Tazo

Second try for this tea after not having had it for several years. I liked it much better originally than I do now, but I’m sure Tazo has changed over the years (their packaging sure has). Very mediocre—I prefer almost any plain black blend (Lipton, Bigelow, Tetley) to this).

I haven’t had this for years, but I had a Tazo coupon for a store that only had three blends so this was the best one available (ie: had caffeine in it). I guess I was expecting more flavour, but I also didn’t brew it for very long so that might be partly my fault. Overall, just very average… hopefully the next cup will be better!

The spiciness of the ginger is a little different, but I really liked it. Great for cold weather.

The first time I tried it, I think I brewed it too long. It was way too tart. The second time around, I only resorted to it because of a persistent cold. Honey reduced some of the tartness and soothed my throat. This tea is very juicy, like biting into an orange. I don’t generally like oranges or orange juice (I was driven to this b/c of the cold), but this was mild enough that I liked it and strong enough to help with the cold. I probably won’t drink it regularly, but will pick up a box when I start feeling a cold coming on.

I love the smell of this tea! While brewing, I often just sniff the packet. A great winter tea.

I see this tea elicits very…strong…reactions, which I guess is unsurprising as it is such a strong-tasting tea. I have to agree with other reviewers that calling this a “tea” may be slightly misleading. I’ve almost made it through a whole box of this and I can’t say I’ve ever found it tasted like tea, the sheer strength of the orange flavours vastly overwhelm any tea-notes that may be present.

I personally really like this tea, but then I bludgeon my palate regularly with super-spicy, super-salty, super-everything food and so I often find the subtler notes of many teas are simply not perceptible to my taste buds. I can definitely taste the orange here, it’s a kick-to-the-tongue sort of flavour that almost makes me think more of a commercial ice tea or weak juice then a tea. I find it quite natural tasting, though maybe a bit more of a tart-sour mouth-puckering orange-peel flavour then a sweet orange-flesh one. I just looked at the ingredients and realized there’s a lot more then orange in here, and this is a surprise, because according to my tongue there’s just…a lot of orange. Sorry licorice, I’m just not finding you.

I find this is a good morning tea when I need something bracingly citrus-y and don’t want to worry about the effects of caffeine. I also like that it’s impossible to mess up (assuming you don’t think the actual taste of the tea is a mistake!). I stick a bag in my travel mug, dump boiling water over it, and can leave the bag in the entire time I drink it without worrying about bitterness. A hit of honey tends to smooth and round out the taste nicely.

Had this at Starbucks today, and was pleasantly surprised at how delicious it was. A little too cinammon-y for me (I like my chai’s more spicy), but overall an enjoyable cup.

Not sure I’ll be going back to the hot chai any time soon… this summer is suddenly way too hot (after a very late start).

Had this again today and it was much tastier than the hot version I’ve been getting lately has been. I will take this oppourtunity to note to myself that I do NOT need a venti, no matter how appealing it seems. That’s just overkill!

Was out and about at lunch and hadn’t had my daily tea yet, so I let myself have one of these today. Nice change from my daily hot tea, but I still think I prefer the hot version of this overall (it does seem spicier, even though I know they use the same concentrate for both drinks). Maybe I’m just wishing for slightly warmer weather. Either way, I really enjoyed it!

Smells Great. The herbalness to it is almost a bit harsh, and you cant taste the orange so much as smell it as your drinking. And It gives me cotton mouth…

It’s Like drinking Vanilla Extract, Way sweet.

Taste Like Boiled Spinach

Could it really be? Is my palette getting more refined? I just bought a box of this, and for the first time, I am slightly disappointed with a green tea. Maybe I botched it — I used the hot nozzle on my work’s Sparkletts water cooler. Amateur? Yes. Easy? Fo’ sheezy. Maybe it’s because I’ve had loose tea, though I haven’t had it enough to know the difference for certain. Any ideas?

And is there ANY bagged tea that tastes as good as loose tea?

Regardless, my next purchase will be loose. My jeans may be tight and my women may be proper, but it’s looking like I prefer my tea loose. We’ll see.

I guess this is what you call backlogging?

Last night I was so exhausted from working until after midnight the night before (and starting before 7 a.m. the next morning) that I went directly to bed after dinner. But the night before that, I decided to try replicating this flavor using loose spearmint and peppermint leaves and some tarragon I found on the spice shelf.

I didn’t recall Refresh being overly pepperminty, so I thought they must go heavier on the spearmint. Accordingly, my concoction was 2 parts spearmint, 1 part peppermint and 1/2 part tarragon. It tasted pretty good, and, I thought, similar to what I remembered Refresh tasting like. Then I had Refresh, to compare.

Boy, was I wrong. Big difference. First, the peppermint is stronger than it seemed. Second, the tarragon is actually more responsible for the taste, or perhaps the synergy among the ingredients, than I’d expected. The Refresh tasted much better than my attempt. Much… fresher.

Next time I think I will try a 1:1 ratio of spearmint and peppermint. I may also have to buy some fresher tarragon. And finally, I may need a different peppermint. Although I really like the Upton spearmint, this batch of peppermint, also from Upton, is too earthy for me. I find the dirt undercurrent distracting. I suppose I could also try washing the leaves, so perhaps I’ll do that as well.

I’ve been experimenting with different mints and I really like this one. I didn’t expect to like it as much as I do, but right now it’s leading the pack on the mint front.

The mix of peppermint and spearmint, unexpectedly (to me anyway), seems to have a synergy that makes this tisane more enjoyable than a straight peppermint or spearmint, without tasting like Wrigley’s Doublemint. The spearmint smooths out and mellows the peppermint, and the peppermint gives a jolt to the spearmint that keeps it from being too passive and dull. The tarragon is just a touch, fortunately, as while tarragon has a place in my spice pantheon I don’t love it if it is too overbearing. But it is present and may be what prevents the Doublemint effect — if so, I’m grateful to it.

I’m drinking the “full leaf” Starbucks tin version of this, using two bags in 16 oz of water.

So… probably the best (IMO) of the chai substitutes that are readily available that I’ve tried on this trip. It’s WAY WAY spicy (I like spicy chai, but this was a bit too spicy for me). It has a strong tea and spice flavor, unlike Oregon and Pacific, which I’ve also tried.

I suppose the next thing to do is to start mixing.

Also, I have tried the apple cider chai from SBS, and I prefer that to the whole mess of things I’ve tried here… but that can’t be found in a store and I didn’t order it before leaving. sigh

…and for the last of the lemon squares, this mixed w a sachet of Tazo Vanilla rooibos. I was concerned that the sweet/tart flavor was going to be a bit much with the lemon squares which have their own sweet/tart thing going on, but the fruitiness of the tisane saved the pairing. The Vanilla Rooibois took the Passion down a notch (it’s so absurd writing a tea log with a tea named Passion!!) and rounded all those super tart edges (especially when it’s tart!). Definitely the least favorite of the three pairings (oy, and pairing! This is making me turn reddish purple like this tisane!), but still yummy.

I plan to buy milk on my way home from work this evening so I can go back to my regularly scheduled milky evening tea extravaganzas!

I put a bag of this and a bag of Vanilla Rooibos together for this evening’s tea. I love the way the vanilla rooibos tempers the super tartness of Passion and makes for such an enjoyable, fruity (somehow citrusy!) cup.

I finally got around to trying one sachet of passion and one sachet of vanilla rooibos in 20 oz water plus a little honey – YUM! It somehow combines to taste almost like a lemon drop candy (!?!). I’m not sure how hibiscus + apple + vanilla = lemon drop but boy is it enjoyable! Even my husband said “Wow – what is this? It’s really GOOD!” Go figure!

Tonight’s tea was a sachet of this, and a heaping teaspoon of plain rooibos in 20 oz of water. Squirt of honey. I like this tea as-is, but I love it like this! Much less tart. It tastes very fruity and delicious. I may have to break down and get another tin of the Vanilla roobios – Oh Cha! wrote in her review that these two combined are fabulous, and I am so curious to try!!!

I tried another one of my concoctions – one bag of Passion, 2 teaspoons plain organic rooibos, 16 oz water, half teaspoon tupelo honey. YUM!!! I like it even better than just Passion! The rooibos gives it some depth and heft. It’s less fruity and tart. I’ll make it this way all the time!! Try it if you have both things sitting around :) I would give this concoction an 80 (vs. 75 plain Passion). Only thing – the color is not as pretty!

I like it! Definitely tart, fruity, and hibiscusy – fortunately I like those three things! I like the citrus in it – makes a sort of sweet/tart flavor. I remember having a box of this ages ago, and it was really powerful, so I made it with 10 oz of water instead of 8 and I think that worked great – it’s plenty strong. I also gave it a half teaspoon of tupelo honey to round it out. A very nice tea for when you don’t want caffeine!

I find the color very beautiful as well!!