is very smooth and nice. A lovely tea for any time you want something sweet. The tea isn’t very strong (hence steeping for so long, although I’ll have to try double-bagging it), but it’s good. The smell is my favorite part about it!

It’s too bad I didn’t pick up more. Oh well, at least there are other dessert teas out there!

This is my old stand-by mint tea. I always have to have a box in the house – when I get sick I drink it by the gallon! It has a nice mint zing, but it isn’t overwhelming. I don’t taste the green tea (or the white tea, which the box says is there "for smoothness.) I am almost out, and I’m sure I will buy it again (though I plan to try a few loose leaf mints first!)

Slightly sweetened, this is my favorite bedtime tea—even surpassing my beloved regular Sleepytime. I like the lemony-mintiness of it, and the slight scenting of jasmine fits in well. I’d probably use it as a body wash, and I say that in a nice way! It’s a comforting, clean tea, and the delicate jasmine just enhances.

I like Red Zinger. I don’t hate hibiscus, and it does have a “zing.” I like it sweetened to bring out the fruity flavor. Weird/astringent if steeped too long (or if you leave the teabag in the cup….)

One of my favorites for bedtime. I like it steeped for a long time—it has more blueberry punch that way. I sweeten it lightly, and it’s a good dessert. I love blueberries, so it figures that this one is a go-to for me.

My bagged tea day are pretty well a thing of the passed but this one is still a favourite of mine. It’s a good caffeine free alternative to chai, with the cinnamon, cardomom, etc. flavours. It’s great with milk or as a tea latte. I shared some with my best friend’s daughter when she was 2 1/2. She called it “Tiger tea” because of the tiger on the box. And so Tiger tea shall forever be its name.

For a bagged tea, this is pretty darn good in my opinion. It’s a go-to for me in the evening, when I tend to want something with no caffeine. And the scent & flavour of the cinnamon is wonderfully warming, especially in the winter (i.e. when you come in from -30 degree weather after shovelling the driveway).
EDIT: to be fair, it’s been an extremely mild winter where I live so far, but it’s still winter & I still like a nice warm cuppa when I get home from work..even if I don’t have to shovel the driveway :P

Last night my BF made fun of me for having this and Candy Cane Lane in my tea cupboard … I know it’s silly but as far as decaf/dessert teas go for the holidays, I don’t see any point in spending a lot of money. I wish I could drink regular tea all day long but I would never sleep. This is pretty good for the price. I added a tiny sprinkle of nutmeg to mine this afternoon which was nice.

This is really good with some soymilk creamer and just a touch of stevia (as I am trying to reduce my sugar intake), of course that combination would improve a lot of teas for me… but I think it helps to bring out the “cookie” flavor of this one.

My BF is trying to quit coffee and he drank some green tea this week instead. He ordered the Den’s sampler and says Japanese green tea is weird and it tastes like soup. Oh well! Of course being the tea pusher I am, said I would make up some samples for him to try because he should find one he likes and would want to drink every day. We’ll see if I can convert him ;)

Tisane of the evening here. This is a weird tea to be drinking in the middle of June but it still gets chilly here in San Francisco in the summer time. :)

I don’t put stevia in a lot of things, but a couple drops in this made it sweeter and a bit more cookie like. Also soy milk, but I put that in practically everything other than green teas and herbals. I think I’m feeling better, or maybe my Tylenol is just kicking in? Have a good evening everyone!

So last year I was so happy with myself for sipping this down and I went ahead and bought another box the other day, I guess I must like it more than I am willing to admit. It helps if you use a small cup, and let it sit for a while. I also recommend soymilk (or creamer of your choice) and then it isn’t too bad. Stevia kind of ruined it I will try some coconut sugar soon. I think I just really enjoy the aroma of this more so than the taste. Good for evening time, after yoga class and helped with the ubiquitous dessert cravings.

Sipdown!
Alright, I am finally done with a box of this and I think I bought it around last Christmas so it took me an entire year. Yes, I have a sense of accomplishment, thank you for asking. ;-) This is a lot better with soymilk and a touch of sugar, but there are MUCH better dessert teas out there for me.

Well this is better when you use two teabags, add your own sugar and some soymilk (or creamy thing of your choice). I did raise the rating slightly. Not sure whether I will buy this again but I’ll finish off the box I have by next Christmas at least. :)

I like some other Celestial Seasonings teas, so don’t get me wrong, I’m not a tea snob.

Although this is far from terrible I really was hoping for something more? I love the smell of this, it’s definitely got a sugar-y vanilla aroma that is quite authentic. As for the flavor though, I found it to be kind of weak, like a watered down barley water with lemon & vanilla essence. I did like it a little bit better after I added soymilk but I’m not a huge fan of it.