Fast Lane Black Tea

Backlogging. 8 days ago. Saturday morning.

The February Backlog: From the 1st to today.

My first cup of the day at my parent’s. My dad’s a plain Lipton’s black bagged tea kind of guy. I had asked him if he wanted tea the night before and he’d said yes. When I saw they were out of Lipton’s, I asked him what he’d been drinking and he said this. I was surprised because there was stuff in it other than just black tea. So the following morning, I chose to brew up a cup out of curiosity. The verdict? It was interesting, I think good interesting. I would try it again. It tasted like black tea with stuff in it and I’m not sure how to describe how the stuff tasted. I’ll have to pay better attention next time I drink it, if my dad hasn’t finished off the box. I cannot remember how long I steeped it for. I think around 4 minutes. I’m rating it a 54 (nice bagged tea range 50-60). I had wheaty/grainy of some type waffles with peanut butter, banana, and a drizzle of maple syrup after.

Grabbed this other day to help combat my winter-sucks-it’s-cold-out-there-I-wanna-stay-in-bed attitude, which increases around the holidays.

For a bagged tea variety, this is really good! I taste the cola and cinnamon, a bit of licorice (I think for sweetness) and I’m feeling more awake and alert.

May have to make this a cupboard essential!

I discovered this gem while touring Celestial Seasoning’s plant in Boulder Thanksgiving of 2011. I highly recommend the tour and tasting room to anyone who finds themselves in the area! While on the tour, the guide told us about an extra-caffeinated tea that had been discontinued, but recently brought back into production due to its large cult following. Being a graduate student who regularly works late into the night, I had to check it out. From the first sip, I was hooked!

I bought an entire case (6 boxes) in the gift shop after the tour and ordered another case online a few months after that. I went through a phase where I was completely obsessed with this tea. I still adore it, and it’s probably the only bagged tea that I will regularly buy when it runs out. My caffeine tolerance is not what it used to be, so I haven’t enjoyed a cup of Fast Lane for a very long time until last night when I needed an extra caffeine boost. I was a little surprised by how much I still love it after making the switch to loose tea.

I love the smell of this both bagged and brewed. The cinnamon dominates and has the quality reminiscent of baked cookies (rather than red hot candies). There’s also a sweetness that I think comes from the cola nut. It’s divine. This tea is really smooth, so long as you pay attention to steeping time.

It sounds completely crazy, but sometimes I wish there was a caffeine free variety of Fast Lane. I know it completely defeats the purpose, but it tastes so damn good that I wish I could drink it more often without staying up all night!

Very good, but you have to plan in advance whenver you are goign to drink this because of the borderline amphetamine affect. However, if you’re constipated, one cup may help gt things moving again. I think this was the tea featured on a “Mad About You” episode.

I am VERY keen to get my hands on this, but they dont sell it in my country and the Celestial webshop dont ship here either..

The cinnamon gives the tea a nice flavor. I drink it on the rare occasions that I feel the need for a stronger-than-usual caffeine kick in the morning. Smooth, tasty, and a little extra “zing”.

It is a nice repalecement for the office coffee (YUK) gives me a little boost and warmth I need.

This used to be my daily morning staple, years ago, but then it was discontinued and I got out of the habit of drinking it. It reappeared in stores a few months ago and I’m so glad they brought it back!

It’s a decent black blend—you can faintly taste the cola and licorice (thankfully not too much). It’s like black tea plus a little something extra. Goes well with milk.

Surprisingly flavorful for a Celestial Seasonings tea. It’s smooth and spicy and tastes kind of like Christmas. It has “reindeer” food that supposedly packs it full of energy.