Tazo

I bought one of these teabags from a holiday trip to Hunstanton a little while ago to try at home at my leisure. The cafe server looked at me a little confused but it’s another tea for me to log and try so it’s worth it. :)

My experiences with Mao Feng are unfortunately not very positive overall as I find it usually unnecessary bitter and without much flavour. This claims to be a Mao Feng blend.

The bag contains small chopped up bits of green tea and resembles mixed herbs used for cooking. Raw the bag is a little bitter but not especially fresh or green.

Once brewed this is grassy yellow in colour with a extremely subtle floral fragrance. It’s very hard to detect any fragrance at all.

Flavour is light with a touch of floral tones and a gentle perfume tang. It’s also slightly bitter and astringent. I can’t detect any sweetness or creaminess that is mentioned in the default description. The tea itself is not particularly fresh and nor is it past your average standard quality (what you expect) but that’s the real problem with it.

This would be the sort of green tea that someone would buy for pure convenience over quality. It’s all around ‘just ok’ and while being ‘joe average’ is fine for some it just doesn’t cut it for me. I would not buy this again and nor would I order it from a menu.

Before I begin my review I would like to mention that I did not have any particularly high expectations for this tea, though I somewhat assumed I would be presented with a richer, somewhat dark, passion fruit flavour. I have tried this tea in other forms previously, such as the ever popular passion tea lemonade which may have biased my assumption somewhat. Regardless my intention with this tasting was to simply pickup and drink this tea in its most raw and unbiased format to get a feel for the quality of the product and to find out what story the leaves can tell me if any.

Unbrewed: The packaged concauction has a nice deep, sweet, almost candy like scent to it. I was immediately seduced by varying tendrils of citrus, with a sort of darker, more crimson, fruity scent lingering underneath. I feel like I was almost picking up the slightest waft of cinnamon, though cinnamon is no where to be found within this tea so it is likely a combination of that which is involved. Looking at the assortment I immediately visualized autumn, with fresh fallen leaves and the comfort of a nice warm home, surrounded by family. The mix itself reminds me of the pot-pourri that my mother used to have placed in key locations around the house. I spotted random golden cubes within the tea, which I could only assume were the mango/papaya that was hinted at by the tin in which it was packaged. It is a pleasing tea to look at, and just as pleasing a tea to smell.

Brewed: I brought my water to a boil, and gently drizzled the water about the leaves, letting the satchel steep for the designated 5 minutes. I was greeted by a chalice of dark crimson-purple liquid. Lifting the cup I was immediately comforted by the scent of deep, rich passion fruit. Intrigued and at ease I lifted to the cup to my lips and sipped at the warm liquid. I felt rigid, almost as if a jolt of electricity had struck my tongue. My tongue was hammered with a very powerful shot of a tangy citrus type flavour. This sensation was very overpowering, which was interesting as I generally take comfort in the flavour of citrus. At this point I could scarcely pick out any other flavours amid the intoxicating brew. I feel like I could ever so slightly taste a hint of lemongrass attempting to peek through, but aside from that all I could get was the overpowering hodge podge of liquid. What happened to the deep seductive passion fruit, after which the tea is named? It has somehow become almost non-existent! Sure a minute note of passion fruit could be assumed at the initial bite of the flavour, but this is in no way reminiscent of the passion fruit flavours I have previously been involved with.

I attempted a second brew, decreasing steep time, thinking that maybe the reduced time would bring out less of the citrusy-doom and allow me to catch some of the other flavours, but doing so creates a liquid that has a subtle hint of watered down passion fruit, followed briefly after by light citrus. However, near the end of the cup I had a few nicer sips in which I could almost taste the passion fruit for which I longed, meaning that it is hiding in there somewhere, it just needs to be brought out by something else.

I feel as though this tea, although the rare individual may enjoy, is designed simply to be sweetened or used to produced the signature passion tea lemonade. This tea is just them taking an ingredient that they use for one of their popular drinks, packaging it in a pleasing fashion, in order to obtain more money from the customer (was even priced on the high side).

Outside of this you just get some sort of swamp water concoction. The story that this tea has to tell is one reminiscent of an old mystery/detective flick. A seductive young mistress coated in her signature perfume, easy on the eyes, slinks into your life. She wants to make you the happiest man in the world. Over time she seems perfect, and so you decide to marry her. One day she is no where to be found, you search the house from top to bottom, and she just is not there. You head out back, maybe she is working in the garden, still no sight of her so you turn around to retrace your steps only to be met with a blunt object to the face. Wanted: PT Lemmon for the murder of her husband by blunt trauma to the skull.

Verdict/tl;dr: Only purchase if you are planning to save some change by brewing your own passion tea lemonade/sweetened tea, or if you are a big fan of overly tart (not tangy or sour) flavours.

I’m fairly new to rooibos so I haven’t quite gotten accustomed to the taste yet. Despite my personal preferences, this definitely has good points. When I’ve had rooibos before, the pieces in the sachet were very flaky and dusty but this was sold is higher-quality mesh with larger twiggy pieces of the plant. It is has a very pleasant spicy smell with the distinct odor I tend to associate with rooibos. I brewed it for a shorter amount of time because I’m not a fan of the strength of herbal infusions. It seems like if I go to the recommended time in fruity infusion it is always overpowering rather than refreshing. Hence, I normally steep a little shorter with herbal/rooibos teas. I guess I’ve been drinking too many white and greens lately, because I was shocked how quickly the tea turned a beautiful deep chestnut color.

Unfortunately, the taste was what got me….but this may just be a matter of personal preference and not of poor tea quality. I drank it without any sweeteners and after it cooled quite a bit. I can’t remember where I read it before, but someone on here mentioned this tea tastes somewhat reminiscent of wax lips, and they hit the nail on the head! Unfortunately, I’ve noticed this is other rooibos I’ve tasted so I think it must be a taste I haven’t gotten accustomed to. But yes, waxy taste is actually very nauseating for me, and I don’t get nauseous very easily. Likewise, the scent of the finished tea also has a apple-like waxy smell to it. Honestly, I don’t taste much vanilla just the slightly taste of apple and cinnamon. The dominant taste is definitely the nutty flavor of the rooibos, which is quite good because I don’t like when I get flavors the overpower the base of my drink (yet also bad because rooibos isn’t my base of choice yet :p ).

I’d say it’s a fairly medium drink. At first it seemed watery but the more I drink it the stronger it seems. It seems silly but I can’t taste the fullness of a tea when it’s hot as much as when it’s cooled off a bit. Another nice thing is that the tea is very smooth, it goes down without any bitterness. Unfortunately, this (as well as other rooibos I’ve tasted) leaves a bit of an aftertaste which I don’t find pleasant. That wax-lips taste I talked about earlier. It also has a big of a medicinal taste to me…. Maybe I let it cool off too much and it is better hot.

Overall, this was a nice cup because the added herbs/fruits/etc. didn’t overpower the rooibos, leaves were much higher quality than expected, and there was no bitter final note. Still, it is very rare I can’t finish something, and this was one of those times. Made me feel sick

Man, I cannot WAIT to get my tea shipment. Lacking a tea/pot delivery on my stoop, the day was tea-free till late. Swooped through Starbonx on the way to class to get a perk infusion and wound up with one of these weird nylon bags of chai. It looks like mulch, so it must be good. (That IS how it works, right?)

Aaaanyway. It tastes like chai! Shocking. I removed the sachet after brewing and kept it for another soak. The second try was weaker but also kind of…sparkly. Almost carbonated. Spice was nice with a little kick. Way more expensive than the Numi stuff they have at the other place, though. My internal skinflint says, “hurry home, little teapot!”

Zen… I guess one of the Tazo teas that will get a higher rating. This was an ok green tea with lemongrass in it. It was somewhat soothing, but nowhere near the soothing that I usually like. I might try it again if I go to starbucks… but I am not entirely sure. Maybe it deserves a second chance.

Meh.. that’s what I think of when this tea is mentioned. It really doesn’t do it for me. I love earl grey, it is one of my favorite teas, but the tazo one is just not the best earl grey I’ve had. I find with this the bag can only steep for a few seconds and needs to be pulled out before it becomes too bitter.

It wasn’t the worst tea that I drank, but it will be one of those teas that I try only once and say, it was nice drinking you, but you just aren’t my cup of tea. I like how it initially tasted, but I found that the spices in the tea had a way of lingering just a little to long in my mouth after drinking the tea was done.

Tazo Masala chai. :P

Had this served at Starbucks. This was really quite good. It smelled nice too. Had a sweet vanilla taste and fruity flavor, with a bit of spice. First time I had a rooibos tea and I was left satisfied. I will have to check out more rooibos tea.

Basic bag tea that is “good enough” in a pinch when I don’t have time for loose leaf :) enjoyed this one yesterday but forgot to log it.

I can get behind this one in summer as a cold brew tea. I like adding a bit of sugar too…though I’m also a fan of mixing this with lemonade. Had a bag of this left over that I wanted to finish off. Wheee!

A nice blend of several different flavors. I let this tea steep for about 3 or 4 minutes and upon first sip found that the mint flavor dominates with hints of lemongrass in the background. Notes of green tea finish off the taste. A calm, relaxing cup. Not something I’d reach for often, but I’d bet it’d be nice to sip on during a cold.

I’m undecided about my thoughts on this tea in a way. The combination of the green, the orange, and the jasmine makes for a truly divine brew that’s floral and full, without delving into being perfume-y. But the second time I tried this, I really noticed the chamomile in it. Chamomile is not something I appreciate in my tea at all. I think if this tea didn’t have chamomile, it could be perfect, but the chamomile gives it a discordant note that interrupts the otherwise stellar flavour. I had it with sweetener and definitely wouldn’t recommend it without that. The orangey, floral flavour may seem milk-friendly, but I’d try it without it first if I were you.

I said it isn’t perfume-y, but in one way it is: there’s so many ingredients that come together to create the flavour, but like a well-blended perfume, it can be hard to single these out from the overarching sense of rich flavour. I got mostly orange and jasmine, which may be good, because I don’t want fennel or chamomile or tarragon in my tea. The fragrance of this tea is just wonderful.

I bought this on a whim the other day when I saw it at the store. I’ve had a few cups since then, and I’m moderately happy with what I’ve found. While it is on the more mild and non-overbearing side of flavor, the delicate combination of apricot and vanilla is quite delicious. I also noticed that steeping too long caused the tea to taste sort of bitter but not allowing enough time results in fruit-flavored water.

This is my absolute favorite red bush tea! I love the tangy after taste and the aroma is divine! I stock up on it whenever I can….

I’m new to Tea, but very much like this in the afternoons after lunch.

A delightful and delicious blend, effective calming agent and soothing brew. Love how the ingredients add their distinct flavours, as well as harmonize to bring about this herbal infusion. ❤

Never too keen on rooibos tea, but this could be an exception. I love the strong whiff of Sweet Apple Cinnamon scent; it made me think of warm Apple Pie! Another connotation would be.. candied apple usually seen during Halloween. Dessert and spice, it’s the perfect tea for Christmas and the festive season.

I think the lime and mint were too overpowering. No scent of cucumber no matter how long I steeped it. Not a wise choice of ingredients.

I accidentally grabbed this instead of a bag of Zen on my way to work. When I got to work and brewed this, I actually thought that my tea cup hadn’t been washed enough and needed to be re-washed. That’s when I realized it wasn’t the cup, but the tea itself. It’s not the most undrinkable thing I’ve ever had, but despite keeping brew time brief (3 minutes) and using only warm water (no scorching the leaves) this tea was really bitter and astringment to me, and the after taste was quite unpleasant. Not a fan.

As soon as you open the package you think you have just cut into a ripe, juicy apple or opened a crock pot of spiced apple cider that has been stewing for hours! The color is a gorgeous golden-red. The cinnamon note is prevalent, followed by the sweetness of the apple and the earthy rooibus. The apple definitely clings to your pallette and lingers with the spice and rooibus. Excellent conglomeration of flavor with nothing overpowering. Aromatic and playful! This tea is Fall and I love it!

A review of Wild Sweet Orange Tea by Tazo

Date: 10/02/2012
Company: Tazo
Tea Name: Wild Sweet Orange
Tea Type/Varietal: Herbal
Region:
Steeping Vessel/Amt. Leaf: Cup / tea bag
Plucking Season:
Liquor Color: light orange/yellowish color
Leaf Characteristics:

Note: I purchased a cup of tea while visiting my college library. College libraries have been sporting cafés, so this is not odd to see on campus. Anyhow, I had tried to ignore it but gave in and purchased a cup of tea at this Starbucks shop selling Tazo Teas. I selected the tea bag and was asked what size cup; I said medium and they filled it with hot water into which I added the tea bag with covering and a straw to sip the tea.

Tazo tea’s aroma are always very enjoyable and the tea’s flavor most noticeable and pronounced, this has always been my experience with them. Tea is very hot and smells very sweet with the lemongrass, orange peels and the other citrus vying for attention. Tea’s aroma is a medley, a citrus bouquet and taste very sweet with the lemongrass and citric being more noticeable.

In all, it was a good cup of tea and no need to say anymore.

The teabag NOT full leaf blend of tazo zen was one of my first tea loves. It was the first tea that made me realize that there was more then lipton.

I had this a few days ago at starbucks for my afternoon cup. It was the whole leaf variety. I only steeped it for about two minutes because the water they put it in is VERY hot, likely higher then what I would do for green tea.

I love the green tea minty goodness. Oh, the joy of a first tea love!