Mandarin Orange Spice

I’ve enjoyed this tea iced many times. Today, for a change, I brewed a cup of it hot. What a lovely way to brighten up a gray rainy morning! It was a warm deep red orange, smelled of cloves and spice and tasted bright and orang-y. Very orang-y, but the spice keeps it from becoming obnoxiously so and balances the flavor enough that I don’t crave sugar to round out the fruitiness or cream to cut the astringency.
A tea that can stand alone is a good thing, particularly for one like me who must watch her waistline. One reason this tea is a staple in my cupboard is because it’s great all by itself. I’m not saying it wouldn’t be fun trying it with tea and sugar (I probably will some day) but the fact that I have drank this tea many times with no urge to make this addition speaks well for it.
The fact that I haven’t had it hot before is my own loss. I’m going to have to do this more often

A stand-out herbal tea. It shuns the hibiscus and citric acid that make so many herbal teas tangy or even sour, and still achieves a strong-tasting, darkly colored brew. It is very smooth and never bitter. The orange flavor comes together nicely and is natural and low-key. The abundant spices give it the character of mulled cider or mulled wine.

Even as a child when I HATED tea, Dad would pull this one out of the cupboard so I could smell the tea bags. They smell amazing: if you love the smell of oranges, that is! Now that I drink tea a lot, I’ve tried this and it’s just as delicious as it smells. I’m not a fan of fruity teas, but this one is so good with some honey in it that I really enjoy it!

Oh this is pure joy! Delicious. Tangy yet satisfying. Spicy yet delicate.
LOVE it :D

I have this tea in k-cups. I don’t drink it often, unless I’ve had “one of those days”. It really helps me relax right when I get home from work. Perfect end to a not so perfect day.

I was sitting around my car dealership’s waiting room for my inspection, and figured I’d be there an adequate amount of time to mosey over to the single-cup coffee maker. And for once, they had a tea option that’s not bland and/or dull.

This was surprisingly tasty. It smelled fruity, and the orange flavor wasn’t overpowering. I usually can’t stand fruity/citrusy stuff in excess, but the flavor was light and enjoyable. Didn’t leave a weird aftertaste, either, which is always a bonus.

Way to go, Toyota! You’ve finally stocked something I can consume in your waiting room.

If you can believe it, this is the cause of one of my first memories with tea. I remember this and many other Celestial Seasonings boxes at my friends’ house. We would have cups of Sleepytime and Mandarin Orange Spice! For me, this is a go-to blend from Celestial Seasonings. It’s got a nice blend of flavors and the spices don’t overpower the orange if it’s steeped well. I have left my bag too long in the cup before.. resulting in a very unpleasant cup. While it’s not the best tea I’ve ever had, it is nice occasionally.

When they offered me a cup at the bank I thought I was going to have to settle for coffee. Nice surprise when I found out that they were using a Keurig gourmet coffee machine and actually offered two kinds of tea. I selected the Mandarin Orange Spice. Halfway thinking I would need the strong spice to cover hints of coffee
BUT…
It was great. Nice strong aroma. The citrus flavor comes across in spite of the strong cloves. Now I can’t wait to go back and try the other one.

Lovely and sweet and spicy and comforting. Like most fruit teas, it will curdle milk, but I do have memories of drinking it with some kind of milk (dairy or not) which made for a comforting, mild drink perfect for late in the evening on a misty autumn day.

I’d love to give a more detailed description of the taste, but my Mom keeps beating me to this tea. She loves to make iced tea out of it and that uses up 4 or 5 bags per pot. I’m not a big fan of fruity teas but my memory is telling me that this one is exceptionally good and not too sweet or syrupy. There is a video about it on YouTube by someone who perhaps is a little too fond of this tea: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=de0NcRmxVwI

Eli picked this for me at the grocery store. I was really leery of it at first. “Spice” is iffy for me (depending largely on how much cinnamon is involved), and I am not usually fond of fruity tea. So it sat untouched for a while.

Then, very late one night, I was all keyed up and wanted a nice cup of something relaxing and caffeine-free, to help me chill the heck out and go to sleep. My cupboard at the time did not have much in the way of herbal teas—and the others were ones I already knew I didn’t like a lot, or had flavors too zippy to be relaxing.

So I tried Mandarin Orange Spice. And I loved it. My concerns were unfounded. It wasn’t annoyingly fruity—it’s even made me willing to try other citrusy teas in the future. The spices were not overbearing—I’m not even sure if there’s any cinnamon. It was very nicely balanced between the fruit and the spice, and had a cheerful, uplifting flavor.

Unfortunately, “cheerful” and “uplifting” don’t really help me wind down and sleep—or maybe sleep was just not going to happen that night. But this was a lovely friendly tea to sip while I sat up reading until dawn.

Since then it’s been one of my favorites to drink in the afternoon/evening, just not right before bed.

Backlogging a bit, I’ve had 2-3 cups in the past week. I cannot get enough of this tea! This is certainly not a sickeningly-sweet orange tea, which pleases me immensely.

artificial smell.. mild orangy mandarine hibiscus spice flavour. Partly artificial taste. meh

A standby in my house growing up. However, it’s not quite up to my current tastes. The thing that disappoints me most about it is that it’s inconsistent! Might be just the box I have, but within the box it seems like each bag brews a different flavor even when brewed under identical conditions. Some of the brews were exceptionally bold (maybe too bold, but enjoyable). Some of them might as well be dishwater. It’s never bad-tasting, though, but jeez.

I’ve been eying this stuff for a while now and just finally bought it recently, and I was honestly shocked at how good it is. I steep mine for quite a while, until it gets fairly dark, and (to me) there’s no bitterness to it. With a little bit of sugar, this stuff is absolutely excellent, especially when you’re dealing with an annoying scratchy throat. My only issue with it, and this might be my mugs or something, is that it gets cold really freaking fast.

Very fond of this — lots of orange, one of my favorite flavors. Refreshing and tart and unlike the ubiquitous Zingers from Celestial Seasonings.

It can be cold-brewed, as can many of the fruit teas I’ve tried. I use 2 bags in about 8-9 oz. water and just let it sit there 5-10 minutes, or until it looks right. Sometimes I even leave the bags there as I sip. I haven’t tried re-using the bags, but the flavor is strong enough that I suspect one could.

When I was at my parents’ house the other day, I gave this a try again. Not bad, but it’s not one that I’d get for my cupboard.

I’m not usually one for hot fruit tea, but this one is all right. It smells wonderfully spiced with a bit of orange, but the flavors are reversed with a little more orange than spice. It’s drinkable, but still not one that I would drink often.

I’m beginning to notice a trend with CS mandarin flavored teas. They all have an underlying bitter note that you have to cover up with sweetener/milk/etc. This one wasn’t as bad as the decaf mandarin green by the same company, but it wasn’t stupendous. I wouldn’t repurchase. I have to add coconut milk and stevia to make it more palatable. I really like drinking my tea plain when I can. This tea doesn’t allow for that.

A very, very exotic cup, and one of the best orange herbals for the price. This cup explodes with fruit. The tart hibiscus mixes perfectly with the orange flavor and the spices are more bold than subtle. Rewarding any hour of the day or night. Served iced, my guests tell me they don’t deserve such a pleasure.

Did like this quite a bit. I’m usually not quite into orange-flavored teas, but the spice definitely does it for me!