Tazo

This is a very refreshing iced tea on a hot day. I prefer it unsweetened.

I needed some caffeine. Didn’t add any sugar, should have.

It’s enjoyable. Needed sugar

mmmmm…..sweet…..fruity…..yummy……will definatly keep drinking this one. It freaked my son out a little when he first saw it because of the deep purplish-red color it brews up into.

I think this tea bag smells really good…it smell like a Halls Lemon cough drop and Extra Long Last Gum!! I don’t know if I boil the water too hot for this tea, because I didn’t taste the lemongrass at all and the spearmint was very weak. I think I’m going to do this tea taste over. Cheers!!

My favorite Tazo tea although it is becoming hard to find in stores. Beautiful light colored liquor with subtle floral tones in the flavor. Sometimes resteeping does not work well on this tea.

I think I got this one figured out finally. I lowered the steeping time by about 1 minute. This time it did not have the harsh, bitter, in your face taste it had the first time I tried it. I used the same amount of sugar, but did add a splash of whole milk (thanks to my 2 year old daughter) and this now is one of my go to teas when I don’t have the space or time for loose leaf tea.

Got a box of this from a friend as starbucks was clearing out their old stash to make way for the new one. I am still trying to wrap my pallet around this one. I can’t seem to get it to taste like anything other than a generic black tea. I think I may have over steeped this because it was on the slightly bitter side even after I sweetened it with my usual rock sugar. I am going to keep trying and adding milk and lessening the steep time.

Eh, it’s quite a non-spectacular tea. Added a spoonful of cane sugar.

Sipdown no. 111 of the year 2014. A big one. I started out with a lot of this.

Of my original teabag purchases when I first started exploring tea, I only have left some of each of the following: Tazo Honeybush, Numi Red Rooibos, Tazo Lotus, Tazo Refresh, Bigelow Constant Comment and four different Numi Pu-erhs.

Progress. I enjoyed this one for what it is, and I’ve spoken about what I like about it and how I judged it against its chai peers at length in other notes so I won’t repeat myself.

It’s not something I will buy again, at least not any time soon. I have a ton of loose chai, including some decaf, and I prefer the stovetop version. Having the teabag version isn’t all the convenient where I’d drink it most, i.e., places where I don’t have the loose chai ingredients and a stove top, i.e., at work—because I have to get a hold of milk and sweetener. So that sort of defeats the purpose for me. It was a good introduction, though.

I haven’t had this in a very long time. I have something like eight bags at home and the same number at work. I have been meaning to have it at work in the afternoon, but I keep forgetting to nab some milk and sweetener from the coffee kiosk while it’s still open.

I remember thinking, when I was drinking a lot of this some years back, that it wasn’t fair to judge this by the standards of the type of chai you can actually make on the stove, nor was it fair to judge it against a caffeinated version since decaf pretty much always comes across to me as lacking something.

For what it is—both a bagged chai and a decaf one—this is quite decent. It does require milk and sweetener, though, or it’s just a sort of harsh spiced tea.

It’s a sorry second to the Samovar Masala Chai, but I have found myself craving it since I can’t buy the Samovar (it being out of stock and all) and I’ve been consuming it in mass quantities over the last couple of days with milk and splenda. So I’m giving it a little bump for being its little comforting self.

This isn’t a bad choice as a decaf as it turns out. When I tried it the first few times, I drank it plain and it was fairly harsh and peppery — and had that something is missing decaf thing going on. BUT. After having a latte at Starbucks the other day I tried to approximate the flavor with low fat milk and splenda, and was able to get pretty close. Close enough for it to be yum. The only reason it doesn’t make it into a higher bracket for decaf is this: if I’m looking to drink a decaf it’s probably late at night and chances are I’m really looking for something less meal-like than this is with milk and sweetener — it really is borderline chewy!

It’s alright. The lemongrass was almost overpowering over the spearmint, but then again, I steeped it for quite a while. Perhaps a bit of sugar next time would be good…

UGH!!! After our 1st cantata performance yesterday I needed some green ginger tea to sooth my throat before the next one and luckily the the Starbucks location I frequent is on the way to the 2nd performance and the only one in the area that carries it. Well… til now. After my order was repeated back to me, I was informed it’s been discontinued. Instead of just driving off, I ordered this instead and was really disappointed. Quite bitter. I’m tempted to call and complain about both issues.

So I work at a Barnes and Noble cafe, stopped by work today to check my schedule. Totally picked up an ice chai, unlike starbucks we don’t add water for our chais, which makes it spicier and tastier. I also add usually one pump of sugar free vanilla syrup to it giving it a nice blend of sweet and spicey. If you have never tried soy milk, I would suggest trying it with an iced chai, pretty fantastic.

Had some at lunch, and I was like, “there’s a minty taste in here…” and then I checked the packet, and as it’s made with spearmint, that makes sense ^^;
It’s a good tea, though, one of Tazo’s better ones. I like the lemongrass and mint in it—they’re just mild enough to complement the tea without overpowering it. A pretty relaxing cup :)

Today I had to go to Toys R S to get a present for a birthday party this afternoon that the almost 6 year old is now well enough to attend thanks to the miracle of antibiotics. I got there before it opened, so I wandered into the adjacent Starbucks armed with my increasingly detailed order. This time I got nonfat, no water, make it from leaves not concentrate.

There is definitely a difference between the leaves and the concentrate. Made with the leaves, the flavor was much spicier. The pepper was really, really pronounced, too. It did taste much more like it does when I make it at home, only creamier.

Surprisingly I’m not sure which way I like it better. It seems obvious I should say with the leaves rather than the concentrate, but the concentrate had a much more blended taste while the leaves were much starker.

I think this decision will have to be case by case and will depend largely on my mood at the time.

Had to run to the store for something on the way to work this morning and there was a Starbucks next door, so I decided to try AmazonV’s “no water” suggestion. Yum. The more I have this the more I like it. Nice blend of spices that takes the milk just right. It’s the same comforting feeling as drinking hot cocoa. It isn’t in the same league of chewy and nommy as the Samovar, but on the other hand one can’t just run into the (every) corner Starbucks and get the Samovar Masala Chai. Life is full of such trade offs. Bumping the rating a hair.

Tried this with nonfat milk at Starbucks today while picking up some coffee beans (sacrilege? but I still like coffee first thing in the morning ;-)). A very tasty, soothing, comfort drink. I picked up mostly the spices and creaminess of the hot milk on a first tasting, but will try a more discerning tasting next time now that I have a baseline. In any case, it’s enough to make me want to put milk in my teabag version at home.

Steep Information:
Amount: 1 teabag
Water: boiling 16oz water
Steep Time: a little over 2 minutes (http://steep.it)
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: vegetal and black and sweet
Steeped Tea Smell: sweet black and a little vegetal
Flavor: black tea with a hint of vegetal
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: vegetal
Liquor: translucent dark orange-brown

This is a seasonal tea which is no longer available online at the Starbucks Store, you may still find a tin in your local Starbucks or online retailer.

This year the tea is full leaf and in a sachet as opposed to CTC in a paper filterbag.

Starbucks Tazo Tea – ‘Tis the season of Joy – Guest Post at StarbucksMelody.com http://www.starbucksmelody.com/2011/01/03/starbucks-tazo-tea-tis-the-season-of-joy/

Pictures: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2011/01/tazo-teabag-black-tea-joy.html

Steep Information:
Amount: 1 teabag, 2.6g
Additives: none
Water: 8 ounces hot spigot water
Steep Time: a little over 3 minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: roasty leaf
Steeped Tea Smell: black tea
Flavor: black tea, astringent, bitter
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: grassy green tea, bitter
Liquor: translucent dark brown

Steepster Traveling Teabox Tea

I can see having this tea again if it were free and I could drown it in sugar and milk. This tea might have been better if I went to less steep time, but as I only have the one and am at work there is not much room to experiment and play.

Post-Steep Additives:
+1 packet white sugar=slightly sweeter, still a very bitter finish
+1(2) packet white sugar=palatable, wish i had a bit of cream to toss in

images: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/03/tazo-teabag-black-tea-joy.html

Not horrible, but not extraordinary either. It smells great, but turned very bitter after only a 2 minute steep. Milk and sugar fixed the bitterness, mostly. I’m not that disappointed, I didn’t expect it to be amazing, I just needed caffeine.

I just submitted a review of this tea to the Tea Review Blog, although, like before, I don’t know when it will be published.

I really like this tea – it is very good, especially given that it’s a bagged tea. The ginger is warm but not overly spicy, and there is a pleasant fruit note to it that gives it an agreeable balance. It is one that I look forward to serving iced too – it doesn’t lose its flavor as it cools.