President's Choice

Sipdown achieved. Actually, I had the last tea bag of this a while ago…just forgot to write a note about it.

As I was finishing up the box, I decided I still liked it. And still liked it enough to buy it again (if it’s still available…I haven’t checked the tea aisle at the grocery store in quite a while!). So buy it again I will! If I remember…

When I first tried this tea I thought “…this shit’s terrible.” and promptly lost it at the back of the pantry. As I’m trying to finish up all of my stale tea bags to re-buy a very select few, I thought I’d give this a try again before throwing it out. And you know what? My tastes have matured…I think.

Turns out this shit isn’t terrible. It’s certainly no spring flower. But it would be mean to call it terrible. That is, mean if tea had feelings. But it doesn’t, so who cares. ANYway. It’s not terrible. It’s a bit…tangy, and has a bit of an unexpected KA-POW at the end. I don’t know specifically what is giving it these flavours, but I’m guessing Kola Nut has something to do with it. That’s the “energizing shot” at Booster Juice, and I find it always gives my smoothies a tangy after-taste even if there shouldn’t be any tang based on the fruit that’s in it. Like chocolate and banana. Yumm…I should get one of those soon. But I digress.

Tang and a punch. After drinking this I definitely feel more alert for a few hours compared to regular tea (again, Kola Nut), but don’t get the same zombie-like caffeine crash as when jacked up on coffee.

Dare I say…this tea might even be pleasant.

Verdict: would re-buy.

Yet another “organize the boxes to systematically drink my way through them” find in the back of the pantry. How long has this one been around? No idea. Less time than my Sugar Plum Spice, that’s for sure. But it’s still been more than a few years.

Every time I have a cup of this one, I get an overwhelming smell of liquorice when I first open the box. I don’t really get any flavour of it, but the smell is definitely there. If you don’t like black liquorice, you will not like this tea.

As for actual CRANBERRY. I’m not so sure. I’ve had other cranberry teas that are yummy and cranberry-y and tart (because, let’s face it, you don’t need to add hibiscus to make a cranberry tart!). This isn’t one of them. If I get a cranberry tea, I want SOUR to be the first thing I think. Not “gee, this is mystery-fruity”. You want a sweeter cranberry? That’s what sugar and/or honey and/or agave is for (or whatever other sweetener is your sweetener of choice). As soon as I see hibiscus in a cranberry tea I’m instantly suspicious. Tea companies need to start using beet juice more often to turn teas pink if all they want is colour.

ANYWAY. The overall experience of this tea isn’t unpleasant to me, it’s just a) not what I expected, and b) doesn’t blow me away. I can do better.

Verdict: will not purchase again.

I keep a box of this at work at all times. Along with the Feeling Soothed, I have this on my person at all times. I have some anxiety issues and I find that this tea is great for calming me a little bit without making me lethargic. The citrus is a lovely addition, and helps to cut through the camomile. It’s nice before bed, but it’s also nice at work when dealing with a stressful situation, or just when feeling a bit overwhelmed. I stopped drinking plain camomile as soon as I discovered this one.

I carry a bag of this with me at all times. I have a bag in my backpack, a bag in my purse, I have it at work and at home. This works. It’s nice after a large meal, or just after a long day when my stomach feels a bit icky. It’s relaxing, it’s flavourful. I typically only drink this when I’m having stomach problems but that doesn’t mean it’s not a great tea. I just have a lot of stomach issues so I drink this one often enough as it is. Great in a travel mug if you have to go out and about and aren’t feeling 100%.

This is actually extremely flavourful! The chocolate is very deeply flavoured, with dark undertones and a little tiny bit of spice from the chai. It feels almost creamy without any cream. Super rich!

This tastes better and richer than a lot of the loose leaf higher grade quality chocolate teas I’ve had – I’m pleasantly surprised. Extremely surprised, actually.

Thank you Missb for sending me an almost entire box of this! Yaaay!

I used to drink this tea a year ago before i stopped drinking bagged teas and it was more spicy. however, the decided to make ‘improvements’ and i decided to try it again because it was on sale and i was curious. It smelled very licorishy and i steeped for 5-6 minutes as the directions said and then added milk.
to my surprise it tasted like watered down licorice and was extremely watery. It had almost no flavour so the sweetner could’nt hold onto any flavouring.
I then tried it cold and the flavour stood out much more. I think this is barely a chai and is more like a herbal because a chai should be able to carry milk and sugar and this couldn’t.

Another sipdown. I saw this tea bag when I opened the cupboard to rummage, and decided I might as well drink it.

It’s pretty good. I’d buy it again as an easy evening tea. There is hibiscus so you have to be careful with timing, but I don’t find it too sour. The ginger is especially nice in the evening. And it makes a fairly decent cold steep herbal tea as well.

Doesn’t go with my dinner at all. :) I’m having gluten free gnocchi in a sage and roasted kabocha sauce.

This tea is one of my most utilized. It tastes great with or without sweetner and it’s perfect for relaxing in the evening before bed. The chamomile helps to give you a literal sensation of calm. If you’re looking for something right before bed this herbal tea is for you!

A side note the price is very reasonable as well.

Another find in the stash my sister sent me. Having had a very harrowing day (would not wish on anyone the experience of seeing one of one’s heroes crash their race car in such a serious fashion), and finding myself very cranky and in need of something chocolate this evening, I figured a cup of this tea was in order. It definitely fits the bill – the chocolate flavor is nice, and the mint is a good addition.

Lovely! Love ingredients & appealing to all senses. Will buy again.

Surprisingly, I liked this. I do like Chai generally so I`ve been on the lookout for an caffeine-free version. Generally, this is the only chicory blend of tea that I`ve tried and liked. I add milk or condensed milk when brewing it. I can see why it would polarise people, but I work in an office where a lot of people also love this tea.

The full name of this tea, according to the canister, is “Memories of South Africa Rooibos Citrus Spice”. That’s right, Canadians, it’s an effort by your friend and mine, President’s Choice. Given that the “Memories” collection is usually a matter of seasoning, dressing, and sauces, it may make you a little leery of the company’s efforts to branch into tea. If you have your doubts, you’ll be as pleasantly surprised as I am – this is a very good blend. It’s also very tricky to find it in stores, so your best bet is to order it online via the President’s Choice website.

The packaging claims that this is a “Flavourful red tea with a citrus scent and a blend of sweet, fragrant spices.” Ingredients include rooibos leaves, spices, camomile flowers, a little soybean oil, orange peel, rose petals, orange flowers, peppermint leaves, lemon verbena leaves, safflowers, cornflowers, and lemon peel. Normally when a blend has that many ingredients, they’re at odds with each other, and the resulting flavour is confused and indistinct. What I would like to know is what those mystery “spices” are. I would have sworn that there’s some ginger in the mix, because the taste crackles and the overall effect is very warming – but without being really earthy. The floral and citrus ingredients play off of each other beautifully, so it’s neither pucker-inducingly sharp nor sleepily mellow.

It’s difficult to describe this tea without resorting to emotional analogies. It’s bright, rather optimistic, calm, pleasant tea. It’s like the friend you want to sit with you while you talk about the disaster you’ve made of your life, and who says exactly the right thing to bring you out of your funk.

I find this to be a perfect morning blend. It’s no caffeine shot-in-the-arm to pry your eyelids open against their will – but it’s a nice deep breath, a steadying hand on your shoulder, a soothing but firm voice saying: “You can get through this. And at the end, you can have a nap and stay in your pyjamas as long as you want. And I will not judge you. But first… the world.”

Not that bad a cuppa. Not the best EB tea you are ever going to have but it’s fairly cheap and is passable as a all day tea. It is better than any Tetley product.