Passion

An old, reliable favorite. One bag does well in a 20 oz cup, because hibiscus (also the key ingredient in jamaica/sorrel/bissap) is so strong. It will also stain, so watch out! Had it on the go from Starbucks, and did my usual one bag in, one bag on the side maneuver to save one for later. The advantage to drinking Passion, versus steeping loose hibiscus, is that in addition to not having to rinse it for dirt and loose pieces, Passion is a bit sweeter than hibiscus straight up, which can be a little tart. Whereas I prefer sugar in my hibiscus brews, I like a bit of honey with my Passion. I also really like how that last clause wrote itself just now.

This bag of Passion is the last one of sampler box I had from Tazo. It brews to a deep purple-red color and smells like cherries and other berries. The taste is tart and floral with a moderate pucker.

Still trying to drink all of my bagged tea! My kitchen cupboard is overflowing with boxes of them D: I haven’t had this one so I thought I’d give it a shot. The aroma is very, very pleasant. I was afraid of the flavor because of hibiscus. It most always ruins hot beverages for me… But it’s actually quite pleasant as well. Not as tart as I thought it would be. It’s sweet and juicy. A little tart but it fits.

My tea swap friend also gave me a couple bags of this tea. Against my own judgement, I steeped this one hot. It really should be iced with a lot of sugar. I found it to be very tart, which according to others is because of the hibiscus? It is beautiful to look at though…very pinky purple. It gets dark really quick too. I think I only steeped this for 3 minutes, if that. I also didn’t think I could taste all the ingredients…there are so many! Next time, I’ll try this iced.

What a treat! A friend greeted me at her door with this served iced in a fancy Murano Italian Goblet. The presentation was so gorgeous I plan to copy for entertaining. She topped it off with some delicious white chocolate covered strawberries. As for the tea itself, I needed to sweeten it because my first sips were tart with a fruity aftertaste.

hot berry cider. Not bad, but also my default when I hit a starbucks with friends and it’s too late for caffeine. It makes me want more tea… other, better tea! but overall, it’s tasty and keeps me warm :)

Ever since my close friend from med school brewed this tea (either sun or cold brewed), I fell in love with this tea! I haven’t tried it until I received some in a swap! This tea is absolutely delicious iced. I know that I don’t like hibiscus hot, so I cold brew it! It is natural, mildly sweet juice! I love the red/purple color of it as well.

[Backlog] – I’ve had this tea quite a few times now (iced more often than hot). I think it’s best when it’s sweetened and iced. Without sweetener, it’s not all that special — tart & lacking a deep kind of flavor. It’s not a spectacular tea, but it’s actually one of the only Tazo teas I like. I might have to buy more of this tea to ice now that the weather is getting hotter.

Steep Information:
Amount: 2 teabags
Additives: none
Water: 20 ounces hot spigot from Starbucks store
Steep Time: a little over 15+ minutes, walking time from store
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Smell: hibiscus, citrus, sweet fruity berry?
Flavor: tart-lemon, fruity hibiscus, floral-a wonderful blend of summer garden
Body: Full
Aftertaste: tangy, tart, sweet
Liquor: deep dark reddish purple

I adore and inhaled this tea, please note i also love eating hibiscus flowers.

I almost feel as though I wasted much of my weekend as I received two tea orders (one more should be here tomorrow) and tried nothing new. In an attempt to rectify this, here is the Tazo Passion.

I was looking for a decaf because it is so late.The description of the herbal tea sounded good, like it would be fruity. The smell of the bag is faintly fruity with a hint of cinnamon. The brewed tea is dark red, and smells strongly of citrus and hibiscus. The flavor is very tart (I brewed hot with no additives), but not unenjoyable. Unfortunately, I think the tartness from the citrus and tropical fruit juice is overpowering almost all other flavors, I hardly taste anything else. Maybe I oversteeped it? I think the tea probably needs to be brewed with some more earthy tones, maybe a vanilla, to help round out the flavor and make it more palatable.