Tazo

This is the proverbial “not my cup of tea.”

Now, I should have know better, because there are very few chamomile teas I really like. But, I’m at this training facility today, and their tea selection is very limited. So I thought I’d give it a go.

I should have skipped it. I thought the flavors were kind of.. meh. And I thought it smelled bad. I feel like I’m pointing fingers and singing like a grade schooler "Nya, nya, nya-nya nay – you smell bad!’ but I really don’t have any other descriptions. It was just icky. My mouth + Calm = not happy.

I think if you like chamomile, this might be more for you.

Brewed up 12oz with 2 full leaf sachets, 2 tsp sugar and 1 tsp milk. Great pairing with my cinnamon swirl coffeecake this morning. Wish I had more coffeecake! I like this Chai blend more and more. It is my staple and I haven’t found a better replacement yet. Yum!

Much better than my previous chai of the evening. Brewed up 16oz with two full leaf bags. Added a splash of half and half and 1 packet of splenda and this is heavenly compared to my previous attempt at stove brewing Masala Chai by Teavana. This tea is a bit heavy on the anise for my tastebuds, but I like the blend of spices more than most I’ve tried. This is one I keep coming back to.

Got a tin of these bags yesterday when stopping for my monthly chai tea latte. Tried it tonight with hot water steeped 2 bags for 4 minutes and a splash of vanilla creamer. Had no time to run to the store today for milk and forgot on the way home. This tastes quite a bit different from the concentrate. The concentrate they serve seems to have more of a cinnamon and cardamon kick to it whereas these bags I’m really getting anise flavor as the foremost flavor with hints of the others. I really hated the first sip, but a few more sips into it it has mellowed out a bit. I like the amount of spice in this, but would prefer a different kind of spice. I’m curious to try this with some steamed milk. Maybe the next cuppa.

This is my father-in-law’s tea. It tastes a bit like warm orange drink, but I actually like it. It’s a bit tart and sweet at the same time. I typically dislike fruit teas.

Didn’t used to be an earl grey fan. I tried it a while ago with Stash. I didn’t care for it then so I shelved it. I tried it again fairly recently and it quickly became one of my favorite. I tried an earl grey latte from Tazo and love it. One of my favorites.

First tried this as a latte from Starbucks. I was instantly hooked. I love it. Went to Starbucks recently and bought a vanilla rooibos tin for my wife. I am converting her to becoming a tea snob with me.

Ahhh…this is as good as I remember it. This was the cup of tea that started it all. Had an immensely flavorful cup at Starbucks when they first came out with the tea sachets. Was so impressed with the flavor I started my tea addiction, found teavana, found steepster and now have the cupboard to show for my addiction!

Sweet, smooth with a little bit of a spicy tingle in the aftertaste. This is good!

Tried this this morning since I had some time to relax and really enjoy it. I added a splash of Vanilla Coffeemate as we were out of milk, and I like this much better with milk. The vanilla creamer really changed the taste. I could really pick out the apple and peach flavors with the rooibos. Very amazing how much more wonderful this was with the vanilla coffeemate over a splash of milk. Definitely glad I bought a tin of the full leaf bags last time I was in Starbucks! Now to see if the second infusion is half as tasty.

Certainly not the best tea out there, but for something fairly commonly stocked in supermarkets it’s reasonable if you like a strong tea. This is the kind of thing I buy so I can throw a couple of bags into my backpack so I’m not at the mercy of whatever tasteless bags they have in the school cafe when I need a caffeine hit.

Where it really shines for me is as an iced tea, where the strength gives it a pleasant briskness that I find quite refreshing on a hot day.

I like rooibos teas. This was absolutely appalling. No love for chemical dreck, Tazo.

This scenario has played out more times than I’d like to admit:

“Oh, a Starbucks! I love coffee, but I could really go for a tea right now. Since I love black tea, I think I’ll get a cup of this Awake thing. What could go wrong?”

There has never been a time when I have not regretted this decision.

Unlike their coffee, which is decent, Starbucks [by way of Tazo] rarely fails to disappoint with their tea. Awake is way too harsh, without even bringing much real flavor. I’ll never get this one again. However, I have once found a way for it to be drinkable: get one bag of this, and one bag of whatever blend they have of unflavored black and oolong teas [the name escapes me and it’s not on Steepster]. Steep it extra-short, under 3 min, and add milk. You may wind up with one of the only black(ish) teas at Starbucks that does not immediately cause remorse.

Bought this last winter when I had a really bad cold. I like it better now that it is more leaf in a sachet than the prior tea bag form. Nice minty relief. Great relief for a sore throat and stuffy nose.

Decupboarding this tea today.

Adding a touch of splenda to a hot mug of this really smoothes out the mint flavor. Didn’t think it could get better, but tastes slightly sweet rather than herb-y now. Having a mug while watching biggest loser and hoping my tummy ache goes away so I can eat dinner. Otherwise a diet of tea sans milk for the rest of the evening!

This tea is always great when one has a cold, sinus stuffiness, upset stomach, any ailment that makes an excuse to drink a hot cuppa.

I taste the spearmint and peppermint and an aftertaste that could be the tarragon, but not sure I’ve ever tasted tarragon so I’m not certain. Very refreshing tea. I enjoy the strong mint aroma and great mint flavor of this one.

Well, there’s good news, and there’s bad news. Which do you want first? (Say the good news. You should always get good news first. Much better that way, no risk of the news giver dropping dead before they have the chance to give you the good news.)

The good news? I knew you’d ask for the good news first, it’s the sensible thing to do.

Here it is. I have almost reached the end of this tea. That is excellent, excellent news. I very stupidly bought a case of it through Amazon back when I thought I liked it figuring I’d save money that way. That’s 6 boxes of tea bags, and I’ve been suffering through the last four boxes trying to rediscover what I thought I liked about this originally.

Ok, the bad news? The bad news is that I never did rediscover what I thought I liked about this originally. Frankly, it has been a steady downhill ride. Every now and then there’s a glimmer. Like this evening, when I had some that had cooled and was actually approximating an iced version, to wash down one of those Amy’s frozen roasted vegetable pizzas with no cheese (back in the saddle on the diet and exercise as of today, I hope). That wasn’t bad, for a few swallows. But probably because with food, it’s disguised enough so that that Om-pickle memory doesn’t penetrate, so the flavor of the cucumber is relatively pristine.

I think I figured out what is causing the pickle memory. I think it’s the lime. The sourness of the lime.

In any case, I am now hard pressed to let this stay at a rating of 51 (down from the original of 63).

Looking back on what I wrote about this tea, I’m constrained to dock it some points. I’d originally given it a 63. Lately I’ve been drinking it a lot more, as I’m now down to just a few of my original “starter tea” tea bag boxes.

One of the problems I’m having is that I really did not like Om, which was another Tazo mixed tea blend with cucumber flavor. I drank a lot of Om trying to get through my stash at both work and home, and it never got any better tasting, in fact it got worse and worse.

Om may have ruined cucumber flavor in tea for me, or perhaps just cucumber flavor in Tazo tea. Though this one doesn’t have the same ingredients as Om, its cucumber flavor is close enough to the same that my sense memory is superimposing a spiciness on the cucumber that gives me that same pickle feel as I had with Om. Pickles being, well, pickled, that flavor undercuts the feeling of freshness I had the first few times I had this. In a big way.

Also, I had forgotten that Cucumber White, as this is actually named, also has black darjeeling in it, which makes it one of those “what temp do I use, and for how long” conundrums that I’d rather skip and just get to the drinking.

As I’m sitting with these white Tazos for longer, the Vanilla Apricot is emerging as a frontrunner, and the Berryblossom is growing on me. The cucumber, sadly, has fallen from favor.

I’ve had this several times now and it has grown on me each time. It’s a lovely golden color and a very gentle flavor, though not “light” as in light weight. Each of the individual flavors is there and the tea is sweet and predominates in the finish. The cucumber is pretty interesting; it adds a freshness to the taste that makes me feel clean while I’m drinking it, as though I’ve just had a spa treatment. The lime is just a dab around the edge. Barely there, but adds some texture. The overall impression it left me with is one of coolness, even though I drank it hot, which I think means it could be a good one to reach for after a stressful day like I’ve had today…

My cup of herbal apple pie :) I always say that I am not going to buy another tin of this, but when I get near to the end (as I am right now) I always change my mind. I find this tisane very unique and delicious. Apple-y and delightfully vanilla-y and good as is, or with a little honey (also lovely with milk, but I think I like it best with just honey). It also pairs amazingly with a good book. Right now I’m reading Erin Morgenstern’s The Night Circus and I can’t. put. it. down.