Tazo

Festive. Reminds me of something I’d drink at Christmas. Even though it’s caffeine free, it really does feel refreshing and slightly invigorating. Though that may be a placebo.

rose petals falling
lavender geranium
calling me to sleep

delicious. i’ve had this so many times that i never logged, and the few times i did i logged it under Starbucks green tea frap/matcha frap although i’ve never had it as a frap. for me, the powder is already so sweet and satiating it doesn’t need any syrup, let alone frappification! with soy milk, this tastes like some kind of vanilla marshmallow treat with the slightest touch of grass.

i know this isn’t straight matcha (and i have plenty of those in my cupboard! not to mention wonderful, unsweetened flavored matchas from Red Leaf) but there’s something about this scandalous confection that’s so good. can’t decide if the matcha powder Starbucks/Tazo (?) makes is giving off the marshmallowy flavor or if it comes from the kind of soy milk they use, but either way, with the correct number of scoops it’s perfectly sweet and is delicious consumed hot or cold.

there have been instances where i’ve been too full after dinner to even take a sip (tonight is one of those nights) so i’ll either refrigerate it or let it sit and cool on my night table and drink it first thing when i wake up.

Examining the envelope of my Tazo Long Jing, I discovered that this tea was produced way back in December 2012 and is set to expire in December 2014. This suggests that different standards for what constitutes “old” are used by specialty tea emporia than by mass-market brands.

The good news is that this tastes good. Perhaps the true aging process does not begin until a hermetically sealed package has been opened and exposed to air? Of course the cheap brands at the supermarket are not hermetically sealed, but these “Tazo Collection” whole leaf teas are. Or were, I should say, since Starbucks appears to have abolished the line.

Once again I noticed that the second glass was smooth and more tasty than the first. There must be some physiological explanation for this phenomenon. It’s the same tea! The only difference is that the second serving has been sitting (not steeping) in a tetsubin—not a yixing, so no extra flavor is being added!

Great Canadian Traveling Teabox Round 3:

This was my first pick out of the teabox because by the time I got home and opened it up and sorted everything, it was already pretty late. This, being both caffeine free and in a tea bag, seemed like the simplest of options. Unfortunately, it really wasn’t the best way to start off as this tea isn’t great. The first sip was slightly sweet but the subsequent sips all devolved into a competition between medicinal rooibos and a cloying artificial sweetener/stevia type taste. Thank you Janelle for the chance to try this tea but it most definitely was not for me.

I gave this Calm tea bag from Tazo a very low rating when brewed hot. However, I just discovered that it tastes remarkably good cold! I’m on a mission to turn all of my filter bags into iced tea before the end of this summer, and I was wondering what a cold chamomile blend would taste like. These white-enveloped bags were near the top of my hit list, since I knew that I’d never drink them hot again. This was their last chance.

To my surprise, the blend tastes like a second cousin to Zen, which I also prefer iced to hot. This experiment gives me renewed hope about the possibility of using the teas in my cupboard which I simply do not reach for except maybe to write a review—once or twice. it’s funny because the flavor of this infusion tastes the same to me—but somehow it does not seem boring and flat at this temperature.

I am increasing my rating, but I still won’t be restocking once this supply has been depleted.

Busy day. Exams tommorrow and Saturday. Had a cup of this while I did homework. Not really a bad mix of flavors. I don’t know what is more fun, reviewing tea on Steepster or reading all the discussions. Would love to participate….But I don’t because it keeps the grandmother happy. Anyway….I love the balance of green tea and mint in this. Will keep this around as my bagged tea back-up.

It makes me somewhat sad that in Starbucks stores they now refer to Passion as a Teavana tea: Passion Tango. NOT!!!!! When probed, the barista will insist that the recipe has been modified somewhat, but I don’t believe it. In protest, I have ceased logging my in-store iced Passion experiences.

This batch I prepared at home, using six filter bags, as a part of my campaign to use up all filter bags before the end of the summer. They make a good iced tea, no doubt! I’ve prepared mainly cold brew pitchers of late, but since I had boiled too much water for one of my pots of tea, I decided to use the extra hot water to infuse these bags double strength. Once it had cooled, I refrigerated the strong liquor to pour over ice. It’s a good way to make iced tea, I find, since the best concentration is achieved as the ice melts—which it always does in this heat.

Still trying to get to the bottom of the Bi Luo Chun mystery. This one, from Tazo, is closer to the light and airy versions, such as the Tealux which I imbibed earlier today. I really cannot figure this out. The tightly sculptured little snail shells from Yunnan Sourcing bear virtually no resemblance to these other versions! No mention is made of the island cited in The Harney & Sons Guide on either the Tazo or the Tealux packaging, so perhaps only the snail shell sculptures are produced there?

The liquor of this Pi Lo Chun was pale golden green but by the second glass had turned peachy colored. The liquid was fairly cloudy, with lots of tiny filaments floating about. Usually I enjoy the second glass more than the first, but in this batch I preferred the first, as the second started to seem a bit bitter. Perhaps because of all the particles in the glass?

The mint and green tea flavors were present butI was underwhelmed with the initial taste of this tea. It didn’t knock my socks off like other Tazo teas have. There is a slight minty aftertaste, but while drinking it, I don’t get a heavy punch of any flavor. This sample has been in my cupboard for awhile so it may just have been too old.

The purple color has me hooked, however the sweet/tart flavor combo that others have mentioned was a bit too tart for me, especially as the tea cooled. The fragrance of this tea is floral and fruity. I would recommend it only to someone who like fruity, citrusy teas.

I cold brewed a batch of this tea as a part of my concerted effort to remove most filter bags from my house before summer’s end. No surprise that it tastes a lot like an unsweetened iced green chez Starbucks, since this is that blend.

It’s refreshing enough, but I have never found Zen to be especially “Zen”. Wouldn’t that name be more appropriate for a Japanese single-original first-flush sencha.? It could be called Zencha!

Wow…the fragarance alone has completely impressed me! The black pepper, cardamom, and clove notes are clearly pronounced and are what I would expect from a higher-quality bagged chai. I added a bit of honey and milk and the spiciness still comes through with gusto! I will definitely be purchasing this again!

This has to be one of my favourite teas from TAZO. It has the right amount of fruitiness. You get some teas where its too fruity and you feel like your eating a smoothie. This is amazing. I usually drink it with the tea bag left in, the stronger the better. No milk just straight with one sweetener or honey.

I got this tea for very cheap, 2000 (yes, you read that right….two thousand) tea-bags for $120 including shipping. I make most of my teas iced unless it’s cold weather.

I make this tea as an iced tea, using hot water from the spigot. I use a half gallon glass container and 7 tea-bags. 6 was too weak, 8 was a bit strong. 7 seems to be the magical number.

I leave the tea-bags in the jar, in the fridge, until its’ all been consumed.

It does taste a little tart and I can taste the mint, but not too strongly. I smell the mint more than I can taste it.

I fill a quart jar with ice and pour this over and I find it refreshing, light and delicious. Sometimes I mix it with another herbal tea or some black or green tea, just whatever I have in rotation at the time. It can be a bit astringent if you drink too much of it, but it’s pretty light and tasty.

I like it and would recommend it.

Another random chai I found in my cupboard.

Didn’t like this, even after adding milk and sugar… could be the anise in it. It tasted too much like licorice for me and not enough spice!

Its been a long day. Very long indeed. I am glad to be sitting with a cup of tea.
I like rooibos in sachets. Clean up is so much easier.

Ugh, today was one of those days where I got absolutely nothing accomplished. I had a list of things I wanted to do, but I think the utter lack of sleep last night sapped any desire to do anything today. Well, it is a lie, I have successfully mastered the fine art at staring at a website without actually reading it. We all have one of those days sometimes.

Today’s tea is Tazo Teas Rest Herbal Infusion, a blend of roses, valerian root, and citrusy herbs. I will admit, I have no idea how this tea bag got into my stash of tea, but I wanted an herbal tea to sip in the evening, so why not? I am very curious where this tea came from, maybe the tea fairy visited me, you know leave a tea-ball under your pillow and wake up with a soggy mess…and maybe new tea! The aroma is a soothing blend of lemony, herbaceous, a little bit of floral sweetness, and a finish of bitter herb (hello valerian, you still smell kinda awful.) The rose aroma is pretty faint, mostly the dominant notes are herbal and citrus.

Once the teabag has been steeped, however, the rose becomes more dominant. As does a bunch of different herbal notes, some of them not so pleasant and bit astringent smelling. There are also strong notes of citrus, honestly the tea smells like a medicinal cacophony with some rose perfume covering it up, it is not bad, but it does smell like medicine!

The taste of this is not offensive, which is always a good way to start out with a tea that has valerian in it. There is some bitter root taste, but it is pretty faint and only at the end, a bit of honey or sugar takes that bitterness right away. The taste of the tea is mild, with notes of citrus, rose, wildflowers, sage, and a general herb and grass feeling to it. I didn’t hate it, if this tea magically shows up in my stash again I would drink it before sleep, granted there are significantly better night time herbal teas out there, but this one is not bad.

For photos and blog: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2014/06/tazo-teas-rest-herbal-infusion-tea.html

I made our usual decadent sunday breakfast: almond flour pancakes, bacon, black raspberries, & Maple syrup. Rummaging through Tony’s cupboard, I found some of this, which went well with breakfast, especially with a little maple added.

In an effort to save some of my tea samples for when my tastebuds are actually working, I rummaged through Tony’s cupboard & found a few bags of this. At least it’s bold & black!