How do most people here perceive flavored teas?

Personally, I’m not a big fan. But I realize people’s tastes are different and if you like flavored tea go ahead and drink them.

My thoughts are that flavoring a good tea is like flavoring a good wine. Why ruin the pure taste of it?

Hence, teas that are to be flavored are usually not that good to begin with. The same can be said about tea blended with other ingredients.

I really appreciate straight teas, and all the variation and complexity that exists within them. And I still love flavoured teas – some of my reliable favourites are flavoured.

I think often times, low quality tea is used as a base for flavoured blends, with the assumption that the flavours will cover up the lack of quality, but this is far from always the case. I’ve had many really excellent flavoured teas, where the base and the flavourings really work together.

Not a fan of flavored with a couple of exceptions – namely a really good Earl Grey and something like real vanilla beans. Not a fan at all of “flavoring agents”.

I generally think that unflavored tea has enough interest, all on its own. But I do enjoy some flavored or blended teas. Some may be low quality, but certainly not all.

Why do you ask? Does it really matter what the rest of us think, if you like them? Just curious. :)

It all depends on my mood…I like to keep a good variety of both flavored and unflavored teas on hand so I have lots of options for different situations.

I like them, but I have more unflavoured teas in my cupboard now.

I have more flavored teas, as I’m really trying to kick the soda habit. Sometimes a flavored tea makes a nicer “sodalike” stand in to my taste buds. However, I still love a great unflavored tea. The other big catch for me is that I have been medically advised to either shun all caffeine (funny joke, eh?) or to have very little, so I tend to opt for decaf teas when they are available. Herbals are iffy with me, so I’ll go for a black or green decaf when I can, and will choose something flavored to help me dodge the flatness that seems inevitable with decaf.

I find that I have become more and more picky about flavored teas as my tea journey has continued on. I still appreciate the good ones and keep a few in my cupboard, but the majority of the teas I drink now are unflavored.

I generally prefer unflavored tea but have no issues with flavored. For me it is like drinking good wine, but sometimes I just crave a champagne or Fireball.

I’ve had many excellent flavored teas that utilize a quality base. You learn quick enough which companies are using cheap base tea, though in the end it all boils down to drinking what you like. No shame in flavored teas. :)

I love a fun flavour, so long as it doesn’t come with a bad quality base tea. I feel like it adds something interesting. That being said, I wouldn’t drink a flavoured tea in the morning when I’m fighting to stay awake, so my tea of choice really depends on the time of day. I also find it fun to seek out seasonal teas that contain ingredients such as apple and cinnamon in the fall, or peppermint and chocolate in the winter, etc. Some of these are strongly linked to happy memories for me, so I’ll keep them around regardless of what more objective tea drinkers would think of them.