Joy

Hmm, interesting. Grabbed a cup of this at Starbucks on the way to school. By the time I got there, I think it oversteeped. I’m tasting mostly black and some oolong. Very bold and a bit bitter (probably because of the oversteeping). Also, the tea bag is pretty huge compared to my “Tall” cup. Anyway, the tea seems a bit plain for me, but I’m using it more for caffeine purposes, so it is doing its job!

All right, I’ll admit it, this tea is nothing special. The aroma of the steeped tea is very much like Lipton’s orange pekoe, although, being pregnant, my sense of smell may be off. Can’t really smell any of the green or oolong at all (even though I can VERY clearly see them in the tea bag—one thing I do have to give this tea props for is making you visually aware of what’s in it, if that counts for anything). However, the teas that they included in the blend must either be not very fresh or not very high quality… or both, I suppose. I tried to steep it at a lower temperature this time, to see if the green/oolong flavors would come out a little more. I gave it a scoop and a half of sugar, but nothing else.

As it cools, I do begin to smell a little of the green tea. Still no oolong.

In the first few sips, I get a bit more of an English Breakfast instead of orange pekoe flavor, with some Dragonwell-like astringency in the aftertaste. I’m glad that it doesn’t taste as Lipton-y as it smells, because I would probably throw it out if it did. As it cools, I can detect a few whispers of oolong here and there, but not enough to say that it really becomes present. It’s kind of like the middle child of the three—surrounded on both sides by the tasty and lovable youngest and the responsible, take-charge eldest. It can be hard for the middle child to get noticed sometimes, and I sympathize completely. However, these teas didn’t blend themselves, and since the middle child is actually my favorite of the three… I’d like it to shine a little more.

Since this tea was a Christmas gift from some cousins of mine, I’ll definitely drink it without complaining. Overall, it’s a rather satisfying, if rather run-of-the-mill, experience. Sometimes I’m not picky about complexity of flavor or quality, and when those moods strike, this will be the tea I go for.

Y’know, it’s not bad. My husband works at Starbucks, and I like using the Tazo teabags at my work, so he nabbed me a box of this. It isn’t stellar, and I probably won’t drink it at home, but it’s a great work tea.

Piney, but not overly so. A bit fruity, like guava. Bitter, but the bitterness is mild and there’s no astringency to push it over the unpleasant edge.

No way I’d pay full (Canadian) retail for a box of this, but it satisfies the palate just fine. There are no major pluses, but there are no real minuses, either.

Purchased this a month ago and I just got around to trying it. I followed the steeping suggestion on the package and steeped for 5 minutes. While 5 minutes is needed to develop the black tea flavor I think it has done a disservice to the green tea. I smell the earthiness of the oolong and unfortunately jasmine (I don’t care for Jasmine tea)but the green tea is too tannic and bitter at a 5 minute steep.

I am intrigued by the blend and will likely try this again with a 3 minute steep. But at 5 minutes I find it unpalatable without the addition of something to balance the bitter notes of the green tea.

Bagged
Aroma when Dry: Fruity, slightly sour, can not make out individual teas, or I do not know enough on how to read them.
After water is first poured: buttery, fruity.
At end of steep: buttered fruit?
Tea liquor: light brown,
At end of steep: reddens slightly
Staple? No
Time of day preferred: Unsure, first tasting.
Taste:
first notes: slight bite, taste of mild, grassy black, likely due to the blend
As it cools? starts to get complex, notes competing for attention
Additives used (milk, honey, sugar etc)? No
Lingers? Yes, bitter, slightly sour aftertaste

Tastes pretty much like any other black tea I’ve tried. Can taste just a hint of green in it, but not really much oolong. Bitter, but that could be due to oversteeping, I’m sure it would taste a lot better with a little milk and honey, and a shorter steeping time.

This isn’t half bad — something that really surprised me considering that it smells vaguley of sweat (although that may have been the fault of how it was stored by the person I got it from). The taste is mostly darjeeling and oolong, somewhat spicy and more astringent than I would like. Still, for all that it has going on in terms of ingredients, I feel like this is a fairly boring tea.

Got this from my son tonight. Not as tasty as Stash Christmas Morning but I found it entertaining. My son warned me not to brew too long so I steeped about 4 minutes. The water temp was just under boiling. The Darjeeling is the predominate taste here with the green kind of hiding in the background. At first I couldn’t detect the oolong but as the cup cooled I began to catch it in the aftertaste then in the sip itself. I definitely would drink this again if it occurred to be but in reality it probably won’t very often.

I gave this 3 more tries! I was with family for Thanksgiving and Nobody had any good tea. I didn’t bring any knowing I was buying…heck, I learned my lesson, always have tea on hand. I do actually carry some in my purse usually but I cleaned my purse. ANYWAY, I needed tea! Went to Starbucks on Black Friday and got a cup in the AM, then went in the PM and bought a box for home. The young lady at the counter was a GEM, she hooked me up when the fancy box of Joy was gone. I have steeped this at least 3 different ways, and I actually re-steep this once even. This whole experiment if you will, has really shown me how water temp can play a crucial part in brewing. I knew it did, but this actually let me taste it. I have enjoyed this best brewed as a green tea. I usually use a little sugar, no milk, with this one. I have been drinking it for 3 days now in the AM.

Peppermint joy tea latte with eggnog instead of milk

Don’t let them water down the eggnog

I wait alllll year for this drink but stock up on the tea to drink at work. Quite enjoy it!