Celestial Seasonings

Discovered this tea when I was looking for something to help my throat during a particularly nasty sinus infection. Very different, very soothing flavor. Definitely seemed to coat my throat on the way down which was perfect for my coughing. I will purchase this over and over again.

I can’t wait until this tea is back in stores! Perfect holiday treat. It taste great. Christmas in a cup :)

I picked this up on a whim from the grocery store and I have to say it isn’t half bad! It really reminds me of a slightly less sweet, coffee-free Pumpkin Spice Latte. The pumpkin is present, spices are balanced, and the stevia isn’t overpowering. Many of the holiday teas from CS have been hit or miss with me, but this is pretty good.

Backlogging a bit, I’ve had 2-3 cups in the past week. I cannot get enough of this tea! This is certainly not a sickeningly-sweet orange tea, which pleases me immensely.

Intriguing. Gingerbread is my thing after pumpkin spice, I like them at least equally but as soon as the Starbucks Gingerbread latte gets in I get that instead of pumpkin spice for the rest of the season. Also, Bath and Body Works gets a candle in that is gingerbread scent and it’s amazing. So this stuff, the ingredients are “cinnamon, ginger, roasted chicory, roasted barley, natural flavors (contains soy lecithin) and luo han guo.” Luo han guo, as best I can decipher, is a sweetener sort of like stevia. It’s not very strong but I think with two bags it could be if that’s what you want (which is what I want and what I’m going to do next time). It’s sweet and cinnamon-y and ginger-y. I bet if I made it in hot milk (with a little sugar and vanilla? hm!) it would be delicious. I don’t like tea generally but I swing this pretty well, well enough that I will try the Apple Cinnamon one I almost got with it. It’s a nice way to feel festive without any calories which I can totally get on board with. Steeping it for a looong time in hoooot water seems necessary to coerce the flavors out.

I am giving this tea another try because… well, I talked to one of my friends and she said that she enjoyed this tea. Even though we have different tastes, I don’t think that I gave this one a fair shot. I was really excited to find this tea at the store as well as a limited edition Sleepytime tea box. I’m usually not one to buy Celestial Seasonings, but Sleepytime has a soft spot in my heart.

Well, back to this tea. I’ve noticed that this tea has a bit of a strange scent. Maybe it’s the citrus… but it just smells funky. Underneath all of that is the sugar cookie. It really does smell like raw sugar cookie dough. YUM. I’d love a nice plate of warm sugar cookies at this moment.

Sipping… first comes the citrus and then comes the raw dough. This coats your tongue with a buttery, doughy flavor. The finish is crusty sugar & something weird.. it’s cooling, tangy.. almost like a peppermint. Not the most pleasant thing. The more I drink it, the more I notice it. I’m surprised to see how quickly this tea went from being a hit to more of a dud.

This one is sweet on its own. (Actually, it’s too sweet. Milk or extra water helps even it out.) It really does taste like pumpkin loaded with spices. It is nice hot but it is delicious iced.

I like this quite a bit better than regular Sleepytime, the vanilla (for me) helps ease off that chamomile taste that I hate so much. I steep mine for an undecided amount of time that equals out to ‘whenever I get back to it’. I call it done when its a nice darkish honey color.

Not one of the ones I drink terribly often but there’s something really comforting about it to me.

Bought on accident (thought it was just a regular Acai Mango tea), brewed as usual, was quite confused when I tasted sweetener in there.

The fake sweetener taste definitely screws up the taste, but the tea itself isn’t half bad. I’d definitely buy the regular kind if I can ever find it, granted I do plan on continuing to drink this stuff. Its better cold for me, I taste less of that gross artificial taste, but its not terrible warm either. As with all tisanes, I steep it for a long time, so I might be tasting it significantly different than others.

Bought on a whim when I saw it at Big Lots for $2, and because I really like rooibos. Very nice, little bit of sugar goes a long way since its just inherently sweet. I steep mine for a looong time and its extremely flavorful, one of the few teas I can drink iced as well.

I like the Madagascar Vanilla a bit better, but then I’m just a sucker for vanilla. For something fruity, its very, very nice.

Call me a spoilsport but I get a little cynical this time of year amid all the talk of pumpkin flavored this and that. Pumpkin happens to be one of my favorite vegetables. I eat a lot of it and know exactly what it does and doesn’t taste like. It’s a vegetable. From the vine it does NOT taste like cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. These are spices we PUT INTO pumpkin to cover up the bad taste of the vitamins. (Yes,I’m from the Peg Bracken school of vegetable cookery)

In conclusion: If you like Bengal Spice, you’ll probably like this one. Except for the hint of pumpkin, for me this is like having the same stuff in regular and decaf. Not that I really mind. Since they’re both quite good, having two boxes is twice as nice.

3 days after I ordered 6 boxes of this on Amazon (at $3/box + $6 shipping!) I saw it had arrived at Walmart! I snagged the only 5 boxes on the shelf. I’m really glad they had them because my Amazon order still hasn’t arrived yet. It was perfect timing because I had just used up my last 6 bags to make a big tumbler full to take to my night class. It was the only thing that was gonna get me through! It’s a 2 hour and 40 minute class and the teacher usually doesn’t give breaks. If she does, it’s like one that lasts 5 minutes. Most of my classes are an hour longer than this one so it should seem pretty short, but not when we don’t even get a break!

Anyway, back to the tea.

The new box smelled more orangey than my box from last year. I’m not sure if that’s because my old box was getting old? Or if they’ve changed the ingredients at all? The order of the ingredients is the same on the box, and it seemed to taste the same, so I’m not too worried. I’m curious to see if the boxes I got online smell any different.

As I type this I’m steeping 5 bags in a 16 ounce tumbler with 1 teaspoon of german rock sugar. I’m gonna let it go about 12 minutes, then add a little bit of unsweetened almond milk. I’m hoping the almond milk doesn’t do more harm than good! After that I’m gonna try it unsweetened, which I haven’t tried in a while. I usually don’t sweeten my teas anyway. I bet I won’t even notice that much of a difference!

OK! Tea’s done. :)

I filled the rest of the tumbler up with the unsweetened almond milk. Maybe the top inch or so?

And…it’s not bad! I still don’t think the flavor is as good as it is without the milk, but the consistency sure is comforting. :) And the color looks great! Something I would be proud to serve to guests. :) The color would not scare them away. haha I think I will use more sweetener next time I use the almond milk, and save this concoction for special occasions.

I’m seriously obsessed with this tea, and have cravings for it all the time. When I first got it I just didn’t know how to make it right. This is before I was really that into tea. Then a month or two ago I decided to try making it again. This time in my 24 ounce cast iron. I used 6 teabags, and 1 teaspoon of german rock sugar. I can’t remember how long I let it steep for? Probably about 10 minutes? I was hooked. It was soooo perfectly delicious. But I only had that one box. So I decided to save it for the next time I had a huge sweet craving late at night, because I knew I wouldn’t be able to buy any more in store for a while. I tried to put this tea to the back of my mind and just be patient…

Then a couple days ago I decided to make it again. 4 teabags in a 16 ounce tumbler. Steeped 15 minutes with a little under a teaspoon of german rock sugar. And that is when I became absolutely addicted to this tea. I have cravings for it constantly, but I only have 5 bags left in the box so I’m freaking out. Friday I ordered 6 boxes online, and I’m guessing it should be here within the next few days! I seriously cannot wait! I’m gonna let myself have some of this today because I know more should be arriving soon. :)

This tea makes me so happy; if they ever discontinue it I don’t know what I will do! Actually I’ve already decided that I will have to try to recreate it because I just can’t live without it.

OH and when my tea arrives in the mail I’m going to make my oatmeal with this!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so incredibly excited!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is definitely my top fave tea of all time right now. And it comes in a freaking tea bag!

I’m just really curious what the ‘natural sugar cookie flavor’ is in this. And can I get it in its raw form? Stock up for the end times????

Sorry all my posts today are kinda long and freaky because I’m seriously half asleep……. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Whenever I get a new hobby or interest, my dad always likes to support me in it. Usually it comes in the form of things he digs out of the trash (destroyed books, moldy hats, broken antiques, etc), but he does do it out of love, and he’s pretty much my only family member who ever takes an interest in my interests. And this time, he bought me something! A fruit tea sampler pack from Celestial Seasonings, in honor of my newfound interest in tea.

The smell of this one immediately reminded me of blueberry pancakes. I wanted to try it most, because blueberries are my most favorite of berries and berry flavoring. I made this first cup hot, added a little sugar, let the teabags sit in for a bit over the suggested time. It ended up tasting quite a bit like a blueberry syrup or jam – really thick kind of flavor, with not much tartness to it (though it increases as it sits, it seems). I think it’s probably going to make a pretty decent iced tea.

EDIT: Went ahead and added ice to the half cup that was left, as the thickness of it was getting a bit too much. Fairly refreshing that way! Though the tartness that came in near the end is now more pronounced.

I had my first sample of chai Tea at a Thai restaurant years ago. It set a high standard. I have since sampled and rejected plenty of pathetic imitations. Fortunately, there have been a few good ones as well. This is one.

Just taking this tea out of the box is a sensual pleasure. Lots of intense, noisy flavors, but all getting along like a joyous celebration. This is not some wimpy, half arsed wannabe chai. This is a wonderful strong blend with top-notes of coconut, cinnamon and clove. I especially appreciate the conservative use of cinnamon, a presence that far too often dominates whole formulas until it’s all you can taste. This time it is a team player, taking a supportive role among the other spices without trying to run the whole show.

At the time I write this, of all the chai’s I have tasted, only a few have passed muster. This is one of my two favorites in that category. It’s good cold brewed or hot, year round.

After all, I could drink cream and sugar all by themselves and they’d be good. If a tea requires such embellishment in order to be drinkable,how good can it be?

A nice tasting Kombucha. Tastes a lot like a carbonated juice that is not from concentrate. Very hearty and pleasant.

I love this tea! The dry flavor is very strong. It is almost sour smelling but very sweet also. When being steeped in water it’s smell gets increasingly sweeter until the smell is fully blueberry. The color is very very deep blue, Almost purple. The taste is just like the smell. Very sweet, with a very strong flavor of fresh blueberries. It tastes just as amazing hot as it does cold. Though I prefer it hot over cold. I highly recommend adding sweetner and or milk. I like it with either or both, it greatly improves the flavor (hard to believe).