Tazo

It seemed like such a darjeeling day that I brewed up an old filterbag of Tazo Organic Darjeeling, having forgotten that I already wrote a tasting note for this one four months ago. So this is a rupture of my steady posting of 67 new tea notes in a row! Mistakes were made. I’ll pick up the pieces and move forward after this review.

My goal: to review 100 new teas before permitting myself consciously to brew any of the old standbys. Unfortunately, the intended effect of the Blazing New Rating scheme has been entirely undermined by the fact that I keep buying new teas. Perhaps my next challenge should be a true sipdown suite, with a moratium on new teas until my cupboard has been somewhat cleaned (not completely, of course!).

Nothing new to report on this old organic darjeeling, really. Still seems like a pretty average filterbag darjeeling to me. Still a bit bitter, even with a short steep. The liquor is dark orange amber, and the grassiness really stands out—which could be a virtue or a vice, depending upon one’s feelings about chewing cud.

This grocery store darjeeling makes no pretense to FTGFOP, nor does it name any illustrious names such as Margaret, nor aspirations such as Hope. The Himalayans are mentioned—again, probably for those ignorant of the fact that Darjeeling is a region of the world. We really have no idea which estate(s) the contents of the attractive bluish-teal envelope came from, but it’s pretty clear that it was swept off the floor .

It’s okay, that’s the most I can muster.

I made a real effort to do a shorter steep on this Tazo Organic Darjeeling filter bag—only about two minutes, rather than the prescribed five—but the beautiful dark amber liquor still ended up a bit bitter for my taste.

The characteristic dried grassiness of darjeeling is in full evidence, along with a subtle floral aroma, but the swallow was not optimum because of the bitterness. It is possible that I should have steeped this bag in a larger volume of water, or perhaps slightly cooler water. I say this because the color of the liquor was a darker shade of amber than I am accustomed to seeing in a darjeeling.

I imbibe darjeeling au naturel—with neither cream nor sugar—so it’s very important that I get the brew just right, since it’s not going to be masked by anything. I’ll try experimenting with the parameters later since I have a whole box of these bags…

IF I go to Starbucks for tea (this is such a rare occurrence it could very well be considered to “never” occur), this is my go-to flavour. Their prices for a cup of hot water (essentially free) and a tea bag (essentially $0.50) is ridiculous, so I always feel like a chump having to pay for a cup of tea. A few months ago I saw Tazo teas were on sale at the local grocery store and figured: never again will I ever be a sucker and buy Tazo at Starbucks. So I bought a box. And since this is my go-to tea when I’m paying $2.00 for a cup, it should also be my go-to cup when I’m paying $0.10 a cup. Yes, it was a good sale. Yes, I regret only buying one box.

The flavour of the tea is…weird. It’s not OVERLY fruity or berry-y, but that’s probably at least partly because of the concept of “artificial flavours”. They don’t taste overly artificial, either. But that’s probably mostly because…it’s just not an overwhelming flavour at all. Yeah, I taste some berry “stuff” but that’s about it. I also don’t taste a lot of white tea; tastes more like a weak green to me. Is that what white tea is supposed to taste like? It doesn’t any other time, in my opinion. Maybe all the other times I’ve been having weird white tea. I dunno.

The verdict: I would buy another box if it was on sale like this one. I would not, however pay full price. And I’ll be damned if I ever buy a cup of this again at Starbucks.

Yet another tea from the GCTTB.

Ok this is tart – I think I’ve been craving tart all evening and just not finding it. This is tart tropical fruits. I like it – ok I really like it – or I’m just really in the mood for it tonight.
For a bagged tea, this is more flavorful than I was expecting. Yep I would be perfectly happy drinking this again.

I’m a barista at Starbucks (a tea lover in a coffee world), and decided today to try our matcha with hot water, since I find it entirely too sweet in lattes and frappuccinos. Sadly, the sweetness comes from the powder itself. I’ve never had matcha before, so I don’t feel qualified to rate it yet, but it was not my cup of tea, so to speak. I got some vegetative notes, but these were drowned out by the taste of sugar (and a slight fish flavor, as well; kind of like kipper or sardines). Not something I would have again.

For some reason, I could not muster up the motivation to go out today, so instead I stayed home and decided to give the sachet form of Tazo Joy a try. The last time I made some of this tea, I believe that I used a filter bag, and the result was a bit disappointing. It did not really match my positive memory of the blend from a few years back.

Today, however, I was very happy with the full-leaf sachet brewed cups. To avoid the unpleasant bitterness, I was meticulous about steep time, and I also used a bit cooler water than I had used before. The same sachet was infused in rapid succession for the two steeps, each for only about two minutes, and both were very good. The first infusion was a bit darker brown, and the second a bit more orange in color, but the flavor of both brews was very good.

From now on, I’ll make sure to follow this short-steep method. Two minutes is long enough to get a nice taste of all of the various teas in this blend, Assam, Darjeeling, Green, and Oolong! The only thing missing is pu-ehr! I feel that the darjeeling is the most dominant, but the blend is definitely enhanced by all of the teas included.

I have to say that the Tazo sachets are generously filled and should be viewed as the tea equivalent to two filterbags. The green tea sachets and this one of Joy are both perfectly adequate for two large cups of tea—today I used 11 ounce double-walled Bodum glasses.

This is one of my favorite iced teas during the summertime. I always prepare my green iced teas with Truvia instead of honey in the summer and it really brings out the lemongrass and spearmint notes in this tea.

what a unique green tea….the aroma on this is so smooth & lovely! perhaps what makes it so memorable is the very ‘fruity’ floral lotus flower, because i have never smelled anything quite like it. it reminds me of the smell of açaí berry or pomegranate when added to whites or greens. my only question is: is this scented/flavored with real or artificial lotus? if it’s real, i am blown away by how fruity the flower is! and i’m a fruity floral lover when it comes to perfumes, not as much with teas, but that’s another story ;)

whatever is added to the green base is very bright smelling. perhaps not the most ‘natural’ floral smell (like say a heady rose or lavender), but a very happy and lively one. really reminds me of pomegranate! i can also almost swear there is a slight, unsweetened honey note! i picked it up in both the aroma and the flavor. it is very clean.

i get a green tea ‘mouthfeel’ on the tongue and a bit in the aftertaste, which is not at all bitter. i wonder what green tea is used here?? it is subtle though, in my opinion (not a bad thing, just an observation).

i’d definitely recommend this for those who don’t like greens or think they’re too vegetal or grassy…this one is dreamy! and again, very unique with the lotus flavoring. my favorite green from Tazo.

last but not least is the liquor: a rich, golden yellow. slightly cloudy, but beautiful. i might think this is a honey-flavored tisane, but never a green tea!

also, quite impressive for a bagged tea. this actually makes me think of the term ‘Zen’ more so than the actual Zen tea! (which has mint & lemongrass).. if i had a choice i’d rename Zen something like ‘Alert’ or ‘Focus’…seems about right!

Awful. Hands down the worst tea I’ve ever drank. It smelled and tasted FISHY! I’m serious. I wonder if I got a bad batch because this was truly disgusting. I love green tea and have a tried a number of green teas but never has one literally made me spit it out and dump the cup after a couple sips. The first whiff of that fishy smell I thought oh..eww but decided to have a sip against my instincts. It was offensive. Just like drinking aquarium water I imagine. Really cannot for the life of me see how Tazo could make sell a tea this bad. Again, I really have to wonder if I got a bad batch. The tea came in the sampler package that Tazo sells. I would definitely not buy this ever but if I happen to see this at a friends house I’ll ask them to brew it up to see if it smells/tastes like fishwater.

Surprisingly light flavor for a mate. Like other teathusiasts have noted, there are notes of cocoa and citrus that are very noticeable. I don’t really taste the rosemary. It’s a nice tea, for sure.

I went ahead and boiled my water, measured it out (which is waay too tart for my taste so I ended up adding more water then called for, probably an extra 50 mls or so). The first sip: An explosion! No, several explosions in my mouth. My senses were assaulted but I liked it!! It felt, uh tasted, sooo good. Ok slow down..wow that was just..wow! let’s see, awesome but I’m missing something..sweet! Yes let’s make it a lil bit more sweet. So I did. And BLISS!! Sheer passionate bliss!

To sum it up, this stuff is great. Orgasmic. Ok, maybe not orgasmic but damn it gave me pleasure to drink this! I cannot wait to try it iced, it seems like the kind of tea that BEGS to be tried iced. But the hot, passiony goodness was amazing. A stand-out tea memory etched in my mind forever! But you need to add a little sweet. I put in boring old sugar but next will try making my own “classic syrup” which is simply 2 parts sugar 1 part water heated for a short time. Hot or iced, this does well with a bit of sweetness to compliment the tart.

Passion, you have turned me on! I never thought I could love you but in spite of myself I do! So glad Tazo threw this in. I will buy it especially in the summer because I just KNOW this will be amazing iced. But all the same, I will update when I do and let you know how it is. Now, go drink some of this you can thank me later.

It tastes a lot more like green tea with hints of lemongrass and only a trace of spearmint. As the tea cools down it started tasting bitter and very green to me. Eh.

This is great but not nearly as good as the full-leaf version that comes in the nice metal tin. That version is simply amazing. But this is still good. It ook a couple attempts to get the exact temp/steep time right. Once I let it steep just a minute longer and it was gross. It’s insane how quickly this (well green tea in general) can go bitter. But with careful attention to brew time (3 minutes MAX but closer to 2.5 is better on my taste buds) this tea is delicious. It’s a mellow tea that you can taste the lemongrass here and there and the mint is subtle yet enough to provide a taste of Spring. It’s like Springtime in your cup. The first whiff brings memories of wandering beside a river in a meadow. Sweet, warm serenity… I love Tazo Zen!

This tea is good BUT it is also very finicky. Leave it in just a few seconds too long and it goes bitter fast! The directions say 3 minutes but I’m getting bitter with 3 minutes. I will try 2 and see how that goes. Some cups I make are great and some are dumped after one sip..what a waste! :( It’s been trial and error getting this tea right. I should add I am a complete newbie to tea so that explains my difficulty at getting it “just right”.

Last night I made a cup and it was perfect. I think I let the water sit a little longer. It may be the water temp messing me up more then the steep time..not sure. I have one of those kettles that automatically shuts off right at the boiling point so I thought that would be great for this tea but no, I still need to let the water sit a few minutes I think. So..mixed reviews here. I like it when it turns out right but so far it has been hit and miss.

I’m obsessed with mint tea, and this is my all time favorite. Nothing even comes close, the minty-ness is simply outstanding. Its really strong but it still tastes so fresh and wonderful!

I always have a stash of this at home, this tea is now and always will be a necessity.

Paired this with a bag of peppermint Harney and Sons

Tyler
http://onelittleblackdress.com