Tazo

My barista almost refused to give me my requested refill of Tazo Green Tips—apparently because my frappuccino had been a reward drink. Huh. I’ll never understand why wageslaves go to the mat for a man who earns zillions of dollars. In this case, attempting to violate the company’s own rules to save Mr. Schultz, what, 20 cents? Isn’t that about the pay out for a cup of venti Green Tips with two sachets?

Fortunately, another barista overhead what was going on and disabused her colleague of her false belief, that refills are not available on rewards drinks. So I took my venti Green Tips and went on my merry way. Maybe I should start frequenting a different store. Have I outworn my welcome??

I’ve been experimenting with various methods for achieving the best brew of this quite decent Mao Feng blend. Today, I did not bother requesting ice cubes, since the barista, who already seemed to think that I was robbing the place, would surely have rolled her eyes. Instead, as soon as I got my cup, I went to a table, removed the lid, and pulled out the sachets, allowing them cool a bit, then dunked and redunked them a few more times, until the liquor was the greenish golden characteristic of the best cups of this tea.

It was very good. So I learned a new method today, despite having to endure a surly barista’s sardonic crusties.

Today’s green tea was my old friend Tazo Green Tips. I drank it from a ceramic mug and requested some ice cubes thrown in the bottom to keep the temperature of the water down. It was good. I obviously like this Mao Feng blend!

Today’s brew was a bit weak as the barista gave me a venti ceramic mug (she probably thought that she was reaching for a grande) with only one sachet. Then, bizarrely, when I asked for two bags for the refill, she charged me 30 cents for the extra bag, saying that a grande comes with only one bag. That was definitely a first chez Starbucks.

Usually the baristas have no problem with requests for any form of hot or iced tea or coffee in any size as a refill. Oh well, maybe she was having a bad day. Perhaps she should brew up a large ceramic mug of Tazo Green Tips with a few ice cubes in the bottom and two sachets infused for only two minutes. That should lift her spirits!

I almost forgot to log this afternoon’s Tazo Green Tips.

Today’s discovery was that I really do prefer drinking this brew from the big ceramic cups, not in the take-away cardboard. In the future I’ll enjoy my Green Tips in the store. I did remember to ask for a few ice cubes in the bottom of the cup so that the water would not be too hot, but somehow it did not taste as good as it does when I carefully monitor the brewing process in an open ceramic cup and gaze at the perfect pale green liquor while sniffing the lovely fumes.

I had Green Tips today as a refill after a meal replacement beverage at Starbucks. It was a bit on the cold side because I asked the barista to throw some ice cubes on top, and she somewhat overdid it. I’ll be more precise next time!

Once again Tazo China Green Tips was my first tea of the day—TOD! I remembered the trick about the ice cubes, and asked the barista to throw a few into my large ceramic mug. The brew was just right!

I brewed two more infusions this evening, using the second one for a clamp-bottle to put in the refrigerator to drink cold later. I was worried that the second infusion might still contain too much caffeine. The third infusion tasted great hopefully was close to caffeine free. We shall see…

I enjoyed another two big ceramic mugs of Tazo Green Tips at Starbucks yesterday. My latest discovery was that a grande cup is better with only one bag, rather than two!

Later, after dinner, I reinfused the bags three times, and each time the brew was very tasty—plus no caffeine after the first couple—well, I presume. I did have difficulty sleeping last night but it probably had more to do with apartment search stress and my new and abusive landlord…

Another Tazo China Green Tips at Starbucks yesterday. This time I ordered it in a ceramic mug and threw in a few ice cubes to cool the water even further. The brew was good. Maybe the best way to order this is to ask the barista to throw some ice into the bottom of the cup?

second infusion: I reinfused the spent sachets at home. The second round was almost as good as the first, albeit more golden in color than green.

third infusion: I was still craving green tea to accompany my bath, so I gave these sachets another dousing, and the tea was perfectly potable, now veering more toward “generic” green than anything recognizable as Mao Feng. Still, not bad for a decaffeinated green!

Another afternoon of China Green Tips. I read a long law journal article on the distinction between unlawful combatants and domestic jihadists. Green Tips was very helpful in navigating my way through this turgid linguistic bog.

second infusion: this was very good today, probably because the first infusion was steeped at an appropriately lower temperature. I remain convinced that this is a very good Mao Feng blend.

third infusion: I’ll be having this along with my bath…

Today’s afternoon green tea selection was Tazo China Green Tips. I made the mistake of neglecting to order it in a ceramic mug (at Starbucks), so the water was really too hot. As a result, the brew was not quite as delicious as the last time. I won’t make that mistake again!

second infusion: I decided to use my sachets for decaffeinated green after dinner and found the brew to be pretty good. I do believe that the first infusion was too hot, though, so this one was also not as good as last time, either.

third infusion: With so much tea in these sachets, I tried a third infusion. It was just okay.

I enjoyed another scrumptious afternoon of this luscious Mao Feng blend chez Starbucks. The mouthfeel is so smooth and silken—almost buttery—and the flavor is really quite good. So glad that I discovered this sachet version of Green Tips. It’s much better than the filter bags!

I decided to break out of my usual post-Americano routine and begin with China Green Tips as my first refill. I figured out the best way to cope with the overly hot water at Starbucks: Request a large ceramic mug, which immediately cools the water upon contact! Then carefully watch the time, dip and remove the sachet repeatedly for about two minutes. At the end, the brew is PERFECT! I mean: PERFECT.

I now am convinced that this is a very good Mao Feng blend. I had two cups and decided to bring the spent sachets home to try a second infusion of decaffeinated green tea after dinner. To my delight, the second infusion was very good as well. Certainly better than most any filter bag China green (including Tazo’s own).

This is good news because I love green tea after dinner but cannot start with a fresh batch because I’ll never get to sleep. Now I have another strategy for days when I have not brewed my own pot of green chez moi but am on the run. I just have to remember to bring something to store the infused sachets in for the walk home…

I had a cup of the sachet version of Tazo China Green Tips today at Starbucks. It was very good. The sachet provides the perfect dose. The water they use for the brew is officially too hot, but so long as one does not oversteep, the resultant bright yellow brew is quite tasty and not at all bitter. I enjoyed this cup a lot, more than my recent brew of the loose leaf at home!

This is a Mao Feng blend, by the way…

I first tasted Tazo China Green Tips in a Starbucks store with rather low expectations (I was trying it out as a free refill), but I was very pleasantly surprised by the brew produced using the sachet of the loose leaf. It tasted fresh and clean and vegetal—rather sencha-like—though I had never encountered such a China green tea before.

I ordered a supply of the loose leaf at the amazing Tazo tea sale in November 2013 at Starbucks online, and I must say that this really is good—provided that one loves sencha! By the light, bright yellow color alone, it becomes clear that this tea must be produced by steaming.

Today’s pot (prepared in a tetsubin) really hit the spot, and I’ll be enjoying this fresh and satisfying tea as a rotating post-lunch green. It’s very solid green offering, and to be honest, I cannot believe the negative reviews. I can only surmise that the reviewers either do not like sencha or did not brew the tea properly. Anyone who appreciates the distinctive quality of sencha will appreciate this variation on the steamed-green tea theme, it seems to me.

Needless to say, it’s important to follow the usual rules for brewing this tea: Do not overheat! Do not overleaf! Do not oversteep! Any of those mistakes will result in a bitter brew and may explain some of the negative reviews.

second infusion: I had this a few hours later, after dinner. Same color, a slightly lighter taste. Still good.

I learned over the course of the day that the tea is Mao Feng. China Green Tips was my first experience, then, with Mao Feng!

third infusion: still thirsty, but afraid to whip up any new green brew, with sleep (hopefully) on the horizon, so I gave this another try. Thirst quenching and still colorful. Lighter flavor still. This will be the end of this pot, I swear!

This is a classic for me and reminds me of summer time. Starbucks use to have Valencia syrup (orange) and I use to have a Passion ice tea with 1/2 classic and 1/2 Valencia and it was delicious. They have since discontinued the syrup. I continued to brew this at home and ice it. I don’t ever have it hot. Sometime about fruit herbals being hot doesn’t appeal to me.

I love this blend and regularly brew it up iced to up my water intake. I don’t sweeten it anymore because I find that it doesn’t need it. It’s a treat when I do get it from Starbucks and sweeten it, so I will leave it to Starbucks. I’ve also mixed this with some frozen berries and ice and served it in pretty punch cups and people have loved it, not knowing that it doesn’t have any added sugar in it. A good go to!

In today’s steep-off chez sherapop, I have determined that I slightly prefer Tazo Chun Mee Green to Clipper Organic Green—mainly for the smoothness. But it is so very close, and the teas are so similar in appearance, scent, and taste, that I cannot recommend the Tazo over the Clipper, since the latter is quite economically priced. Both of these teas are in the style of baked Chun Mee, and both feature organic leaves. Both are quite decent grocery store filter bag options.

What I learned today is that these teas are much better when brewed for only 2-3 minutes using cooler water. Oversteeped, they lose their appeal for me, but today’s brews were rather tasty!

I’m pretty sure that expectations play a big role in evaluations of tea—at least for me. Now that I understand what Chun Mee is—and isn’t—I am more favorably disposed toward this Tazo filter bag organic Chun Mee. It’s not bad at all—it’s just very different from most of the teas I usually drink, and it seems to be the same type of green used in many lower-grade green tea bags. Perhaps Chun Mee is the CTC of China greens? Not sure. Anyway, I have increased my rating a bit after today’s more satisfying cup.

I had to brew up a cup of Tazo Chun Mee Green just to see whether the “organic sencha” of earlier today might be this tea not that.

I had only the second infusion of the loose leaf “organic sencha” to compare, but I have to say that this is better than that. The liquors are essentially the same color, but the flavor of this Chun Mee is fuller. Both are said to be organic; both are sourced from China. Both appear to be baked, not steamed green tea…

I have not been very happy with the new white box Tazo filter bag teas, but I decided to try Chun Mee out of curiosity. To me, this seems an awful lot like Zen without the lemongrass, which could be a good thing for those who dislike that particular adulterant.

The liquor is golden brown, and the flavor is not unappealing. It seems like a better version of some of the unidentified green teas sold at the grocery store. I won’t buy this one again because there are so many better choices. It’s okay, just not nearly as good as my favorites in the green category…

And that’s a sip down. I’m experiencing heartburn for like the first time ever practically (I’m looking at you, pan-seared salmon and broccoli and mushrooms sauteed in olive oil), so I figured that this is the perfect opportunity to polish off the other bag I got from the hotel.

Chamomile, licorice, and mint are all supposed to help heartburn, so we’ll just see about that.

Lulz, I took this tea bag from the hotel my mom and I were staying at before I came back to the coast last week. Last night, it took me well over three hours to fall asleep so at this point, I’m up for this experiment. This is supposed to be calming? We’ll just see about that. I also just took two Benadryl, to simultaneously alleviate my allergy symptoms and make me drowsy.

It actually tastes pretty good. Mostly mint and chamomile. I get more spearmint than anything else. Then chamomile. Then peppermint. Yeah.

good iced, but terrible hot

It smells good, peachy a light sent of green… I am not to sold on the taste. This tea is a blend of black and green tea so achieving the right brew temp has been hard for me, this tea will get bitter fast even in a lower temperature brew.