Starbucks Shaken White Tea (Iced)

I’ve had this a couple times now. It’s meh at best. Whatever they are doing when they brew this – it’s wrong. I think they are counting on the sugar syrup to make up for the tea. I order it unsweetened. It is bitingly bitter and puckery astringent. It appears to be white peony – at least mostly. Yet it is devoid of most of the flavor that should be present. I realize I have been spoiled by tasting some of the best white teas available. This might as well be grocery aisle tea. I am not above grocery aisle tea but Starbucks/Teavana is too pricey for meh tea.
I add a packet of Splenda to make it palatable. It is nice and cold at least.

I haven’t been on this site in ages. I would like to say I have drunk tea diligently, but I have always put it off, to the point that I was forced to buy a new batch of hojicha because my first purchase was too stale to brew a proper cup. I’m oversteeping a cup of the new tea now…

I spend a lot of time on campus these days, and sitting in Starbucks is the most convenient since they offer wifi and functional wall outlets. I noticed a new advertisement for an iced white tea. It sounded delicious, and the other iced teas are pretty good. So I ordered a cup of the white tea unsweetened and undiluted… it tasted like watered down black tea.

So I asked if I had the right tea. They assured me that I did. There was nothing light or floral about this tea. I’m not a white tea connoisseur, but I expected something closer to their green tea and ended up with something bitter. :(

I couldn’t discern much from the tea bags they use, and apparently the iced teas are all brewed at the same temperature. Anyway, I was disappointed by the tea and felt like I wasn’t given what I paid for. This only added to the disappointment at finding out the sugar content of their matcha the day before.