Tazo

Brewed at 85, for 3 minutes (first steep) and 5 minutes (second steep). Added a bit of agave because it was a bit bitter.

This tea confuses the heck out of me. I think it’s because there’s so much going on. I mean, there’s black, green and oolong teas plus natural flavours. When I opened the tin I got whiffs of a fruity alcohol flavour. I’ve never actually tried darjeeling tea (which I believe is in this) but maybe that was the smell?

Really full flavour and I’ll probably reach for this in the morning when I’m craving a big cup of coffee.

Rating: dear god, I have no idea. I don’t hate it but I’m not over the moon for it.

Not bad for bagged chai. Add milk and sweetener and you’ll be good to go. Saving this for when I’m too lazy to make my own :)

Daughter brought this to me over the weekend…a blend of three teas…three is my favorite number. The verdict, it is ok. I only brewed this two minutes and I think that was enough time to being out the three favors. Will I buy it again? No, but it is nice for a surprise:)

I had this when I went to see Skyfall the other night. I was in the mood for tea, (When am I not?) and the movie theatre sold Tazo teas. Luckily, we also ordered food, which allowed the ridiculously hot water to cool before I steeped it.

I really enjoyed this! Thankfully, the guy behind the counter gave me an extra bag. I can try it again while not watching an action flick, so as to do a better review. This tea stood up well to the half and half and packet of raw sugar I added. (Too embarrassed by my earlier stuttering episode to ask for something different, so I just threw in whatever was on the counter.)

Strong flavors, but not overpowering. I have plenty of Earl Grey in my tea cabinet right now, but I think I would consider purchasing this one. I don’t normally like Tazo, so that surprised me.

BlueKittyMeow sent me some of this matcha, along with some other matcha goodies. This is the same matcha they use to make the matcha lattes at Starbucks. Unfortunately, you can’t actually purchase the matcha powder anywhere; you just have to find an employee of Starbucks. I’ve had this tea a couple times now, but this is my first official tasting note.

While I’m generally a tea purist, matcha is one of the few teas I do sweeten hot. When it’s cold, I can usually drink it without needing sweetener, although I’m referring to the flavored matchas.

Anyway, I made a nice mug of this the traditional matcha way (it had been awhile). I didn’t bother to sift it, but I really didn’t have any issues with grittiness. The nice thing about this kind of matcha is that you don’t have to worry about adding any sweetener afterwards. I found the matcha was plenty sweet. The problem, of course, is that if you think the matcha is too sweet right off the bat – TOO bad. I enjoyed it as is with just hot water, but decided to throw in some skim milk to help round out the taste. The milk added some nice creamy notes to it, but I think I actually prefer this matcha without it.

The matcha itself tastes very mild. I would not recommend this for someone who actually likes the taste of matcha. This is more for the people who want to drink it but don’t want the typical “green tea” taste.

I made our usual decadent sunday breakfast: almond flour pancakes, bacon, black raspberries, & Maple syrup. Rummaging through Tony’s cupboard, I found some of this, which went well with breakfast, especially with a little maple added.

Last tea before I go home, load up my harp, & go play a one hour gig at a nursing home. I forgot to bring tea to Tony’s last night. Luckily I always have something here, though not much. I still like Tazo Chai. I used to drink it with french vanilla soy creamer & stevia. I also used to drink iced chai latte’s with extra pumps & soymilk at Starbucks. I actually had a pretty bad habit with those a few years back. Now I only have one when I’m at the airport, it’s part of my airport protocol to drink a chai while I’m waiting to board the plane.
Today I"m drinking my Chai with a little stevia to bring out the spices. No soy or almond milk, no creamer. I could put coconut milk kefir in it, but last time I tried that it just didn’t work for me.
Go Cards! 5 – 0

I had a wonderful gig tonight. I dressed up in fancy black & hauled my Harp out to the Peabody Opera House to play for a private party, which turned out to be a group of 25 people visiting St. Louis. They were served cocktails, then a really fancy schmancy dinner (the kind where every course looks like a work of art, & hopefully tastes amazing), then dessert, then they went on a tour of the building, which originally opened in 1034 as the Kiel Opera House. They renovated & renamed it a year ago, & it’s beautiful. Some of the tunes I played: ‘The Swan’ by Saint Saenz, ‘Footprints’ by Wayne Shorter,‘Do it Again’ by Steely Dan, ‘Misty’ by Errol Garner, along with other tunes by Coltrane, Led Zepplin, Jobim, & many more. 2.5 hours worth, & I loved every moment of it! I worked up an appetite!

I got home in time to see the final inning of the baseball game, cardinals won 3 – 1. YEAH! Then I wanted a snack, & I wanted pancakes!
I don’t eat things like that often, so I surfed the internet, visiting some of my favorite paleo/gluten free sights, & came across “Paleo Vanilla Chai Pancakes”, so there it was. Step one was to steep 2 chai teabags in almond milk. I didn’t have the vanilla chai bags, so Tazo was my go-to, & was probably a more flavorful choice anyway. I’m not a huge fan of most of their teas, but when it comes to Chai, Tazo knows what they’re doing! Their spice ratio is right on, as far as I’m concerned. In fact, when I’m out driving around & I see a starbucks I have to argue with little Terri about whether we should get a chai or not.

I went ahead & steeped extra milk & tea, so that I could drink some with my late night breakfast. I had the pancakes with artisana coconut butter melted on them, topped with fried apples (I don’t know what’s with me lately, I just can’t get enough of fried apples!) & a drizzle of real maple syrup (grade B, the really good stuff). This isn’t the absolute best paleo pancakes I’ve made, (the best ones were an accident that included hazelnut flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, etc, & they were out of this world!), but they were pretty good, & they hit the spot.

For those other gluten free people in the crowd (or anyone else), this recipe, along with many other wonderful recipes that are gluten & dairy free, is on the against all grain website. Enjoy!

http://www.againstallgrain.com/2012/10/17/guest-post-paleo-vanilla-chai-pancakes/

It’s much easier to bring tea bags to work than loose leaf. There’s never a lull and no one likes an over steeped leaf.
Today in the mad rush I was in I grabbed a couple bags of this and ran out the door. Around 3pm I hit a wall and decided to brew up a pick me up. Started the kettle, dropped a cube of plantation sugar in my cup, opened the fridge. . . No milk?!!!!!!!
French vanilla international delight coffee creamer… Doesn’t sound too bad with Chai.
Only problem encountered was the fact that this tea is overwhelmingly gingered. I got punched in the mouth with ginger.
In the end it tasted like ginger snaps, but I couldn’t decide if I liked it or not so I wont rate it yet.

So I’ve been wanting to try this since my husband mentioned he had some and it reminded him of a Renn Faire. He picked up two bottles today for fifty cents a piece, pretty good deal if you ask me. This tastes like pie to me. Blackberry and rhubarb pie, not that I have had that particular combination, but I’ve had strawberry rhubarb. There is no rhubarb in the tea but I think the hibiscus might be coming off that way to me and cinnamon is what is giving me that pie feeling. I shared my observations with the husband and then he reported that now all he can taste is pie (not sure how he could taste a Renn Faire before). So pie-tea win! Mind you its not really tea, its a hibiscus infusion with fruit juice and sugar cane juice, but its pretty delicious.