Celestial Seasonings Black Cherry Pomegranate Black Tea

So, I stole a few boxes of tea from my mom in order to make some cold brew tea.  It's obviously not because I need more tea or anything, but because I happen to like fruit-flavored tea for the summer and am running low on it and funds.  This tea is old and I don't know if this even exists anymore, but I'll use it.

Hot version:  the color is darker in this one.

 Outsides:  Celestial Seasonings has those weird sachets that I personally think are pointless to me.  They're not individually-wrapped  and don't even have strings on them.  For the hot-brew, I put one sachet in 8 oz of almost boiling water.  It's a light brown color with a hint of orange or red and it smells like cherries.

Insides:  The hot one has a nice balance between the tea and fruit flavors, partially because the tea is just not very strong or full-bodied.  There's a pinch of bitterness in there but it's not too astringent.  The cherry flavor is light but tends to overpower any other fruit flavor in the tea.  It's sweet but has a nice tart note that pairs well with the tea.  And no, I don't taste any pomegranate except possibly as it complements the cherry flavors.

The cold tea is a bit different.  There really isn't as strong of a tea flavor and cold brewing gets rid of a lot of the bitterness.  Thankfully, the cherry flavor is brought out nicely and makes this more of a natural version of Kool-Aid.  It's actually quite fragrant and smells a bit like cherry chapstick. 

Tilt:  I honestly don't even know how old this box of tea was but I'd guess it's easily two years old.  Celestial Seasonings is cheap for a bagged tea but something people will learn when they become closer to the ultimate tea snob like me is that you can get whole-leaf teas from various places that are cheaper and tastier.  I like it more cold-brewed and during the summertime or when I feel like having iced tea.  I also think that fruit teas are generally a good thing to serve when you have company around since most humans tend to like sweet, fruit-flavored things. 

Overall:  It's ok.  I'm glad I finished the box and my housemates drank it. 

My Rating:  Pass

Celestial Seasonings is an American tea company specializing in flavored teas with beautiful artwork on the packaging (in my opinion, the artwork tends to be the only reason to get the box).  

TasTEA Time! Tea forte cherry marzipan

Sorry I haven't posted in a while.  I was on vacation visiting my boyfriend on the other side of Pennsylvania and just didn't really bring that much to blog about.  However, I have an iDevice now that can take pictures!  I don't understand why Blogger doesn't have an iPad app, but no matter.

I got this tea as a free sample along with Cucumber Mint and Honey Yucca.  I seriously doubt that this tastes like marzipan, but I thought the flavor combinations are interesting.  This is supposed to help with corrective repair of the skin, but I feel like the company is just trying to cash in on the fact that all green tea is full of antioxidents and can help with skin.  Anyway, let's try our first Tea Forte tea.

Outsides:  The sachet is in a nice elegant plastic bag.  It looks like an average green tea and smells slightly like cherries.  Real cherries.  

Insides:  Green tea spiked with a nice cherry flavor and a hint of almond is the best way I can think to describe this.  The green tea is warm and slightly sweet, but it really goes well with the cherry flavor.  The almond flavor is subtle, but still noticeable and goes well with the cherry.   Overall, I think this is a nice tea.

Overall:  This tea isn't amazing, especially for the price they ask for it, but it's good and I recommend people check it out if they can still get a free sample.

My Rating:  Try it!  Here's the site:  Tea Forte Skin Smart.

TasTEA Time! Zhena's Pink Cherryberry Green tea.

Note:  The actual name of this is something like Zhena's Gypsy Tea, Superberry Tea.  Pink Tea for Women's Health Cherryberry.

I feel like this is some of the most proactive tea I have.  It's fair-trade, it's organic and a bit of the proceeds went to help support breast cancer research.  Plus Zhena's is pretty high quality.  I've only tried a few of their products but they would have been worth the money they ask for on the site.  But I shouldn't be praising this tea before I've reviewed it!  This blend contains sencha green tea, cherries, elderberries and blossoms.  It's also discontinued so you probably won't be able to find this fresh.

Outsides:  The sachets are in a nice metal tin and are made out of corn silk.  The tea is a light pink color and smells fruity.

Insides:  This is similar and yet opposite of the Loyd Tea with Strawberry and Raspberry.  Both are berry-focused teas that start out a little tangy, but the Loyd did not ultimately feel like a tea.  Zhena's has a good balance between the tartness of the cherries, sweet and floral notes from the blossoms and sencha backdrop.  It's multidimensional, light and versatile, having a nice fruit flavor that would go well with or without sugar, hot or cold.

Overall:  It's a pity that this isn't around anymore because it's fantastic.  I still encourage you to check out Zhena's and try at least one of their teas (they're a bit expensive but totally worth it).

My Rating:  Buy it!  Here's the site:  Zhena's main site

TasTEA Time! Lipton Green Tea with Mixed Berry Flavor

So, berry green tea.  It's one of my favorites for summer.  It's probably one of my favorites year-round.  The sweetness of the berries and the lightness of green tea make a fantastic and refreshing combination for 90 degree days like this.  Ok Lipton, let's see what you got.

Outsides:  Paper on the outer layer, saran wrap on the inner and all the sachets are individually wrapped.  The tea actually is a gold yellow color with no hint of berry color in it (the Touch one was like that and it actually turned out pretty delicious).  However, the smell that comes from this....smells fake.  My first thought was children's chewable vitamins but after re-examination, it smells like fake cherry.  This is fading a bit while it cools down but my hopes are a little slashed right now.

Insides:  Thankfully, you don't taste much of the fake cherry just some strawberry flavor.  It also tastes a lot more bitter than it should.  This just isn't very good.  I don't mind if Lipton is trying to do something different with their berry tea, but the only flavors you do taste are fake cherry and fake strawberry (it says natural flavors but they don't taste natural).  Those two flavors are the only ones that break though even if there are other berry flavors.  The green tea is the same as the original, not the best but you could do better.  Ultimately, I am just not a fan.

Overall:  Don't buy this.  You can get good berry tea at a reasonable price (Celestial Seasonings Green Tea with Blueberry is decent, not amazing but decent).

My Rating:  Pass.  Here's the site.