Good Earth Original

Another tidbit that was included in the sampler from KeenTeaThyme. The dry bag smells very strongly of cinnamon. I am instantly reminded of winter and Christmas time with my grandparents, even though I’ve never had this tea.

The taste is very mild on the actual black tea aspect. It just tastes like straight up cinnamon and anise. My mouth literally tingles with the combination. It’s very flavorful and interesting, but not really what I’m into. Especially in the summer. But I can imagine this might be nice on a gray, icy day.

Sorry about my in-activeness recently, after my holiday to Las Vegas I have had a few minor upsets. No point in drinking my wonderful tea’s if I cannot keep them down.

I chose this one as it sounded devilishly good right now with it’s spicy and sweet blend. Only one of these tea bags to try which was a gift from an American friend of mine.

The steeping time and water temperate was as stated on the back of the packet. And as always this tea was brewed without sweetener.

Colour: Deeply brown with amberesque highlights.
Smell: Magically cinnamon with anise.

Taste: Very much like the smell the most notable is cinnamon and anise, a wonderful combination. Thinking about it I used to import a chewing gum that was identical to the fragrance that was cinnamon flavoured.

I suppose it is both sweet and spicy but with a decent balance. Very tasty for a bagged tea…I wish I had more than just the one of these bags :(

Sort of refreshing too which could be the peppermint in this tea, for having so many ingredients though it is hard to pick anything out other than the three that I have mentioned (peppermint, cinnamon and anise). Still yummy by all accounts.

This is one of my all time favorite teas. It’s the perfect balance of sweet and spicy. It is one of those teas that you take a sip and just close your eyes and breathe in the flavor and instantly your day is better. I know that doesn’t help you know how it tastes, but it’s too delicious to put into words. It’s not too spicy like a chai and not too sweet like it’s over sugared… it’s just all around great.

This is a lovely tea. I’ve had the sweet & spicy herbal tea, but I don’t recall ever trying the “original” with black tea. The major spice is cinnamon, but it is a nice balance of spicy flavors and sweetness without sugar added.

My only complaint is that it tastes almost identical to the herbal tea – the black tea flavor doesn’t really seem to come through very much if at all. That’s not such a bad thing, but it would be nice to have a little more tea flavor in there. My purpose for this tea is to have another option for a bagged morning tea (with caffeine), and this will fill that role nicely.

I used to like this tea and thought it was pretty incredible tasting (I couldn’t believe that a tea could have this much flavor and be this sweet without sugar). Then I saw the 2nd or 3rd ingredient was “artificial flavor”. Well, sometimes you expect a tea to have artificial flavors and it doesn’t pretend to be an ‘herb tea blend’ (Ie, you know that it’s flavored and that is ok). I always got the impression that this was an amazing tea because it was just herbs and spices (mmmm….like the secret recipe of 12 herbs and spices for KFC). But when I found out it tasted like that because of artificial flavors….well, that pretty much killed it for me (kind of like when it was revealed that KFC’s secret blend of “12” herbs and spices was the “secret” 3 – salt, pepper, and MSG…).

There are far too many other options for very flavorful, spiced teas that don’t depend on artificial flavors. I could still drink this, but I won’t be buying it…

For a bagged tea, this is an excellent choice. It’s spicy and distinctively robust and flavorful. I first disovered this tea about 15 years ago while visiting a friend in California and took lots of it back home to my pedestrian town where Lipton was virtually the only tea on offer. I have a sentimental fondess for Good Earth Original because it was the first really “big” taste of tea I had.

The cinnamon and orange notes stand out above the rest. I would recommend this for those times when you need a bagged tea—and they do come up. The individually packaged tea bags maintain their flavor for a long time.

Good with milk, although milk is not essential. Good Earth Teas appear to have a great policy about sustainability and doing good works with their profits, which is another reason to support them.

I think that Good Earth was the first tea that converted me to a devoted tea drinker, over 7 years ago. I’ve sipped it now and again since, and none of the nostalgia has worn off. Reached for it this morning because I’ve been on a “serious tea” binge and needed something a little easier, with more of an emotional connection and less of an intellectual tasting. However, I left the tea bag unattended and it turned out slightly medicinal tasting.

No matter the actual quality, I know that this is a tea I’ll return to so long as Good Earth keeps making it.

Sweet and full of cinnamon, this is a tea that stands on its own (and would not go too well with most food). It needs no sugar, and is full enough of spiciness and sweetness that a large cup never gets boring. The tea flavor is somewhat overpowered by the other herbs. Some tastes linger for longer than they’re welcome, and there may be one or two too many flavors (peppermint?!) But I’m glad I have this tea, and that it doesn’t seem to have gotten worse over several years.

Some of the flavors are more enjoyable as the tea cools to luke warm, so I will have to try it iced.

I grew up in Silicon Valley,California…and there were a couple of Good Earth Resturants that when you walked in the door the smell of this Good Earth Tea (the original) almost knocked you down. It brings back so many memories! (this was almost 30 years ago) Anyway….classic no sugar needed …super spicey with some citrus…serve it hot in a mug on a cold day …with a slice of whole grain zucchini bread GOOD TEA! Trust me I’m a GRANDMA! Don’t serve this tepid or weak let it go 4 minutes for the bite.

This is what started it all. I started drinking this tea when I was a little girl living in Pasadena, CA where the original Good Earth restaurants used to be. We always ordered this tea when we ate there and always had it in stock at home. I love the sweet combination of cinnamon and mint. It gives me fond memories

When it comes to me and tea, the spicier the better. One of my favorite parts of my workday is opening my desk drawer to be greeting with the smell of cinnamon. I could conceivably just sit and sniff the bag all morning. This is my all day, every day staple. I am finding, however, that since I discovered loose tea all bagged teas taste a little artificial to me. Oh well, no matter. Not as delicious as some of the loose cinnamon teas I’ve tried, but definitely still my go-to at work where loose is not currently an option.

This is my one exception (so far) to my no mint policy. It is extremely strong, and tastes of sweet cinnamon and peppermint. There are other flavours, but they tend to become overpowered the way I drink this tea. I brew it in a thermos (just leave the tea bag in there for hours) when I go hiking or snowshoeing, as it’s a perfect pick-me-up after being out in the cold for a couple hours. Yum!

There is a LOT of ingredients in this tea. Seems like they just threw everything in here. But the only thing I could really taste is a delicious sugary cinnamon. It was best that I could only taste the cinnamon though, since I think tasting a lot of these flavors together would be really bad.

This is a great caffeine-free alternative to chai teas. It’s spicy and sweet, which chai lovers will enjoy, but it’s herbal rather than black tea based. You can drink it at night before bed and not feel wired. It’s good plain or with cream and sugar or honey if you prefer something more rich.

A go-to delicious sweet and spicy tea in our home. I love to add a little soy milk to this and have it in the evening. Pretty tasty iced on a warm afternoon as well!

This is a tea that’s good hot or cold. No caffeine, wonderful to drink. Normally I don’t like anise at all and can taste it in everything, but in this tea it only adds! I was surprised anise was even listed in the ingredients, it’s that subtle! The ginger root adds just the right amount of bite, and since it comes in teabags is perfect for on-the-go!

Tastes pretty much like the cinnamon orange version. I looked at the ingredients and it looks like the same stuff just in different proportions. Anyway, this tea is great. If anything, it might be a little less sweet than the cinnamon orange one, but still plenty sweet. And I bought a nice value pack from costco, it was an amazing deal!

And to note, three steeps from one bag in my oversized cup. A little watery on the last one but not bad.

A very old favorite. I’ve been enjoying this cold all summer.

My favorite bagged tea in the whole wide world! Sweet, rich, and mildly spicy. It seems impossible to make it too concentrated too, it’s always just right.

I have to change my original rating. The more I sipped this tea the less I liked it. While looking at the teas that Walmart carries, my eyes were drawn to this tea. Thought I’d give it a shot. You win some; you lose some. This was a loss.