Teavana

I’m a sucker for a quality genmaicha, so when I found this one at 75% off last week I couldn’t leave it behind. Today I finally broke into it, and mmmm, I’m glad I got some. I did my first steep as per Teavana’s instructions, and while it was nice, it wasn’t that amazing flavour I’d been hoping to find. Determined, I did a second steep of the leaves at 85C for 75 seconds. This cup now is exactly the flavour I’d been hoping for. The rich greens flavoured gyokuro compliments the genmaicha deliciously, making it a nutty buttery brew of awesome. I’m hoping now I can get a third steep out of this one now before bed!

It’s very sweet and fruit but has a very tart after taste. It’s a good tea cold/iced but I personally don’t like it hot.

Sad that this is already gone! I did get about 80 oz of tea out of a sample that they said would only make 16 oz. The trick, to me, of making this tea taste good was re-steeping. I used two Perfect Tea spoons worth of mix for the first steep (using an IngenuiTea). Then, I simply added 1-2 Perfect Tea spoons worth of new mix to the old, then re-steeped for the same time and temperature. The tea tasted better with every brew – possibly the fact that the tea was coming closer to the correct balance of spices to sugar – the last steep had my IngenuiTea over 1/4 full of spices and tea leaves, and only a few pieces of sugar were in that steep. Speaking of which, rock sugar is the first ingredient in the tea, and there is also candied fruit – those watching their sugar intake should be aware.

I think I’d order this tea again if I could get a rock sugar optional blend of it – the sugar seems unnecessary, and its hard to justify Teavana’s high price tag per 2oz just to be given a tiny bit of tea and a big container of rock candy – especially for those of us with blood sugar issues.

This tea blend was a sample sent from Teavana with my order, and the first Teavana tea I’ve tried. I was shocked to see that they expected you to use the entire 1oz sample for 16oz tea – I’m used to 1oz sizes being good for at least 5 cups, if not more! I suppose the rock sugar is why, but I decided to split this tea the same I do with my others – 1.5-2 Perfect Tea Spoons for 16oz tea. The tea brewed somewhat dark that way, but not too strong – like a nice, sweet chai. The spices are present, but not overwhelming, and brewed this way, the sugar isn’t either! The tea tastes somewhat like a mixture of Big Red gum and plain pink Bubblegum… Surprisingly good!

This would be so much better without the hibiscus! While I long for a strawberry tea of deliciousness, I also long for a mandarin spice oolong and/or black tea.

One day I will find you, tea. One day.

Edit: Oh gods. Had to dump the cup. Moving on. Too much hibiscus AND the cloves are making my tongue numb. Next time, maybe not 3 minutes when I end up with a clove in my basket.

I tried doing shorter steeps on this one yesterday, but the hibiscus was really strong. Again, the sour acidic teas just don’t do it for me, which makes me sad because this one smells so amazing and delicious.

This tea smells so strongly of cinnamon and spices, it’s almost ridiculous. I think I was attracted to it because it reminds me of Silk Road Golden Phoenix, but I don’t like it as much. Possibly due to the inclusion of hibiscus and apple, which makes the tea a little tart. This time I rinsed it for 5 seconds, then steeped for 3 minutes. I had to add 1 tsp of honey to tone down the tartness. I think that if it weren’t for the hibiscus, this would actually be a new favourite tea.

I’d be happy sitting here sniffing the tea all day, but I’m actually trying to drink it. I think it’s another tea that will get finished, but instead of getting this one again I’ll place an (expensive!) order at Silk Road and get more Golden Phoenix.

It’s plain. Nothing compared to Dragonwell or Sench Jade Reserve, but it’s not bad. I like to steep it for a little longer than 1 minute or it’s too light. It’s more similar to white tea than green tea.

The flavor is light. It’s very similar to Dragonwell green tea, but it the aroma is as sweet. It doesn’t have much of an aroma actually. I enjoyed it, but it’s nothing really special.

Another “meh.” Promising aroma from the dry leaves — a nice spiciness — that just doesn’t match up when steeped. Overwhelmed by the cinnamon in this one. With some balance, it could be better.

The new batch of Apple Lemon Pomegranate is incredible! There’s a much stronger apple flavor up front with a very subdued lemon flavor right after. Finally, it wraps up with a nice and sweet pomegranate taste. Give this one another try if it’s been a while.

This is definitely one I enjoy hot, but I haven’t tried it chilled yet. If you’re a fan of fruity herbals, this is definitely one for you, especially if you’ve had either of the two teas before.

The more I drink this, the more I’m simply reminded of a bad Cherry Koolaid. It doesn’t have any sort of “natural” or tea taste. Not a fan, even after trying a few times.

I’m perplexed by this one. It tastes completely different sweetened and unsweetened.

Sweetened, I get a strong cherry taste. It’s way too artificial tasting, it’s like drinking some concentrated Kool-Aid.

Unsweetened, I taste none of that. It tastes like a slightly bitter green tea.

Still trying to decide if I like it either way. Maybe I’ll try just barely sweetening it next time.

Picked this up at Teavana’s Heavenly sale. 4oz for $3 isn’t a bad deal at all, right?

This one’s good. I don’t think I can give it the most accurate rating on first taste, teas always have to grow on me, but this is definitely an almond tea. The cookie taste hits a bit strong, but I don’t think I pick up on any rose. It leaves a slightly sour aftertaste that I’m unsure about.

Overall, pretty good, as are most of Teavana’s teas. Not amazing, but good.

I didn’t like this tea at all

I enjoyed this tea, i usually avoid tea with flavouring and Pu-erh but this one has made my exception list.

I was skeptical, cos the dry leaves had an overwhelming, cloying aroma — but once steeped, it’s a decent, nutty mate.

I got a sample of this one from a friend. Tonight I was craving something new and white, so out it came and into the pot. Dry it smells amazing, all peach and pear and just the type of scent I adore and that almost always lures me into buying a tea.

Brewed, this tea loses so much. There wasn’t nearly as strong of a scent, either of tea or of fruit. Taste wise, when sipped straight, there was very little flavour here. I could definitely taste the tea itself, however it wasn’t anything spectacular. Knowing that Teavana’s teas usually work better with sweetener, I added a little sugar. Still, blah, I tried a little more. Here I finally found the fruit flavour, but it was still understated and extremely dupeable. Overall this one is pretty unmemorable, and I can definitely understand why it was discontinued.

The smell of this tea was overwhelming. Too fruity and flowery, like a perfume. It’s taste was mild but left an aftertaste I can only imagine a lavender soap would taste like.

I wanted to like this tea, but in the end I found it somewhat boring. It is a smooth black tea with definite honey notes, but very little depth besides that. The tea I drank before this was Golden Monkey and compared to that, it does seem somewhat bland. The price (especially on sale) was very reasonable though and perhaps that is some of the appeal. If you like the sweetness a bit of honey does accentuate the flavor and turn it into a lovely post-dinner dessert tea. If you want more complexity and to get more of the natural flavor, leave the sweetener out though.

This is really one of my favorite teas. I find that it tastes lovely in the morning or evening and each time I drink it I pick up different notes. The taste starts with a wonderful caramel mellowness and then you pick up bits of apple and kiwi crispness around the edges. This tea tastes equally lovely with slightly less or more brewing time and is tasty iced too.

Teavana’s sales methods are not my favorite and the full price is quite over the top, considering you can find other lower priced Golden Monkey teas or high quality black teas. Look for it on sale and send your significant other in like I did. :)

Just got my huge order from teavana heavenly sale and wanted to try this one first. At first smell it smells delicious, like a ripe juicy peach. First taste hits and its a nice light peachy taste with notes of the white tea finishing. I like this tea. I like it a lot :-)

Again trying this… cold steeped.

Should have used something other than a metal infuser. It made the tea slightly metallicy. I didn’t notice it in the first few sips but about half way through I did and it wasn’t good. I also should have sweetened it. Cold steeping made me not hate it. I’m going to try it yet again as a cold steep but witha ddifferent filter and sweetened. Maybe then I’ll finally like it… here’s hoping anyway.