Focus

There was a great temptation to crawl back into bed this morning, but I had bought some lamb and needed to get Shepherd’s Pie made. Once the puppies had finished ravaging my kitchen, I decided to get it going before I could change my mind. I thought this tea from GMATHIS might help me stay on track and not slip away to the soft, soft down comforter and all those pillows…oh, wait, this is called Focus, right?

So I took a sip. Nice! I taste the tea, and there is the chocolate-y orange-y flavor nicely present but not masking the base. I don’t know if I have ever had chicory, so I am not sure if I am picking it up, but I do taste a touch of the mate. I would swear I taste a hint of something Ike cardamom. Is that the chicory?

Thank you, GMathis, for a lovely new tea to start my day with today!

We started a new Christmas tradition last year—now that the teenager tends to sleep till mid-morning, Mom and Dad let him and we go out for breakfast at Denny’s at the crack of dawn.

So this morning, I took my own teabag with me. (Another out-of-town find; I can get it locally, but it was a lot cheaper at Whole Foods. ) And I’m glad I did — I think this is, on my sliding and wishy-washy rating scale, the best Tazo in their current line-up.

Cocoa and orange are the predominant flavors, but the ingredient list also mentions lemongrass and chicory along with the black tea. Whatever blending voodoo Tazo does do with this works wonderfully well. Reminds me of those little chocolate-covered orange cordial sticks (weren’t they once branded as Walking Sticks?) that you could only find at the drugstore.

Our nice, bleary-eyed college-aged server brought me a mini-pot of hot water along with my cup and one bag held up pretty well for two big steeps.

Someone left a few of these tea bags at work in the “need a tea, take a tea, have a tea, leave a tea” pile. It is ok, not bad but certainly not amazing. It feels like someone tried to dress the tea up with whatever flavours we left over in the cupboard. I can definitely taste citrus oil and cocoa. While it is not making me focus it is certainly waking me up. There is a mildly sweet cocoa aftertaste that lingers. There is a chicory flavour that seems to mask the flavour of the mate tea. It also feels like my mouth is coated in a fuzzy substance after drinking this tea.

I should have known better that if the tea was in the community sharing pile, it probably wasn’t the best tea, otherwise it wouldn’t have been left there.

/sigh/ I forgot to bring enough tea whilst visiting my parents. I am now raiding their stash of teabags to find some good blacks for the mornings. This isn’t bad, I’ve had it before. Not a whole lot of “deep” flavors here, but it’s nice.

Found a box on vacation in Florida for 25 cents at a yard sale…first win! I was intrigued at the list of ingredients including the Mate and the rosemary. I could not taste much cocoa in this tea as I could a mix of the citrus and rosemary. Overall it’s a good tea. Not teagasm good but this is one I would buy and have on hand at work. I like the fact that it has the Mate in it. My wife’s aunt does not drink coffee so it’s nice to have this on hand as a sub. I definitely like this tea better than a lot of the selections you can find at a Starbucks location.

I don’t know what I was expecting from this tea, but It was definitely a very pleasant surprise. The flavor reminds me of chocolate covered candied orange peel, and that’s not a bad thing ;) The tea is a robust, earthy black. I’ve not had any mate before, so I really can’t identify the flavor.

A surprising amount of depth and complexity. I usually don’t like flavored teas, and this one is definitely good.

This was a nice smooth tea! I really enjoyed drinking it! The tea bag smelled like those chocolate oranges that you smash against the table to break apart the slices. I love the smell of chocolate orange! The flavor wasn’t to overwhelming and it wasn’t underwhelming either! I found the flavor to be really calming while giving me the extra boost I needed without making me feel jittery. Overall a really good tea that I will continue to drink in the mornings! It will be helpful when I go back to school in the Fall! :) (I’m home schooled now). ♥♥

I had this tea at 11:30am before starting my epic day of homework. I thought the caffeine boost would be needed and the name seemed appropriate.
It tastes a lot like there Awake tea (which I enjoy) but with orange flavoring. I enjoyed it!

Finished this box in record time! As a regular drinker of CS Morning Thunder, I can say this blows MT out of the water. Sorry CS! Focus is a smooth, sophisticated blend of black tea and mate. The additional flavors added really give it such a good flavor. Will buy again soon!

Tasty, refreshing and gives an awesome warm feeling inside. Hints of orange and cocoa are a nice touch.

It is very strong. As a matter of fact, it almost tastes consistently oversteeped even when I try to understeep it by 15 seconds or so, but I still enjoy it a lot. I think I might be imagining this because everyone else said it was barely there, but I can really taste/smell the cocoa and the orange is surprisingly not overpowering with it! It’s like it ended up being the scrumptious chocolate orange tea that it was never trying to be in the first place.

This would not be my first choice for a wake-up tea, which I guess is a minus for a tea that calls itself “focus”, but I think it’s a good any-time tea. Not sure I’d buy it again, but it was definitely worth a try and worth getting.

Edit: I’m not posting less logs because I’ve stopped drinking tea, I’m posting less because I basically ran out of everything I bought over the summer. There will be more when I get money I can spend on delicious leaves I can then throw in hot water and drink.

As soon as the water pours in you can smell the orange peel. I taste mostly the orange and not the black tea or the cocoa peel, but it is still a wonderful tea.

This tea was enjoyable. Much like a chocolate orange cookie. A nice dessert kind of tea for times when you want something sweet but not the calories.

This is probably the best tea i’ve ever tasted by Tazo. I was slightly apprehensive about having to commit again to another whole box of Tazo tea due to the first box I ever bought being absolutely terrible. (Tazo Passion) I can definitely taste the cocoa in it which is delicious, to say the least. I am looking forward to test the “focus” of this tea when it comes time for college finals!

This tea is SO delicious. I love it.
My friend (a total tea nerd… she’s given me all kinds of great tea tips) made me try this, insisting it tasted like “drinking a chocolate orange.” It’s true! It’s the sweetest, most smooth and beautifully tasty tea I’ve ever had. It’s chocolate-y and citrus-y and so sweet and wonderful. It’s strong and it’s the perfect tea to drink while doing homework. YUM!

Cacao and Orange are dominant both dry and steeped, with herbaceous notes from the Mate and a full, round flavor that lingers without being bitter. Do not confuse cacao for “chocolate” – the smell is like 90% cacao dark chocolate, not Swiss Miss! My new favorite afternoon tea while plugging away at work, but probably too much going on for breakfast-time.

I love the “quirky” flavor the yerba mate adds to the cocoa and orange peel. I’d definitely say it helps me focus with caffeine from the black tea.. Add honey and yum!

When I first read that there was chicory in this tea, I was uncertain I would like the flavor, however, it is now my favorite tea. the flavor of this tea is amazing, and I love yerba mate, so after I have a cup I am left feeling gung-ho, and super happy! The cocoa and orange flavors really come through, it is a delight!

This tea is my new favorite. I tried it this morning for the first time & found the taste to be excellent due to the perfect blend of ingredients.

I spotted this on the top shelf of the grocery store and threw it in my cart. Wasn’t sure what to expect but it sounded yummy. I brewed up a cup as soon as I got home, it is 2 bags per a mug (16ish oz) so its 50cents a mug of tea.

The aroma is mellow & light on the tongue, I can definitely taste cloves on the end note. I do not taste nor smell cocoa but did get a whiff on orange as I opened the envelope.
It is a nice cup for a cool afternoon when you need a lift when the kids get home from school.