Teavana

The story behind my having this tea is rather interesting. I ordered from Teavana back in December, and received a couple of the teas (which I had gotten at deep discount) singly, and shipped via UPS (pretty expensive, especially since I live in a rural area). Then, during later January, then February, then the beginning of March, I just kept getting emails stating that the rest of my order would be shipped within 30 days. Great. I believed them the first time, but after the second identical email, I was less trusting.

Anyway, I then contacted Teavana through their website…No response….Then left a message on their Facebook…That got a response. They explained that my teas were all either out of stock or discontinued and would send a package to make up for it. OK, why didn’t they just say the stuff was discontinued a long time ago?

So, that’s how I got this tea. It arrived with a couple of massive tins and some other bags yesterday in a big box, and I opened this at the behest of my daughter who wanted to smell it. It smells awesome. Reminds me of summer mornings when I would get up early with my Mom to pick strawberries. The green tea smells fresh and grassy-green (in a good way), and the strawberries smell real and juicy. After steeping, it maintains its aroma, but on tasting it falls short of the mark. Just not that flavorful. Maybe, if I added more sugar it would be brighter, but I’m not a big sugar fan. A teaspoon in 12 oz. should be enough, and it’s not with this tea. Drinkable, but not something I would purchase…Except maybe to use it as potpourri.

Lastly, I looked at the packing slip from the Teavana “gift,” and noticed that 1 Teavana mug was supposed both packaged and shipped in the order. It wasn’t. I don’t want or need another mug – I just find their customer service to be weird, disjointed, and lacking in follow-through.

That’s my weird story, and I’m stickin’ to it.

I love strawberry teas and this one from Teavana does not disappoint. It is still not as good as the Strawberry Rhubarb Parfait from Davids but still good. It has a sweet cream flavor that I rather like. It tastes like a warm strawberry yogurt. Again not as good or as cheap as the tea from DT so changes are I won’t be buying it again, but I was pleasantly surprised with this one.

After smelling this tea I was really looking forward to bringing it home and trying it! However, it was really weak and I hardly had any spice to it at all! I was pretty disappointed in the lack of vivacity, with flavours such as Strawberry and Chocolate!

However, I blended it with Organic Cinnamon Rooibos Chai from David’s Tea and the combination is just divine! The cinnamon adds the spice I was looking for, and the rooibos fills in the lack of tea and gives more body to the fillers! Try it out sometime!

This is a great breakfast tea for those who prefer something a little less strong than perhaps and Irish Breakfast or a bolder black tea, in fact it is usually my go to breakfast tea. Delicious Earl Grey with the vanilla notes from the creme which soften the taste. It smells divine! So floral and sweet but soft. It is one of my personal favorites and has become a staple tea in my pantry. I always make it for guests when they come over too since its a tasty tea with plenty of flavor but not over the top bold.

I originally had my first taste of this tea at a brunch with my mother. Ever since then I was on a mission to find it again. Finally found it and although I have nothing against Teavana in the slightest, I know a lot of people aren’t thrilled with it however this is one tea that I think is worth every penny. Just recently repurchased it because my girlfriend drinks it so much. It has become her favorite. I normally prepare it with 1/2 TBS of sugar and milk.

I purchased 5 oz. of this tea because it was on sale after the holidays and it smelled like raspberries. Who could pass up a delicious smelling and cheap oolong at the mall? Not this guy!

My version did not have any actual dried raspberries in it (as some have seen) but retained a pleasing raspberry aroma. I was told by an imposing swarm of hawkish Teavana sales staff this was a “natural” flavor and no raspberries or artificial flavor were added to the tea. I think they were confused by this tea as well.

I’ve had a lot of Six Summits to get through so heres the bottom line. The raspberry flavor lasts fleetingly for the first steep. Okay. So its flavored oolong… I wish Teavana would just flat out call it “RASPBERRY FLAVORED oolong” and not skirt around the issue here. Beyond the raspberry flavor (which is enjoyable, adulterant or not) lies a fairly tame oolong: slightly floral, mild vegetal musk, not unpleasant just thin and somewhat unremarkable compared with the rest of the field. Multiple infusions don’t bring out a whole lot more from this tea, I never felt compelled to go beyond 3 or 4.

Overall, the raspberry and mild oolong character lends itself well to blending with other teas – hot or iced – which is always a plus and cannot be said of every oolong. I’m glad I purchased this tea on sale, its tasty, but pretty thin once the novelty of raspberry wears off. Aside for blending, my remaining Six Summits has taken a back shelf to some of the more complex and full bodied oolongs out there.

It was okay. I had never had white tea before. So far not a huge fan of white tea. I will have to try another places white tea. I really need to branch outside of Teavana, but it seems to be the only brick and mortar place that is on my route.

Wow – WOW! I love this tea. It is fantastic! I adore how limey it is. If only it weren’t so absurdly expensive…honestly, I’d love to know why this tea costs so much. I know that white teas are a lot more expensive, but still – it’s just absurd. I’ll have to make the little bit I bought last, I guess…

Sipdown. Prefer this to Matevana by a long shot as this is much smoother and the flavors are better integrated, though a tad flat. Brews up nice and dark. Hazelnut with a hint of chocolate. Benefits from the addition of almond milk.

By the way, if you’re looking for a mate-based coffee substitute, the best – by far – that I’ve found is Guayaki’s Javamate, in either Vanilla or Mocha Maca flavors. That is purely on a flavor and body basis… you can even brew it in your coffeemaker. And there are pluses, as well — it is a socially-responsible company and these products also contain ramon nut, a rainforest “superfood” that’s still largely under the radar, at least in the US. Whole Foods used to carry it but now you can only order it from the company, apparently.

The reviews are all over the map on this one, and I fall into the “where’s the chocolate?” camp. I love mate but this tastes like smokey bark. Actually dislike it unless it gets a splash of almond milk, that helps a lot. I’m almost tempted to add sugar but I never do that when rating a tea. Maybe I got a bad batch. As a coffee substitute it moderately succeeds, based mostly on its depth/body. I really like Guayaki’s Javamate, in either Vanilla or Mocha Maca flavors, as a coffee substitute. Both of them leave Matevana in the dust flavor-wise, plus Guayaki’s a good company, socially, and the products contain another rainforest superfood, ramon nut.

I got more of a smokey flavor this morning that I haven’t noticed as much in the two years I’ve been drinking this tea. I usually catch wine noted from this. Hmmm…

This is one of my favorites. I’ve been searching for a replacement keemun because I feel this one is a little overpriced. But it’s so good! Dry leaf smells like pipe tobacco. It has a very thick mouthfeel. Notes of red wine. This has very complex flavors, I taste something different every time I drink it. I’ll be tasting this tea all day as I go about my business.

The only matcha I’ve ever tried, and it’s wonderful! The lovely, velvety texture and strong flavour aside, it never fails to lift my spirits and give me a boost of energy

Very floral, but soothing and it smells divine. And it tastes like green tea underneath, which is lovely

If brewed correctly, this is a wonderful light, fruity tea that reminds me of going on picnics in the summer. It’s a beautiful pink colour, and taste differs depending on how much of each tea you add.
Personally, I like a little more white youthberry than orange blossom, which can be too strong and orange peel-y for me.

This was horrid! Not to mention there are about two tiny specs of tea leafs in it. On the website the ingredients failed to mention that there is sugar in this- candied fruits does not belong in tea. Fruit yes, it is natural and clean but candied fruit is a processed, preserved and coated with sugar ! disappointed.

One of my favorite flavored teas to take with me to work and allow it to be sipped on all day in my insulated travel mug. I envision a crisp iced tea with this too but haven’t tried that yet. As the weather warms up I plan to try it.

After drinking several more flavors since this one, I’m going to say that I don’t really like this one quite as much as the first time I had it.

This is my first dessert tea purchase. I had just had a slice of pizza at the mall and was craving something to cleanse the garlic out of my mouth.. like a dessert. I ventured over to Teavana and looked around and the sales person showed me the new teas. I was intrigued by the chocolate tea – something I would normally not be interested in.. but I wanted dessert!

So, I had her make me a glass (she put 2 tsp of rock sugar in it) and took it back to my office. Yum! Now granted, I have nothing to compare this to but my first glass was great. I did not buy any loose but will go back and get some possibly next week. I really think this tea could keep my hands out of the cookie jar after dinner! :)

My favorite tea and a treat to have every now and then (too expensive to drink every day) – I’ve steeped this many times and found that temperature for this green tea’s critical if you want to maintain the complex, sweet flavor. For those who want to re-steep this, it’s possible to steep for 30 sec-1 min longer for that second cup while maintaining the same temperature.

Amount used: 1.5 tsp (best if you want to steep twice with a stronger flavor)

Dry tea: Fragrant, grassy, slightly sweet aroma; appears like dark-green grass clippings

Method: Avoid boiling the water since that will alter the flavor of the tea; if temperature’s between 160-180 degrees, cool it off by waiting or adding cool, filtered water in increments til it reaches about 155 degrees. Pour some cool, filtered water on top of the leaves in the basket before steeping which should bring the temperature down to 150 degrees. Steep until 90 sec passes, using the remaining 5-10 seconds to flash steep.

The tea itself: Jade-green/green color liquid (the color reminded me of matcha green tea); Lovely sweet, grassy aroma. Complex, grassy, buttery, sweet flavor and has an aftertaste that sits well on the palate.

Second steep: the color is a lighter green than the first steep, the flavor will be more neutral but maintain the buttery sweetness. This tea will be a lighter tea to drink with a nice aroma.

I am a dedicated milk tea drinker, but this oolong, an inspired choice by a new friend, may very well sway me back into green and light tea territory. It has a lovely aroma and taste, and is not bitter at all (I did add sugar to my first cup, but drank the following cups straight). It re-steeps fabulously; the tea-person at Teavana assured me this oolong, at a pricey $22.00 per 2 ounces, could re-steep 3 to 4 times with no trouble. And it did!

I’ve now enjoyed five cups of this fabulous Oolong, earthy and light, with a touch of fruit and creamy textures. Very cleansing and comforting!

Smells like a sweet, floral, nutty cake! Surprisingly and beautifully sweet with characteristics of a flavoured fruit tea. Sweet, light, full of flavour. I get a slight nuttiness at the end, no bitterness whatsoever. It reminds me of a simple cake with nuts and wild honey. This has easily become a top black tea!

This has a really great rich earl grey flavor. It’s the perfect one for me, I prefer it to the plain earl grey. I also love to mix this with the honeybush vanilla.

Have you noticed that sometimes a tea will get a whole lot of tasting notes in a few days? Not even a new tea or one in a tea subscription. That is what happened with this one, I saw some notes on it and was suddenly hit by a craving. Thanks to my swap with Marcel Duchamp, which was perfectly timed, I get to try this one!

I love spiced orange teas. Not cinnamon orange, which can quickly become overpowering, but that kind of melded ginger-cinnamon-anise blend that’s not quite chai. This tea smells SO good while it is brewing, rich and wintry and divine.

The orange and spice are definitely strong here! I don’t know if the oolong really stands out at all, maybe it’s a little woodsy but honestly it’s Teavana, I don’t expect the base to shine. I just want a nice orange cinnamon cup!

But, lurking in the background… hibiscus! What. Not in the description at all! I don’t even know why it is here! The orange flavoring is tart enough as is. I think without the hibiscus I would be head over heels in love with this blend but as it is I just like it. Well, actually I really enjoyed my cup! But I’d like it more without the hibiscus. I’ll be cold brewing my leaves though, which I’ve found lessens the hibiscus (especially if they’ve been brewed once already).