Tazo

This was my morning cup and it was a nice one. I am partial to green tea and I like that this one is light and not bitter. I HATE bitterness in tea and in some teas you just can’t get away from it so it’s a relief when I don’t have to deal with that kind of drama. Haha
The ginger is balanced with the green tea and it has a little hit of pear in the mix which I was nervous about but I actually enjoy it. All in all, a good, balanced, refreshing cup of tea to start my day off right!

This is really good!
I first tried 1 bag in 6oz, steeped for about 5 minutes.
It smelled EXACTLY like lemon cake-and tasted good, but not really cake like. Just smelling the nearby teabag made me SO HUNGRY though…and a rumbly belly isn’t the best when it’s bedtime. It was also good with a little honey, but again not quite cake.

Tonight I tried two bags in 8oz, also steeped for 5 minutes. Same yummy smell-added 1/2 tsp of sugar and was honestly surprised by how cake like it suddenly tasted! Like, exactly like lemon cake! I then added a tiny bit of milk, but I’d skip it next time since it took a bit of the flavor down. Some benefiber, however, seemed to help it feel more satisfying, adding to the “cake” effect (without changing the flavor or texture) so I was left actually relaxed & not hungry like last time.

And now I’m super sleepy. Long day, nummy drink. I think I’m gonna go to bed early.

Apparently I have a full box of this and not just a sample? I really need to make a spreadsheet!

Anyway, this is a green tea with lemon verbena that leans far more lemon than green. It isn’t a tart lemon, mind you. It’s a nice, pleasant lemongrass flavor. You can taste a little bit of the green; there’s a note of warm hay there that I like. I feel like a broken record here by saying it’s good for bagged, but that’s what I keep having to say. There are far nicer green teas out there with much more complex profiles. But if you are first waking up and need a quick pick-me-up, this works.

This not only has anise in it, it is HEAVY on the anise.

I’m so glad this was in a sampler pack and not a full box.

EWWWW. I hate licorice anything.

I couldn’t bring myself to do more than take a few sips. I don’t think it’s bad tea, I just despise licorice.

Ew.

Got dumped.

Well, My order from staples arrived today. If you are wondering why I ordered from Staples of all places, it’s because I wanted to place a tea order to try some new Earl Greys, however, my cash wallet was empty for the month. I’ll leave it up to you to figure out how this got paid for.

Anway, box arrived while I was sleeping, and when I woke up, it was waiting for me on my kitchen chair. I love my mom. However, being that I just woke up, and would like to get some stuff done, it was time to try the “Awake English Breakfast” from the Tazo variety pack

Enough about me, ON TO THE TEA.

Now, I should probably begin by saying that I tried to be as scientific about this as possible, regarding the brewing instructions on the package. I wanted to try it their way first. So water was from Keurig (somewhere around 210F), 5min/8oz/one bag.

I want to begin, while it’s cooling, to say that it was very odd that this didn’t seem to want to steep right? I stuck the bag in the tea… and nothing happened. Nothing happened for three minutes; the water remained clear. I then dunked the teabag a bit, and POOF the tea appeared. Not sure if this is a common trait among this type of tea or this brand of tea, but I wanted to include it here.

The flavor is… not bad. Actually, not bad at all. Not good mind you, this will never beat anything loose-leaf, and especially not my tippy Yunnans. But for a CTC black, it’s decent. I’ve had worse. I’m getting strong tannins, and a large hit of astringency. There are also notes of wet leaves, leather, and possibly raisin? It’s that same bitey/sharp note I always have trouble identifying in tea. It is a little bitter, but as an English breakfast, I think that’s to be expected. However, you guys all know my sweet-tooth, and I didn’t require sweetener.

All and all, what do I think? Well, as I said. It ain’t great. But it’s decent. Actually, I’d put this slightly above average, when in comparison to other bagged English Breakfast teas. Not that I’ve had a bunch, but it’s better than the others I’ve tried. Never gonna beat a loose-leaf, but if you need something quick and easy, give it a shot.

C- overall, B for it’s kind.

I swear I threw a bag of Whittard’s Chelsea Garden in my purse last night before leaving for church, but it was no where to be found once I got there. I had resigned myself to drinking something awful from the church cabinet (I really need to mercy stock that thing) when the Bible study teacher pulled out a tea wallet and said, “Here! Choose from one of these!”

She loves black tea and was listing the contents (PG Tips, English Breakfasst, etc.) when she said, “Vanilla Caramel Chai? Where did that come from? I don’t even like chai, at all!” So I told her I would take that one to get it out of her wallet and to keep from depriving her of a tea she loves!

It wasn’t bad! The tea aspect was pretty weak but the flavors were pretty good. We had tiramisu as our snack and it went well enough with that. By the end of the mug, the licorice root was really noticeable, but I don’t mind licorice root in the right places and it didn’t bother me. I include that info for those who hate the stuff, because I know a lot of people do.

Thanks so much for this freebie, AJRimmer! I can’t say I’m a fan though. The combination of the chicory root, sarsparilla, licorice somehow really just makes it taste like…. dirt. I hate to say it, but dirt. And I notice ‘dirt’ is in the flavor notes for this tea from someone else, so I’m not the only one mentioning it. It also tastes like splenda to me, which again, could just be a combination of the other ingredients. Possibly there isn’t even splenda in the blend. But I do get hints of that lovely sugary cinnamon. It’s just very hidden under this trifecta of odd ingredients, it’s like an overwhelming flavor storm.

The tea smelled like apple as I tore open the pouch, and smelled like apple when brewed. It does taste like apple in the cup, but weaker, and as an aftertaste. It does have relaxing chamomile, so it’s good for an evening cup, but when I compare to my favorite Lemon Loaf Tazo tea, this seems a bit weak and I’m wishing for a more tart apple taste.

Ain’t gonna lie.

I like this and have always liked this. I might continue to like it forever more.

Good for a morning palate cleanser. Good for an afternoon pickmeup. Good for an evening cool down. Good iced.

Awake saved my butt on the Great Southern Road Trip. Roadside motels don’t offer tea so I kept a gallon of ambient-brew in the backseat ice chest. Bless you, Awake. You made a great cold companion from Miami to the Everglades to Gainesville and all the beautiful places in between. Fresh, strong flavor with depth.

I’m surprised Awake has such a low rating. Bold, full-bodied, a bit oily with good depth between malt, brightness and an interesting spicy herbal quality that reminds me of oregano. Pairs really well with a farmer’s breakfast. This tea used to be an oft-employed kick in the pants for me.

Totally fine black chai, if not one of the best bagged chai I’ve had. On the stronger end.

Big clove aroma with cinnamon. Kind of brisk, malty and smokey with a woody dryness but the tea isn’t astringent. It does have an bitter undercurrent, though. Good balance between tea taste and spices with major notes of cardamom, clove and cinnamon, star anise to a lesser extent. I wonder if all that overrode the ginger (second ingredient) cuz I got nothing. No black pepper either besides maybe in warmth. How would it do simmered in milk? That’s what I wanna know but I don’t want to buy a box to find out.