Spice of Life

Thanks to Jessica for swapping teas with me and sending me this!

This tea has a typical Teavana mixture of a smaller amount of white tea mixed with several other fruit and nut bits. The blend smells pretty great! It brews up a light golden color and smells like sweet pistachios, nuts and a bit of bitter citrus (maybe the peel?). I enjoy the taste of this tea. Their are some similarities between this tea and the Apricot Caramel Torte. They share the same sweetness. I wouldn’t really call this tea spicy, but it is a flavorful mixture. Glad to have this.

Mmm, tasty! It smells like a cookie! The taste is nice and subtle. Coriander really goes well with citrus-y flavors. It almost tastes like there’s vanilla in there. It’s so smooth and nutty! I can barely taste the white tea base but that’s ok. It’s still yummy.
I wonder though…the ingredients say “red pepper flakes” but aren’t these pink peppercorns? or even red peppercorns (if these exist)? There are peppercorns of some sort but they are not mentioned in the ingredients. Hmm…

Anyway! Can’t wait for the second infusion!

For me, the sweet nuttiness of this tea is more prominent than the citrus notes (which are there). The coriander is an interesting addition. It is drinkable, but not terribly inspiring to me. I think I will try blending it with some honeybush vanilla like another person suggested in the tasting notes to see if that gives it more body.

This was the second tea that the Teavana sales staff talked me into purchasing last weekend. Curiously, they didn’t try to sell it to me as a standalone tea, but instead as an added ingredient for other blends.

The staff recommended that I blend this tea with Teavana’s Honeybush Vanilla selection. I did and the combo was great! However, to give an accurate review of the Spice Of Life tea, I felt that it needed to be judged on its own merit with a solitary steeping.

After brewing this white tea for two minutes at 175 degrees, as recommended, a dark yellowish color emerged that reminded me of…well…never mind what it reminded me of. I don’t want to negatively (and unjustly) prejudice this review. I guess my upcoming annual physical caused that thought to come to my mind.

The aroma was very nice, almost like potpourri. The taste of this tea is absolutely divine! It is a complex smorgasbord of nuttiness, sweetness, fruit, and spices. The flavor is smooth and it leaves a gentle sweet aftertaste on your palate.

I am amazed that Teavana didn’t advertise this white tea as BOTH a fantastic individual blend AND a terrific supplement to spice up other varieties. I am ready to go back into the lab and splice this tea into some of my morning black tea favorites!

The smell from this tea is much more stronger and appealing than the taste. This tasted like a watered down chai to me. The spices didnt come through in the taste, only the smell was nice and the white tea was nonexistent to me. I am saddened by the drastic difference between the smell and the taste as for I had high hopes.

This is an interesting tea. For those of you who prefer alot of actual tea in their cup, avoid this one….(Though I imagine most of you avoid Teavana like the plague anyways.)
I like this tea so far…only had a few sips. I had meant to concentrate on mostly fruity blends when at Teavana’s but since they were out of this tea the last time I went…I decided to jump on it. It’s nice and sweet, warm…I’d say more of a fall/winter tea, but it’s been threatening to storm all day so, I’ll use that as an excuse to enjoy this. I enjoy this better then the Cha Yen Thai Tea I had earlier, so in comparison I think I’d be more likely to get another bag of this when I run out.

This tea is really wonderful for pairing my two favorite blends are with Teavana’s White Ayurvedic Chai and their Maharaja Chai Oolong. On its own it feels watered down, I feel it lacks body. Currently I am drinking it with a Coconut Chai Green Tea by Zhena’s Gypsy Tea (which is also on the lighter side and has promise for pairing). Their nice together for a cool spring after dinner tea, I’m looking for creative ways to use up my spice teas as most will be a year old when I want to drink them again in the fall. I didn’t sweeten this blend though I find Spice of Life usually benefits from a teaspoon of rock sugar. Anywho going to watch Immortals with the husband as the boy has fallen asleep against my arm.

An instant light citrus taste that covers the tongue with a pleasant sweetness. A great woodiness and savory quality from the coriander. Overall this tea is such a pleasant, simple and calming white citrus tea!

Previously, I have combined this with sweet oolong revolution or maharaja chai oolong for an iced tea, but never had tried it hot as a stand alone. It worked well as a mixer, but I especially enjoyed it by itself. I used 2 tsp/8 oz and added some stevia. The predominate flavor was delicate orange. I would buy again to drink in the evening. It exceeded my expectations.

Not my favorite tea – very light flavor, and very easily made bitter if over steeped; however, it smells WONDERFUL: nutty and almond-y and sweet, a little like marzipan, but a bit floral and herbal as well. Worked well for me with a half teaspoon of honey.

I just got this one tonight! It was a surprise visit to the local store from my awesome husband. This one was something I would have never had picked for myself. But we once again had the friendly salesman and he said that it was one of his favorites.
The liquor is very light on this and the leaves are very beautiful after brewed. I added about 1/2 tsp more than suggested which I think helped boost the flavor. There is very little nut flavor even though I was expecting more. The orange really stand out and reminds me of some kind of Christmas treat. I can’t quite put my finger on what specifically though. There is an underlying warmth in this blend that screams to be mixed with that amazing chai/chai blend. Maybe once I procure some it will be the first thing I try! I actually really enjoy this blend and highly suggest trying it just to get something that I have never tasted in another tea.

The smell is a blend of sweet citrus and lightly nutty, with the combination of almonds and pistachios, and a subtle spice.

The taste mirrors the aroma exactly, giving off a delectable quality blend mixed with light white tea.

I added half a teaspoon to compliment the sweet citrus.

This is definitely my favorite flavored white tea from Teavana! It’s pretty good on its own, but has a strange almond aftertaste if it’s not a little sweetened. There’s a distinct, nutty, spicy aroma and it infuses to be a golden color. It blends really well with Honeybush Vanilla or Zingiber Ginger Coconut. Great as an iced tea!

So many lightly-flavored teas are floral, and so many “spiced” teas are heavy. Spice of Life hits right in that tiny niche that is neither. It’s a very very light flavor, and while it’s not spicy in the “cinnamon/cloves/pepper” sense, it’s definitely a savory, nutty blend. It’s excellent by itself, though it mixes well with rooibos or honeybush for a somewhat heavier, earthier taste. It’s a good change of pace from white teas that are either fruity or straight up, and is subtle enough to keep the white tea flavor noticeable rather than knocking it out with a chai suckerpunch.

flavorful for sure. I like the blend of spices. One of the blends I especially like from Teavana.

This is the strangest tasting tea. Someone described it to me as being similar to Cola, and I can almost see the comparison. Somehow it becomes so much more than the sum of its parts. I can’t really describe it but it’s not at all unpleasant, and the spice is noticeable without being overly strong. Unusual.

I love this tea. I feel like the peppercorns, the nuts and the orange completely overwhelm the taste of the white tea, but there is something about the pistachio combined with the orange and just a hint of spice that makes me really happy on a cold, grey morning. I like it by itself, but I bet it would be great with dessert, if that’s your thing.

I steeped it longer than I should have, since I was not satisfied after only 2 minutes. I only got two steepings out of this tea, and I can usually get three good ones if I experiment with most teas.

This is my first ever tea review so it’s probably not very good, and I’m not exactly what you’d call a tea fanatic due to the fact that I’m 15 and all my tea comes from my modest allowance! However, I’m willing to give it a shot.

This tea is a little bit deceptive, because by the strong aromatic scent you would expect a strong aromatic flavor to go with it. The scent is amazing, a blend of distinct sweet and nutty smells that sort of reminded me of Christmas cookies. The taste of the tea is a lot lighter and more delicate, and nowhere near as strong. Nonetheless it is a tasty and gentle tea that definitely leaves an impression!

I don’t think that this tea is spicy. The smell and taste of it reminds me of juicy fruit gum. On the day that I bought this tea I was looking to buy a 1 lb non caffeine option to drink between cups of black tea. The price of this tea cautioned me to buy only a small amount. After steeping it I did not find myself connecting with the flavor. I like it enough to finish the 4 oz tin but but not enough to buy it again in the future.

This was one of the first teas I had purchased on the suggestion of a good friend. Although I don’t purchase it often, it’s one of my favorites. Maybe because you never forget your first?