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Spent the afternoon at Barnes & Noble yesterday while my car was in the shop. It’s funny, although I read almost exclusively on the Kindle these days, nothing beats the experience of browsing an actual bookstore. I’m aware that bookstores and libraries are an endangered species these days, and try to support them in some way whenever I visit. So I went to the cafe and ordered this unsweetened Teavana iced tea.

As soon as I took a sip, I instantly recognized it as the old Starbucks Tazo Zen Green Tea now rebranded as Teavana. A tea I used to be quite fond of but hadn’t tasted in years. The tea was light amber in color and very heavy on the mint. Not the fresh mint you taste in Moroccan mint tea but the dried variety in your spice jar. There is a bit of lemongrass and citrus but the dominant flavor is mint. When I’m drinking a blend, I like to be able to taste some of the base tea however this felt like I was drinking dried herbs steeped in water.

It’s interesting how your tastes evolve over time. Although i used to love this tea, I struggled to finish the entire cup. It’s palatable and was nostalgic for me, but wouldn’t recommend it unless you really love mint.

Flavors: Herbs, Mint

Preparation
Iced
Mastress Alita

Libraries, an endangered species?! I should hope not, I’ve worked at one now for 15 years…

I also have converted to reading on Kindle, for two reasons: 1) I just don’t have the storage space for physical books, and 2) I have a hard time holding a book while I’m eating or sipping a cup of tea, but can easily lay a Kindle on the table and free up a pinky for page-turning-via-swipe. That said, I agree there is still something “zen” about the “paper smell” of a bookstore/library and the experience of holding a book/physically turning pages; zen, and also nostalgic as a long-time reader/book-lover.

LuckyMe

I hope not either but the funding cuts at some branches and the decline in foot traffic concerns me. As someone who basically grew up in libraries and worked at one for 5 years, I hope they can evolve and remain popular in the digital age.

The convenience of an e-reader can’t be beat. I often read multiple books at one time and I love having them all in one place. Plus I realized I seldom re-read books, so with the exception of a few non-fiction reference books, I’ve been Marie Kondoing my physical book collection. And speaking of libraries, I love using the Libby app to check out e-books and send them directly to my Kindle in seconds!

ashmanra

Our community college library was recently gutted of books and filled with nonsense and computers if the irate traditional instructors were accurate in their descriptions. They were very upset. I love “real” books, but I, too, read a lot on my tablet. If I really love a book, a hardcover is purchased, needless to say, we are short on space now,

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Mastress Alita

Libraries, an endangered species?! I should hope not, I’ve worked at one now for 15 years…

I also have converted to reading on Kindle, for two reasons: 1) I just don’t have the storage space for physical books, and 2) I have a hard time holding a book while I’m eating or sipping a cup of tea, but can easily lay a Kindle on the table and free up a pinky for page-turning-via-swipe. That said, I agree there is still something “zen” about the “paper smell” of a bookstore/library and the experience of holding a book/physically turning pages; zen, and also nostalgic as a long-time reader/book-lover.

LuckyMe

I hope not either but the funding cuts at some branches and the decline in foot traffic concerns me. As someone who basically grew up in libraries and worked at one for 5 years, I hope they can evolve and remain popular in the digital age.

The convenience of an e-reader can’t be beat. I often read multiple books at one time and I love having them all in one place. Plus I realized I seldom re-read books, so with the exception of a few non-fiction reference books, I’ve been Marie Kondoing my physical book collection. And speaking of libraries, I love using the Libby app to check out e-books and send them directly to my Kindle in seconds!

ashmanra

Our community college library was recently gutted of books and filled with nonsense and computers if the irate traditional instructors were accurate in their descriptions. They were very upset. I love “real” books, but I, too, read a lot on my tablet. If I really love a book, a hardcover is purchased, needless to say, we are short on space now,

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My Rating Criteria:

95 to 100: Top shelf stuff. Loved this tea and highly recommend it

90 to 94: Excellent. Enjoyed this tea and would likely repurchase

80 to 89: Good but not great. I liked it though it may be lacking in some aspects. I’ll finish it but probably won’t buy again

70 to 79: Average at best. Not terrible but wouldn’t willingly drink again

60 to 69: Sub-par. Low quality tea, barely palatable

59 and below: Bleh

Fell into tea many years ago and for a long time my experience was limited to Japanese greens and flavored Teavana teas. My tea epiphany happened when I discovered jade oolongs. That was my gateway drug to the world of high quality tea and teaware.

For the most part, I drink straight tea but do appreciate a good flavored tea on occasion. I love fresh green and floral flavors and as such, green tea and Taiwanese oolongs will always have a place in my cupboard. After avoiding black tea forever, Chinese blacks have started to grow on me. I’m less enthusiastic about puerh though. I also enjoy white tea and tisanes but reach for them less frequently.

Other non-tea interests include: cooking, reading, nature, philosophy, MMA, traveling when I can, and of course putzing around on the interwebs.

IG: https://www.instagram.com/melucky

Location

around Chicago

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