Tazo

Started the morning off with this tea. Had four cups while I finished the Sunday Paper.

Treat this tea, as you would any other green tea and keep the water temperature below 200 degrees. Clean, refreshing tasting brew.

Just a generic chai. Not particularly high quality black tea in it. But still nicely spiced and warm-tasting. Very good with cream and sugar.

Just like my tea I prefer my Chai plain. Switched to DeCaf for the night, thought this would be a good start for the evening…

Thumbs up. Nice, true Chai color. Not complex but it does the job!

I wasn’t expecting jasmine when I bought this. I really, really hate jasmine in my tea. So this stuff really wasn’t for me, despite the rave reviews I’d seen online.

Looks like piss. Smells like Lemon Pinesol. Why did I taste it? It’s like lemony ginger water. Yughhh.

Last bag!

The purple color is reason enough to drink this, but I actually enjoy the flavor. I’m not a fan of fruit teas, but with the right temperature and steeping this ends up tasting more floral. Just be careful not to spill on light clothes!

Oh god. One sniff and I was instantly reminded of orange-scented disinfectant. This stuff is TERRIBLE. I took a few sips, trying to find something I liked about it, but I just couldn’t. I dumped it out shortly after. It’s blindingly artificial. Awful, awful, awful.

Last bag from the box. Seems I’ve been clearing out space in the tea cupboard. I think I’ve reviewed Awake at least three times before this, so I’ll make it short. This is a good, strong black tea, but it gets bitter easily under five minutes. I don’t mind, however. It’s what I go to when I’m short on time but need my caffeine before work.

On my second cup of this today. Slept in til 2 pm, but it’s alright, I don’t have to be at work until 6. Even under 5 minutes, it’s still a little bitter and harsh, but it’s just what I need right now to clear my head. Plus, the caffeine boost is very nice. I’m tapping on everything without realizing it.

Having a cup of this with honey and a spoon or two of sugar. The honey really softens the bitterness of this tea. It’s much smoother and heartier to me when prepared this way, plus the shorter steep caused it to be less harsh than the last cup I made. It’s good. I also really enjoy the sweet scent the honey adds to it right before I take a sip.

And, if you can believe it, I’m sick again. Yes. This is the third time now. Worst winter ever. But at least I’m done moving.

Anyway, a cup of this to get my day started, and so I can take my Sudafed. I can hardly taste it. Still, parts of the flavor are coming through. I can still taste the bitterness, and the sweetness the sugar added.

Hmm. This is not as good as I remember it. I think I’ve gotten spoiled, especially after trying a few from Arbor Teas’ black tea selection. Still, I’m enjoying a cup after a nap and before a night of drinking with some friends from out of town. It’s malty and dark tasting, very bold. And as far as the caffeine content goes, the name is accurate! But the description says there’s a hint of cherries and caramel…? What? Where exactly are they getting that?

And next time, I need to reduce the steep time. This has gotten a little sharp. Maybe four and a half minutes next time instead of five.

Edit: Ok, now that it has cooled a bit, I sort of get what they meant by caramel, but I wouldn’t have mentioned it like that. I think that could potentially mislead and disappoint people who were looking for a noticeable caramel flavor.

This tea is alright. I like the black tea taste, but it’s kind of unremarkable otherwise. However, it really does live up to its name. I get a pretty nice caffeine buzz from it! So it’s great right before going to work.

I feel like I’m never going to get through this box. What was I thinking when I bought this? I just do not like herbal blends anymore, especially hibiscus-heavy ones like this. Anyway, I made it iced and sweetened, and drank it when I first got up today.

Does anybody want the rest? It’s still good and I have 9 individually-wrapped bags left. You don’t even have to trade me anything. Just let me know and I’ll mail ’em in an envelope. I really hate to waste tea!

Made this iced last night, but I set the timer on my phone and promptly sat on it. So I didn’t hear the alarm at all. You could say my butt is to blame for this tea failure. It steeped for at least 15 or 20 minutes before I noticed. Maybe more. Oops.

I decided I was thirsty enough to just go with it, so I added sugar and half a glass of ice anyway. It was QUITE tart, and the hibiscus taste had basically taken over. I drank about half of it before I was driven away…

This morning I was feeling kinda ill and wanted caffeine, but was not in the mood for plain black tea. So I used a bag of this tea and one of Awake, also by Tazo. I brewed them together for a little shorter than usual, as I felt like I didn’t have quite 2 cups’ worth of water in my to-go cup.

And now I wish I could buy it this way. Black tea is exactly what Passion needed to be truly great. It adds a certain strength and foundation to the herbal blend, keeping it from being too tart or overwhelming. I’m going to make myself a second cup for my second shift this evening. Too bad I’ll be going through these two at twice the rate, though.

Passion! How I’ve missed you. I got a Publix giftcard and was all too eager to hit the tea aisle while running errands. (Majorly disappointed that my local one doesn’t carry Republic of Tea.)

This tea is one of my old favorites. It brews up as dark as red wine and stains the bag pink. The flavor is so complex and comforting. It’s tart but not too tart, and rounded well by the hibiscus in it. It’s one of the few herbal teas I like, since the flavor isn’t weak or medicine-like. Or musty. It’s what Celestial Seasonings’ Zingers wish they were. Mmm.

This is my favorite tea by Tazo. It brews up deep red and smells delicious. Like citrus, hibiscus and something else that’s wonderful. It has a very strong flavor, which is something I look for, and tastes even better cold. I love it iced! I just wish I could get it in loose form instead of bagged.

According to the package, “A single cup of Tazo Calm has been known to have the same effect as sitting for 45 minutes in a mountain meadow on a sunny day with your shoes off.” If you ask me, it just tasted like spearmint. Three sips in, I poured this down the sink.

I like this tea. Certainly not the most complex blend, but a good standby nonetheless. Milk and honey are a must.