Peachberry Jasmine Sutra

I had typed something up last night, thinking Steepster was all set…and then it threw the kettle at me. So here it is again, saved, and appearing now like 15 hours later.

I went to the mall after my class today because I needed some face wash. I ended up also getting a sample of a moisturizer for something different, and I kind of zoned out when the associate was going on about it having white tea for anti-aging because, well…I drink that. And then it was like “TEA. You must go to Teavana since you had to come to the second floor anyway.”

So off I went, and what do I head straight towards? http://www.teavana.com/tea-products/tea-cups-mugs/ceramic-tea-cups/p/laughing-owls-tea-cup Owls on a teacup! So perfect for me since it was also on sale.

By the way getting to and from the nearest mall is now awesome because of a diverging diamond interchange. Check it out on youtube if you’ve never heard of them. I got from the parking lot at the mall to the parking lot of my apartment complex in under 8 minutes. That’s ridiculous.

Anyway. I sort of had been thinking I needed a refill of Blackberry Mojito, though I maintain I have an owl radar (owldar?) and I had oddly made a beeline right over to the sale stuff without realizing it. The sales associate who came over there and I had been talking the whole time, and we seemed to have really similar tastes in tea, so she had me smell this one, which is her favorite.

I was sold on the scent. They should just make it into a perfume too. This is probably like the one time I have actually given in to an upsell there but it was too hard to resist. Then I came home, saw it has somewhat negative reviews here on Steepster, and knew I’d probably like it since somehow that’s how I operate with Teavana blends.

I let this steep at room temp. for around 1 1/2 or 2 hours, long enough for the jasmine pearls to unfurl. This is a hot, hot pink tea, probably thanks to rosehips and hibiscus. This is definitely something I’ll be saving for having cold only.

It really isn’t as good as it smells, but it’s not that horrible. In fact, I quite like it. The problem is the name is silly, because the strawberry and kiwi in here are far more dominant flavors, although I do get a bit of peach. I saw a review on their site where someone said the flavors all kind of intertwine into one fruity flavor, but I can definitely get all three. It mixes nicely with the floral jasmine and the tart hibiscus. It’s not too sweet, and it’s not too tart. Oddly, the aftertaste, which is full on tart, is rather nice in here.

I probably won’t get more after I use up what I bought considering the price, but it’s not bad. Only problem other than the lack of peach considering its place in the tea’s name, is how the actual flavor of the green tea itself is absolutely lost. It definitely would make this tea even better if I could taste more than the jasmine.

Before tea, let me just say that this weather is amaaaazing. Sunny and warm but still a bit of a chill. I’ve opened my windows and my doggies sit themselves in front of the breeze and just sniff. They do this all day long. You would think I never take them outside. sheesh. But it’s cute so it’s ok.

Anyways, I got home early from training for my new job craving something fruity. Fortunately, it’s not so warm that hot tea is an unbearable thought. I found this tea that I got from the generous MadelineAlyce a while back. I think I’m brave enough to try it today. :) I actually love the way it looks. It’s got cute little jasmine tea balls and nice colorful dried fruit. The name of the tea is a bit off-putting, as is Teavana’s reputation. But it smells pretty good and I like jasmine so how bad can it be, right? I grew more nervous when I realized from the red brew that I was about to imbibe some hibiscus concoction. I cut the brewing time short so it wouldn’t get too sour.

I’m actually enjoying this. Jasmine and peach go pretty well together. I could definitely do without the hibiscus though. The flavors are pretty light. I’m pretty sure it’s because I took the leaves out so quickly to avoid hibiscus overkill. Perhaps a second brew would be good now that the jasmine balls have unfurled a bit. I do love me some jasmine. As for the berry part of this tea, I don’t really taste it. It’s mostly hibiscus with a smooth jasmine and peach background. Not something I’d buy, but I think I’ll be able to finish the sample without any trouble. :)

I got a nice package from AmazonV in the mail today. In it came this along with many others and this one I picked based on smell. The dry leaf is lovely and smells like it would be a wonderful potpourri. Steeped up following directions and this is a little tart. I don’t mind it too much but it’s not something I could see myself ordering or drinking daily. It’s just sorta Meh.

Ok…..I had promised myself that I would drink down the tea that I have before getting any new teas………..Umm yeah that plan worked out great……….NOT! LOL. I went to Teavana’s Wednesday and 4 teas plus a bag of German Rock Sugar. (Teas: this one, Sevenberry Sangria and Strawberry Rose Champagne.)

On to the tea: I actually tried this one last night, so I do not remember all the impressions of the tea, (Tried doing a tasting note last night, but either the site or my computer/internet connection wasn’t letting me, so I gave up after a while.)
Dry: Very fragrant. sweet and earthy. pungent, even.
Wet: Similar, but alittle sweeter.
Taste: Oooo I like! lol. Now I have not tried Jasmine tea by itself so I don’t know what to expect from that. I noticed in other reviews that others mentioned a very little taste of Peaches, despite the name. For me, peach was the 1st thing I tasted. Like a peach punch (a Pow punch, not punch as in juice.) But I liked it, alot. I saw on the review on Teavana’s website for Peach Tranquility, that someone paired it with the Peachberry to get a very peachy tea, so I’m going to give that a shot sometime this weekend.
I am however beginning to get a little bit aggravated with Teavana…..I mean I’ve bought most of my teas from them because they are conveniently nearby, (albeit a few towns over.) and to a certain extent the quality of the teas are better then at the tea shop I started going to back in April. (Plus, that tea shop, I prefer, in trying to save gas. to only go to that shop when I’m in the area every monday to pick up my Grandmother for the afternoon/evening.) So I feel kind of limited where I can go for tea.
But, anyways why I am kind of getting exasperated with Teavana’s is: Smell wise, alot of their teas smell wonderful! But then the taste would be Meh, Blah or outright YUCK! lol. I mean generally speaking, that is just the way it goes sometimes, you win some, lose some. But here is another….I’ve mentioned before on tasting notes that my sweet taste buds seem to be off kilter somehow because I keep having to add way more sweetener then I really feel comfortable with, (Yet if I don’t it’s torture to drink it and yeah I don’t want to go down that route.) Been experimenting with various sweeteners, so I could use less, but that has not worked out. I had thought with the rock sugar that I would finally be able to use a little bit, really make the stuff last….Umm nope! You know how many spoonfuls of that stuff that the tea took before it tastes sweet enough? 8. Of course a lot of it, no matter how much I stirred, sunk to the bottom, so when I got down closer to the bottom it got almost koolaid sweet. It’s technically better then honey, because honey just takes over. Hmmm I wonder if I try melting the sugar in plain hot water 1st, reheat it, and then pour it over the tea leaves? lol. Argh. That would be a pain, plus by then the water would probably be flat. Gnng. So it’s very possible that this might be the only time I will buy the rock sugar, it is just too expensive for it to be such a pain in the ass to work with.

But ending note is: I do definitely like the Peachberry enough that I think I would get it again, maybe even enough that I would get a tin specifically for it.

I like this enough to have re-purchased it at least three times. I like it plain or blended with other teas and iced or hot, but especially iced and always with sweetener. It is too tart for my tastes without sweetener and I can see why it gets some negative reviews if people are drinking it straight-it is mouth-puckeringly sour. I typically use stevia as my sweetener of choice. So right now, I’m drinking it hot for a lower caffeine evening cup. And it’s sweet, yet tart in a very satisfying way. Yum.

This tea is so delicious and refreshing. I love that you can enjoy it hot or iced anytime! :)

Well, I liked what I smelled in the store…I liked what I smelled again when I opened the bag to prep my tea this evening. HOWEVER, I am not liking what I am tasting at all. Mostly because there seems to be no taste at all to this tea. There is a SLIGHT hint of peach and strawberry and when I say slight I mean I really have to swish this one around in my mouth to bring out the flavor.

So I opted to pour it over ice…in order to “shock” it and hope that would bring out the flavor a little more. Now I can taste the jasmine and it still isn’t a good taste, but at least I am tasting something – right? Anyone have this and done anything to jazz it up a bit with good results? Please let me know. On a side note thankfully I did not buy a lot of this one.

Like all of Teavana’s teas, this one took a few sips to decide if I liked it or not. Well I forgot I was cooling the water in my kettle before pouring it over the tea.. so this tea was brewed at a cooler temperature then I wanted to brew it at. It turned out ok still. The liquor is a very pretty pink color. The aroma is floral and fruity. I think I liked the aroma better then the actual tea. The fruit flavor is light. Hints of berries and peach. I couldn’t really taste any jasmine or floral notes (But then again I only brewed this at 165 ish.. next time we will try it a little bit warmer.) Slight tart aftertaste.. didn’t really like that.. But I liked this tea. Not my favorite but I think I would order it again.

Like so many of Teavana’s blends, Peachberry Jasmine Sutra (and we have a WINNER for Stupidest Tea Name of the Year!) is dominated by its artificial flavors. This can be a good thing—I can’t be the only person who tried Youthberry and decided she never wanted to be without it. Or it can be a bad thing: Snow Geisha anyone? Or it can be just a ho-hum disappointment.

I was so hoping for this tea to taste as good as it smells. You are probably all familiar with the canister-top-waving selling technique at Teavana, and this one got me: a soft, fruity, sophisticated bouquet. I brewed it using a mesh ball, 175 degree water, for 2 minutes as the package recommends. At that point I sniffed: mmm, smells nice. And I looked: deep purple color. And I tasted: hot water with a slight perfumey taste. Dammit.

I added a little bit more hot water and gave it another 2 minutes, and tasted again: slightly sour hot water with a slight fruity/perfumey taste. What a disappointment. I was hoping for tea with an actual distinctive taste. Instead I tasted the insipid flavor of the green rooibos (I kind of don’t see the point of green rooibos; if I’d known this blend had so much of it, I wouldn’t have wasted my money), the artificial flavors, a slight sourness from the fruit, and that perfumey quality that might be the jasmine, or might just be more of the artificial flavor. I don’t taste green tea in the slightest. Am I crazy to have expected a little bit of green tea or jasmine flavor in a green jasmine blend?!

I then added copious sugar in the hopes that would bring out the flavor; what it did was obliterate all the flavor that wasn’t artificial. So now I’m drinking something that Victoria’s Secret should bottle and sell: hot sugary fruity perfume drink!

Sheesh. I had such high hopes for this one. That’ll teach me not to do my homework where Teavana teas are concerned. Next time I’m tempted to go to the mall and spend too much money, I’ll check Steepster.

Im finally at school with all my teas! This tea is from LauraR’s massive tea purge that I got in the mail today =)
I saw this as it was steeping going red and I’m thinking, god damn it what’s in here that’s doing this. Answer: hibiscus. And of course that’s all I taste when I sipped it. The aftertaste was VERY pleasant though and I could actually taste some peach and jasmine, but I don’t know why the hell they put hibiscus in it.. sigh. There goes a potentially super awesome tea.

I am on my third or fourth cup of this tea today. Overall, my relationship with this tea has improved today as I finally figured out that I was oversteeping it before. When steeped too long, the hibiscus flavors take over completely and it becomes hibiscus tea. When steeped for just one minute, the flavors of the green tea, jasmine and mild peach are there blended nicely with the hibiscus. With a faster steep time, I really enjoy this tea. The jasmine flavors don’t hold up on the second steeping (for two minutes).

What is this? This is not a review of a DAVIDsTEA blend!

So for no peculiar reason I had the opportunity to try some of this blend via Starbucks, this is the first loose leaf tea I have tried from Teavana as I usually do not stray far from my favorite DT blends.

Dry the tea has a very floral and fruity aroma that is actually quite soft in comparison to other similar tea blends I have had. The leaves are sparse between all the bits and pieces of fruit but the thing that does stand out is the rolled jasmine balls that give this tea a sophisticated look.

The final brew again retains the same floral smell, it gains a nice pinkish hue from the strawberries I am guessing. It has a light but sweet taste, mine has sat for a while so it has gotten pretty cold (darn paperwork!) it still tastes great leading me to believe this tea would be very tasty as an iced tea.

Going by their directions the tea came out tasting fine, I think 2tsp of leaves for 16oz of tea is too little, for me it came out a little soft tasting (possibly the blend itself?) and it has an amazing amount of crap that will come through your infuser, my mug is full of stuff at the bottom that is a little unappealing, but that is just cosmetics.

I don’t feel it would be a tea that I would go out and purchase for my stash but it has certainly opened up the doors for Teavana to get a blend or two in my stash.

An ever so amazing friend of mine sent this up to me with a bunch of other Teavana flavours I wanted to try. Of course when they arrived I dived right in and . . . they all tasted the same to me. So now I’m revisiting a few and picking out the various notes that make them different. This one . . . it is most definitely the jasmine that makes it unique, but the hibiscus definitely becomes her partner in crime. I say crime because they overpower the other notes, the amazing fruit pieces that give their siren call to my nose when I smell this dry.

I love peach, and was hoping that this was a peach/berry mix. Sadly that isn’t what I got. It isn’t a bad tea, it just isn’t what I was hoping for, or one of my favourites.

Got home too tired for an actual dinner today. I ended up just eating a bowl of cereal. And after cereal, tea! : ) I never seem to be too tired for tea!

I looked for something fruity that I could sip while I finished up some work (yes… still working at 9pm… But at least I’m home!). I decided to steep some Peachberry Jasmine Sutra.

This tea has a history with me. I bought it a while ago. When I read the description online it sounded like something I would love. When I finally had it in my hands, I was sorta iffy about the smell. It smelled great, but not necessarily like something I would want to drink. The first time I brewed it I I had one taste of the tea and… it tasted exactly like Generic Bubble Gum Flavor!!!!! I tried it a few times, bubble gum every time, and gave up on it for a while.

When I brewed it today, I think I was too tired to think about the fact that it was supposed to be a mix of fruity and jasmine (the dry tea is quite a mix! You can see the Jasmine Pearls, Green rooibos, dehydrated strawberries, hibiscus…). When I sipped it (densely sweetened with brown sugar) it was a pleasant surprise! Yum! Liquid Bubble Gum!

So, I have found, that while this is a pretty horrible mix of Jasmine, peach, and berry, it is a pretty decent Bubble Gum flavored tea!!! (Or maybe bubble gum flavor actually is a sum of these flavors??? Doubt it…)

I do not love this tea. Especially since it tastes nothing like it is supposed to! I will finish off what I have left and it will probably be the end of this tea for me!

Amount: 3 scoops
Water: 1 teapot (3 cups) at 160-ish, should have been 175
Steep Time: a little over 3 minutes, i tried sips at 1, 2, and 3. Next time 2
Served: Hot

Smell: peach, fruity, earthy, sweet
Flavor: slightly sour / citrus, strawberry, peach
Body:medium
Liquor: dark red
Aftertaste: bitter, sour

Notes: added honey to help smooth the tartness after tasting, it might be better as a summer iced tea.

This is by far my favorite tea from Teavana. Previously I had been in love with Snow Geisha, but one visit my boyfriend convinced me to try a new brew, and I chose this one. Instant love!

This is a tea for tea-lovers-who-love-sugar-and-sweet-in-everything. The flavor of the tea itself is there, but also heavily mixed with the peach and fruity essences. Upon first sip, your taste buds are hit with the sweetness of the fruit, which then mellows to the more subtle flavor of the tea leaves.

I’ve made this tea both hot and also iced, and I find that though it works well both ways, I prefer it hot since the flavor of the tea tends to mellow as it chills.

If you’re looking for a sweet and fruity tea, definitely try this one – it’s the one tea flavor that I hoard in my cupboard year-round, as a delicious pick-me-up.

I believe the problem with this tea, more so than other Teavana teas I have had, it the total inconsistency. The first batch I had was just so wonderful I could hardly do my job at work because I just wanted to smell and sip this delightful tea. I ordered 4 more bags of it and the first one I opened was just terrible. It had very little fruit, mostly just jasmine green tea balls and the rooibos. If I had wanted and expected that mixture I probably would have been satisfied but when you are expecting a fruity flavor, it was very disappointing. I opened another bag and this one was very strong with hibiscus which made it different but not unpleasant for me. Tried a third bag and I was back to a very heavy strawberry and kiwi tea and it again was different but totally soothing and pleasant. Not sure what the 4th bag will be like. I am mixing these three together and since I have gone to the expense of purchasing it, I will drink it. It will not be like the first bag I had that was just truly wonderful, it will be……..something different.

This is one of my favorites. It is perfect hot or iced, and is the perfect drink in the evening when I want something sweet.

Scary by itself. Much too strong of a flavor. Will be trying again soon.

I tried to like this tea but it’s just not for me. I normally don’t care for fruity teas but Teavana had several fruity samples in the store and it made me want one. On top of that, when I asked the guy behind the counter what he thought, he said he “lives off that tea all day.” Ok, sounds good to me!

First of all, there is way too much going on. You’ve got green rooibos, jasmine pearls (which seem like a waste b/c I can’t taste them), hibiscus (which I can’t stand… didn’t realize it was in here when I bought it), and a whole assortment of dried fruit.

The taste is too tart. I do sweeten some of my teas, but never very much. I felt like this needed a ton of sugar to balance the tartness. But then I was left with a super sweet tea, which just isn’t my taste.

If you like strongly fruit flavored teas, this might be nice. Just not my taste. Unfortunately I have close to 2 oz of it (I think I’m done buying from companies that don’t offer smaller quantities). If anyone is interested in a swap, let me know. Just don’t offer me anything with hibiscus! ;)