Tazo Tea

Had this at lunch time today while on the run. I definitely like it better in this “full leaf” incarnation than the previous bagged variety. Nicer, fuller flavour. Richer and more enjoyable. I could go for a cup right now, come to think of it.

I needed a pick me up this afternoon and my stash at work only has herbal tea…that wasn’t going to work. So I hopped on over to the campus bistro thing and got this. As it steeped I swear it smelled like fruit loops…yes the cereal. After the first sip I knew I needed to doctor this up with some sweetener and skim milk. I usually don’t add much of anything to my teas, but this needed it in a big way.

Thankfully we’ll be passing a real Starbucks tonight where I can get a Green Tea Latte mmm…

Had a cuppa before my spa date this morning. Remembering that I disliked the flower like taste here, I experimented and added some cinnamon, along with my usual milk and not quite a pouch full o’sugar. Well, the result was amazing! this is what I’ll do forever more with Starbucks teas. YUMMM!!
Rating: 85

On a side note, I had my first coffee in six months yesterday. Iced with some milk and a touch of sugar. For some reason it made my mouth numb. What?! that makes no sense to me, but there you have it. Has anyone else experienced that before? so confused…

I had another latte. It wasn’t as good this time. It’s rainy and blah outside and I am having one THOSE days. I wish I could get to a David’s!!

I had this as a latte in the afternoon. Quite yummy! I’m just beginning to differentiate between different black teas— there was a day when my uncultured(still is!) palate couldn’t pinpoint the difference between a standard orange pekoe and chinese black. Nevertheless, I am figuring it out… slowly!
This was a bold black, with a strong floral scent/flavour… a forrest flower maybe? but not soapy! that is a good thing in my books.
I don’t always enjoy floral but the last few days I’ve actually been craving it. Odd, for me anyhow. I would never buy this tea to take home though, it’s just convenient when I’m on the run or don’t have access to hot water and a mug.

Quite a strong Earl Grey, but I love the bright lemon note and delicate lavender scent! Didn’t know Starbucks had such nice tea!

A pretty decent black breakfast kind of blend. I tend to get this OTC at Starbucks, with 2 bags in my XL. Add a bit of milk and sugar, and it gives a nice kick to start the morning (or keep you up for a long drive home)

I had a very busy day, and didn’t have time to stop and think … much less brew a cup of tea. So after dropping my youngest off at her dance class, we went to Starbucks and got a cup of Earl Grey to help ward off the lack-of-caffeine headache that was starting.

It’s OK… certainly not the best Earl Grey I’ve had. Even a bit bitter and I didn’t let it oversteep.

Great morning tea. Nice kick of caffeine.

Mmmmmm, it smells like honey! And the forest. There’s a beautiful woodland quality to the smell Tazo Awake tea. Like I should be drinking it on the front porch of a log cabin, wearing a hand-knit toque, scarf, mittens and a big flannel coat, watching the little snows drift silently to the forest floor. I think I might have used too much water, because it’s a little on the light side, but it still smells delicious. It has a bit of sharpness to the taste (which I’ll attribute to the age of the tea itself*), but plenty of that down-homey black tea taste that I like. Can’t describe it, other than Black Tea.
Tasty! (But not ultra tasty. A good go-to tea.)
*Full disclosure: I HAVE the full leaf tea, but don’t care for it. I used the crumbly old tea bags that they used to have at Starbucks (making this tea a little on the old side as well, perhaps.)

After Red Rose, Awake has always been my favourite.

Haven’t had this for a while, nor have I had it served to me by Starbucks in the big sachet. So it’s stiffer and stronger than I recall. That’s not a disadvantage on a very sleepy Monday a.m. That wouldn’t be darjeeling I’m tasting in the background? Nahhhh….

Very surprised! I absolutely love this tea especially from Tazo. I tried the China Green tips loose leaf years ago (I was a neophyte to tea then) and didn’t like it very much so I didn’t buy Tazo since, until recently from the Starbuck’s website; I thought of giving it a try again…glad I did.

Aroma: A little mild and a little vibrant (not spicy).

Taste: Surprising given the name of this tea. It is not awakening what-so-ever like Lipton’s Brisk regular black. It is quite mild with a little vibrancy (again, not spicy like a Darjeeling) with a slight mouth feel and a honey sweetness to it…very delicious.

Aftertaste: The sweetness is there but fleeting, the full mouth feel is there as well but the true aftertaste is clear and cleaner than a true-blend Darjeeling.

This tea is a hybrid blend of Indian and Sri Lanka black teas. It is a very enjoyable tea for anytime of day. Awakening is a very acceptable afternoon tea as well as an after dinner tea. I would highly recommend this tea…a must buy!

Thirst quenching. Ask for “extra shaken”

It’s easy to bash on the big bad corporations, but when Tazo (wholly-owned by Starbucks) upgraded its teas from fannings in fabric tea bags to whole leaf in sachets, they drastically improved their product. This updated Earl Grey is more on the smokey side than it is citrusy, and I appreciate that. If it was strong on the bergamot, it wouldn’t go as well with additions at the condiment bar, since Starbucks usually doesn’t have lemons handy. It also gives you the option of making it into a latte, where the smokiness shines.

Try it iced before the summer ends. Order it as follows:
“Short earl grey, 2 tea bags, venti cup of ice.” Make sure the water is filled to the top of the short cup, and make sure the venti cup is filled to the top with ice. Steep as recommended below, and add sweeteners (if desired) while hot. Once dissolved, pour over ice, and either add cold milk on top, or add more water to fill the cup up. Either way, it’ll be perfect! I have made this drink a couple of hundred times, without fail.

this is my go to tea in the morning, one of the reasons I switched to this is ease of finding it when traveling I always over steep this tea and find the second steep with fresh water even better than the first cup of tea. Great for waking up in the morning and keeping you caffeinated.

I was craving a plain black tea when I was on campus this evening, much to my misfortune, as the best thing one can get is Awake. It’s flat and nondescript compared to my black teas at home, and just a step above any ole black tea bag imo. I think I’m going to write Starbucks a letter, because I think their other full leaf offerings are so fantastic. I am so pleased with their Earl, Chai, Rooibos, and even their herbal, Passion. I can’t understand why they can’t do better with their plain black tea.

Today was coffee bean buying day, which means that it’s also free tea day! I chose Awake because oh man, do I need to become awake ;) It’s a bit flat, but with the milk and sugar I put in, very comforting and spot-hitting. I dare say today it has a tinge of honeyed goodness! I must have hit the magic steep time (which is sadly a mystery – the time it took me to walk across the street, wait for the elevator, go to the office. Who knows!?!?! Much better than the time it takes to get to my classroom at school – it’s always over brewed then!!) The full leaf is very much an improvement over the former bag.

solid, bold tea. Very enjoyable in the morning when your brain’s foggy.

I said I would never try Awake again, but I heard that Starbucks had switched to full-leaf teas and I was in a bind. A tea bind.

I got two bags of this in a Grande cup, and steeped it for about 2:45. Then I added a ton of 2% milk. I was really pleasantly surprised; it was a very robust and flavorful drink. I think I need to try this method with other teas that I know I like – load up on the leaves, keep brewing time super short, and be generous with the milk. I would guess the brewing temperature was a fair bit under boiling because it brewed in a cup, but I don’t know for sure. This is the tea served in large, silky bags in Starbucks; the flat bags are trash, I reviewed them in another note.

The finished tea was thick and bracing, with more raisin than malt. In overall character I would say it was like a slightly more nuanced and less astringent PG Tips. There was some astringency as one would expect with so much leaves, but not excessive like the flat Tazo bags or other poor-quality black teas.

I’m not sure where to put the rating on this, as I may be rating the method more than the tea, but it was good in any case. I’ll come back and modify the score depending on how other teas fare with the same technique.

But damn, I hate Tazo’s overly-cute marketing. This tea making tea shamans remember words? Ugh.