Tazo Refresh Tea (herbal mint tea with Tarragon)

As you may know, I'm not the biggest fan of Tazo.  I find that their tea seriously lacks in flavor or is just god-awful.  There are exceptions, such as their whole leaf teas, but Tazo as a company has just not impressed me.  That pessimistic thought aside, I was cleaning my backpack today, which is shocking for me, when I found this tucked in the same compartment as I put my make-up that I never wear.  My first thought was "Oh, that sounds tasty" and I needed a drink, so I fired up the Keurig and decided to give it a go.

Outsides:  I kinda ripped the label before I could read all of the ingredients, but it looks like there's only peppermint, spearmint and tarragon.  The sachet is nice and individually foil-wrapped, and is your standard tea bag.  I just stuck the bag in 8 oz of boiling water and honestly don't care about the time because it is an herbal.  It's a bit darker than your standard herbal tea and smells extremely strong for something that has been in my bag for 2 months.

Insides:  Well color me impressed, this is some potent mint tea.  It has that hint of sweetness that most mint teas do and the tarragon is only evident in the beginning, but the mix of peppermint and spearmint really brings a lot of good minty flavor to this.  Is it revolutionary?  Not really since most mint teas taste like the same thing, but this one kicks it up a notch in terms of intensity.

Overall:  I actually recommend this if you want mint tea.  You could probably buy mint leaves cheaper, but this is a nice mix and would probably do wonders for a stomachache. 

My Rating:  Buy it!

Tazo is everywhere.  Starbucks, grocery stores, department stores, everywhere.  

TasTEA Time! Tazo Organic Green Tea

 

There's a lot of things to like and dislike about this tea at first glance.  The good things include how it's organic, is sweetened with cane sugar and has a few herbs to jazz up the normal green tea flavor.  The bad things are that it's still full of sugar and calories, is about as expensive as Lipton Pure Leaf if not more and is Tazo, the purveyors of bland tea that always has a hint of mint somewhere.  But I'm at work with tea and love telling the world every detail about my beverage, so here we go.

Outsides:  Much like Lipton Pure Leaf, this comes in a glass bottle which to me, results in a better flavor than plastic (although plastic is more recyclable (?)).  It looks like slightly cloudy gold green tea and smells very much like the Lipton green tea in a bottle.

Insides:  I think the best way to describe this is a jazzed up Lipton Pure Leaf Green Tea.  There's a hint of lemongrass and mint which gives it a more refreshing taste even when warm.  I personally find it a bit too sugared-up, but it's not nearly as offensive as the Giant Peach (spoiler alert:  if you're not a sugar maniac, it's barely drinkable unless it's chilled).  Other than that, the green tea flavor is nice, there but not too bitter although the sugar overwhelms it a little.  I also like the citrus touch it has.

Overall:  If you find yourself buying Lipton Pure Leaf Green tea and want an alternative, this is pretty much a jazzed-up version of that.  I wish they'd cut back on the sugar, but ultimately, it's not a bad drink.

My Rating:  Try it!  I'm not giving a website because Tazo is literally everywhere.

 

Starbucks Frappuccino Mint Mocha

What:  Mint coffee

Where:  USA

Why Should I Care:  This was something else that I just found in my fridge that has been there since September or something.  Now, the difference between this and the Snapple is that this has milk in it and although the expiration date says February 20, 2012, I'd rather drink it sooner than later.  Starbucks drinks tend to be below average taste for an above-average price and mint X coffee seems a bit...iffy.

Packaging:  Again, I like the mini-milk bottle.

Non-Taste Senses:  It looks like coffee and it smells minty.

Taste:  If you're not a fan of coffee but you love Thin Mints, check out this drink.  It's minty with a hint of chocolate and that whole coffee thing is more of an aftertaste (I don't even taste it at all but it does make your breath smell bad).  I actually really enjoy it especially for breakfast or whenever you want a coffee treat.

Overall:  I like it.  I wish they made this a regular edition as opposed to just some random thing they get once in a while.  For on the go or just even as a treat, check it out.

My Rating:  Buy it!  Don't know if this has the iced drinks, but here's the Starbucks shop.  They look like they have some nice cups too (that are probably at a ridiculous price).

Coffee Break! Starbucks Frappuccino Lite Mocha

A comparison between the large diet and the small regular

What:  Diet coffee

Where:  USA

Why Should I Care:  I really don't.  Starbucks is a giant corporation that makes pretty mediocre coffee at a pretty high price.  The Frappeccino is a coffee drink meant for non-coffee drinkers, however they are pretty fatty (the smaller one in the comparison picture is 200 calories while this one is 150).  People are going to buy their drinks whether I say anything bad about them or not so let's just review this.

Packaging:  I actually like the bottle.  It has this milk-bottle shape to it which makes it seem classier than it actually is.

Non-Taste Senses:  It looks like coffee and it smells like coffee

Taste:  So, you probably wouldn't be able to tell it's diet from the before and middle tastes.  There's a hint of cocoa in there (Mochas are coffee drinks with a little bit of chocolate in the foam) and the coffee goes down smooth.  But then the Splenda hits you and stays in your mouth forever.  And since they're using skim milk, that hits you too (although I like skim milk).  Oh god, and the coffee breath!  I know you should expect it, but it just seems worse with Starbucks.  Unlike the Monster coffee drink, the coffee tastes cheaper than what you're paying for and I know this is because of the brand name (it's weak and it has that strong aftertaste cheap coffee has).

Overall:  Wow, I complained a lot there.  I think what I want to say is that this isn't something I'd recommend to most people (which is pretty obvious).  There are times when I give the go-ahead, like if you're in a hurry and need a caffeine boost and don't mind the horrid Splenda.  However, you can make this same product at home for about 30 cents at home (that's probably including the start-up cost of getting a coffee machine) and that's what gets it for me.

My Rating:  Pass.  You can get these anywhere, even if you're in other countries (I think).