Celestial Seasonings

Aaaand another box of this stuff down. adding to shopping list

I know it’s not nice to call this my fake-me-out tea, but when I need a pick me up but it’s too late in the day for caffeine, this is so perfect. And I need one now, and… it’s so perfect.

My favorite fake-me-out-when-I-need-some-caffeinated-tea-but-want-to-sleep-tonight tea. Also good for mornings when I have time to throw a bag in my cup & run to a meeting. Like this morning. So lovely.

The citrus dominates, there’s very little coconut taste, and the spices don’t balance well with the rooibos or the citrus. I’m not getting much sweetness from the rooibos either, but didn’t think to add sugar/agave. Verdict: for me citrus + sweet = good, citrus + spice = bad. I’m putting this in my “up for grabs” pile (post coming soon).

It tastes like a candy cane. A DELICIOUS candy cane. Yup.

This will ALWAYS be in my cupboard, because it is relaxing, and also very very soothing on the stomach. It may not be my favorite, flavor-wise, but you really can’t beat the calming effect it has.

A stand-out herbal tea. It shuns the hibiscus and citric acid that make so many herbal teas tangy or even sour, and still achieves a strong-tasting, darkly colored brew. It is very smooth and never bitter. The orange flavor comes together nicely and is natural and low-key. The abundant spices give it the character of mulled cider or mulled wine.

For a wintry Canadian evening one wants something piping hot, soothing, but full-bodied – a creamy black tea, like Tania’s nameless Kusmi-esque blends, in lieu of hot cocoa (too many calories) or tisane (too acidic, too thin…). Then again, creamy black teas are too caffeinated, unless one has a good reason to stay up late. One doesn’t want to mess about with loose leaves either; it’s probably been a long day. All of which to say I try to keep a box of decaf dessert tea bags around: caramel rooibos, almond carob, that sort of flavour. It’s always the first thing to run out. Picked up this Celestial Seasonings box today, thinking it would be right up my alley.

Teapot, boiling water, a proper long steep (it was 4-6 minutes on the box). The creamy vanilla note hits one in the face as soon as it’s poured. It’s not very maple-tastic, however: the maple is there, but I’m used to Les Délices de l’Érable’s store blend’s trompe-la-langue shot-of-syrup scent. The cream in this one is more like… something toasted? There’s roasted barley and chicory and carob in this thing. I thought of vanilla sugar on hot oatmeal, vanilla spread on challah bread French toast. It is quite pleasant.

On the tongue it’s much weaker than the nose was. But I did eke out a whole pot, and one’s probably supposed to make just the one cup. The teabag doesn’t even have a little string attached.

This came from Stephanie today! The package was more than I expected. Along w/ 2 bags of this, there was also a beautiful card and 2 bags of Mighty Leaf’s Organic Spring Jasmine. She was also very thoughtful by cutting out parts of the box w/ info on it and sending that as well. The only thing that was missing was the steeping suggestions so I steeped 1 bag in 8oz water in just under boiling water for 5 min.

Uh oh… Maybe sending the box clippings wasn’t a good idea after all. I wasn’t aware there’s both licorice and star anise in this. Oh well, I’ve been surprised by liking teas that have both before.

My positive thinking isn’t working… it smells a lot like both licorice and star anise once steeped. But it doesn’t taste like licorice candy so I’m good.:) It still tastes like licorice, but it’s also very sweet- I’m assuming mainly because of the stevia (which I also didn’t realize was in there)… almost too sweet. I’ve never had an unsweetened tea that was too sweet before.

Conclusions: Really glad I tried this and extremely greatful to Stephanie. I was also not nearly as displeased w/ it as I thought I might be when I saw the ingredients. That being said, I’m looking for a tea containing only echinacea.

This will always be my backup tea. Whenever I run out of the loose leaf or if I had a bad cup and need to get a better taste I come back to this. This was the first tea I ever truly liked

Man this tea is so yummy, I can’t believe I didn’t have any for such a long time. There’s almost a buttery sort of texture to it, very much the sort you’d get from fresh-out-of-the-oven sugar cookies, but not a milligram of fat in sight – boo yeah!

BTW was it you Ricky who was oogling this tea awhile back? I owe you for sending me some of your A&D Series 4.

I had to actually buy this from a place in the States because this particual CS tea never showed up in my local stores. They were selling all the other holidays teas but not this one, oddly enough.

The smell…oh my god, the smell! The teabags smell like cookie batter that just had a bunch of fresh citrus zest grated into it – it made me want to eat the teabag instead of steep it! Then, when the water was added, it got even better, turning into the smell of just-baked sugar cookies, fresh out of the oven.

The flavour starts off tasting lightly citrusy and I got worried that that was going to be all there was to it, but then the sweet, sugar cookie goodness kicked in. I can literally taste the buttery, crumbly texture that you get when you take a bite of a cookie. This could easily become an addiction!

Steep Information:
Amount: 1 teabag
Additives: none
Water: 8 ounces 180 degree filtered boiled water
Steep Time: a little over 2 minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Smell: grassy, vegetal
Flavor: grassy, bitter
Body: Light (MilitiaJim) Medium (AmazonV)
Aftertaste: bitter
Liquor: light greenish brown

I didn’t have high hopes, and I was right, but it was free. No full leaf here.

Post-Steep Additives: Honey, which took the bite out of the bitter but it was still there, reminded me of a more bitter Arizona tea green tea with honey.

Resteep: didn’t work out, too weak

This smells sort of berry like. I steeped this a very short time. The water turned pink. This tastes kind of tart berry like. This is just ok and i do not taste mango which is disapointing.

As inexpensive bagged green teas go, I really like this one. I’ve compared it to the Bigelow, but have the opposite reaction to the other reviewer. For me, this wins. However, it doesn’t seem to be available in larger containers, so if you shop at Sam’s, the Bigelow is much, much cheaper.

This is a great everyday inexpensive green tea. It withstands abusive preparation—I make it in the microwave at work and it comes out just fine. You can really taste the honey and lemon flavors. It’s pretty pedestrian, but also quite satisfying.

Discontinued tea found in the back of my mom’s tea cupboard this morning, last bag in the box. It’s actually pretty good. The apricot and ginger flavors are distinct, but not overpowering.

Very nice, light green tea. Has an earthier flavor than other green teas that I have tried, including Bigelow Green Tea. I think its a nice change on occasion.

One of my favorite herbals!

I’m not that fond of raspberries, but I really like this. Very nice.

A friend of mine had this at work and offered me some. There are hints of orange and lemon under the green tea flavor, however it does lack versus the stronger citrus aroma. Still, it’s a pretty good go-to tea given its price and availability.

This is my first rooibos, and I must say I’m addicted. The rooibos is earthy and mellow, while the vanilla adds richness and a hint of sweet. It’s just the perfect tea.

Too fruity, not very potent. Ew.

Meh. I was so hoping for more flavor with this tea and it came out lame even with sugar. When did I become such a loose tea snob? This tisane is completely unremarkable. The ginger does little for me.

Dear Celestial Seasonings —

Please start making tisanes that taste like something besides watered down flavors.

Thanks!