Tazo

Weather and a poorly timed ear/sinus infection (it’s like trying to hear with corks in your ears) spoiled our plans to sneak down to the Ozarks today. But the antibiotics are kicking in, and I had a quiet morning to tackle The Corner of Guilt and Shame (piled up mementoes from mom and sister that I feel bad about pitching). Then we made do with a makeshift lunch date to a good pizza place about 20 miles south. We took the back roads and narrowly missed a dive-bombing by two buzzards that were as big as Thanksgiving turkeys. An adventure indeed.

So this is dessert, and a good one for a raw afternoon—damp and temps in the mid 40’s. When I initially reviewed this, I affirmed that the butterscotch flavor was accurate. Today I’m just getting caramel and burnt sugar. What licorice is in the blend just underscores its sweet pastry personality. I’ll still stand by my conclusion that this is a great little inexpensive grocery store treat.

Nobody beat me to this one? News of Butterscotch Blondie came to me word of mouth from a buddy who isn’t a tea lover, but knows I am. Since dessert-y teas are a Tazo novelty, I snagged a box while the snagging was good at a Walmart Neighborhood Market (grocery only version of a Walmart—considerably better product selection.)

And dessert-y it is. The butterscotch cookie flavor is spot on; there’s a little licorice for sweetness, but the other flavors tone down its cloying personality. First steep needed no help whatsoever…made even tastier by 20 unbespoke Christmas Eve minutes in the glider with some sunshine on the back of my neck. After the past several days, a little peace on earth was heavenly.

Did a second round with the same today; it was plausible with a little milk and honey.

Hope your day was merry and bright.

This tea is clearly a controversial one given its less than nice reviews. I’m going to start by saying that I’m really not a fan of this tea, especially not hot, although I feel like some kind of iced tea would be cool. This tea steeps obnoxiously quickly. I literally had it in my cup for less than a minute and it was already too sour. Going by the ingredient list, this tea has a lot of stuff I like in it, like licorice root, lemongrass and rose petals, but the combined sour and bitter tastes from the hibiscus and orange essence make the citrusy bitterness so overpowering that the subtly of the other ingredients get completely washed out. In other words, it’s not a subtle-tea (haha I’m funny). But yeah, I think I’ve mentioned I’m not a huge citrus person, and this is a prime example of a tea I would not go for. I think the idea of this tea is nice, but they super overdid it on the orangey flavours and it didn’t give the other flavours a chance to work together. Literally it would taste the same if you just steeped a really unripe orange, peel and all, in hot water. eeugh. So yeah. this tea was a disappointment, not because I don’t like it, but because with a little tweaking I probably could like it.

I need to always have an herbal tea on hand because caffeinated keeps me up sometimes when I don’t want to. It does have hibiscus- which I’m not the biggest fan of. It got better the more I drank. Mostly tastes like roobios and vanilla. A good one to drink cold.

A classic favorite to make during the winter for me. Just stocked up last week!

I really like this a lot. Go to tea when dieting and looking to detox!

Packet. Aroma is full of bright fruit, a bit of a bouquet behind it. Flavor is quite sweet. Orange, citrus rind, a touch of vanilla in the finish. For a refresher, this is very good.

A coworker gave me a box of these tea bags, and I really like it! I was on a self-imposed caffeine reduction thing for a few days, and this was perfect. I had to laugh when my coworker told me it tasted like dirt. I think it taste like pears!

I’ve blended my own lemongrass and ginger before, but this simple offering is far above my blend.

Very acidic tea.

If I had a tea shop in Ba Sing Se, I would name it after this tea, the Jasmine Dragon. The best jasmine tea I’ve ever had. Ever so slightly soapy, the floral notes remain pleasant, and entirely aromatic.

One of my guilty pleasures for some reason I actually love this citrusy fruitful tea. Pretty good for a bagged tea. One of the few teas I use sugar in.

This tea has a strong, clear yerba mate taste. It is slightly spicy, and good for waking up.

This tea is super sour, and it impossible to sweeten effectively. It also has an overwhelming scent. No matter how mellow I brew it, this tea is not good as a stand-alone drink. It would probably do better as a mix-in for punch.

I just tried the mango iteration of this tea. Fantastic, albeit over sweet. Perfect for a fall day !

This tea packs a strong punch, and is great for waking up in the mornings. It tastes similar to a mimosa with its bold orange, passionfruit, rose, and hibiscus flavors. Just a warning, it is very sour, and does not take well with sweetener.

This one was surprising. I picked up a tin of this tea from the dented can store for $.99, since the tin was slightly (although not badly) dented, and I definitely scored.

I would not have expected this from a mass market consumer brand like Tazo, but this take on an earl grey was actually actually quite pleasing. The overall notes of orange, vanilla and cream create an almost dreamsicle like flavor without the sweetness. It is quite delicious. Admittedly, the flavors are somewhat unbalanced, the bergamot is a touch too strong and I was missing some of the boldness I would have expected from a brew with black tea as its base, but overall I was pleased.

This would probably make a nice tea latte, if I try it, you will be the first to know.

Found a pre-brewed concentrate at a store on clearance so decided to try. Mixed about 60/40% concentrate and milk (cold). Definitely tasted the chai, that was nice, but after a few sips, I started to feel the pepper. Not enough spiciness to stop drinking, just enough to notice, but more than I’d consider enjoyable. (Yes, I know, I’m a wimp when it comes to spices). Good tea for a grab-and-go option, but better chais exist if time is available.

This tea is ver tart and I was unable to drink it buy itself. I had to add 2 table spoons of honey before it was drinkable.