Teavana Berry Basil Blast White Tea

Outsides:  This tea is pretty much fruit punch in a tea, with a riddiculusly long list of ingredients including pinnapple pieces, white tea, hibiscus flower, orange pieces and other fruits and herbs.  I actually like the smell since it's super fruity with notes of sweet berry and tangy citrus.  I brewed 2 teaspoons worth of this (plus a giant slice of orange) in 4 oz boiling water and 4 oz room temp water for 3 minutes.  The liquid is pink and it smells pretty much like the dried tea.

Insides:  This is good, but it's pretty much just the Mount of Olives White Tea Berry with citrus added.  The tea flavor is a bit too overpowered by all the fruit, but what I can taste is smooth and light.  The sweetness of the berries are balanced out by the citrus and herbal flavors, which give a nice "freshness" to the flavor.  It's pretty flavorful without sugar and would make great iced tea (which is probably what I'll use it for).

Overall:  You can probably find something like it cheaper, but it's good.

Taste:  Basic white tea with berry and citrus.  Tastes a bit like a bagged tea in that the flavor is a bit weak.
Price:  11 or 12 dollars for 2 oz, so not worth it unless it's on sale.
Uniqueness:  You can find other blends like this.  Just add some lime juice.
Usability:  It still has caffeine in it so if you're super sensitive to caffeine, don't drink it before bed.  It would be good iced or with sugar or pretty much any way you want to drink it.
My Rating:  Try it.

Teavana is a chain tea retailer that can be found in malls across the United States and Canada.

Tazo Passion (Hibiscus tea with tropical flavors)

Well,  I just reviewed 2 Tazo teas, one bad and one good.  Let's see what the third one brings us.

Outsides: This one is another herbal tea with a crapton of ingredients:  hibiscus, tropical flavor (what the hell is this supposed to mean, Tazo?), citric acid and licorice (not again!), orange peel, cinnamon, rosehips, lemongrass and fruit juice extract for color.  Again, this is a nice,individually-wrapped foil sachet and the teabag is standard.  I brewed this in boiling water for 5 minutes.  The color is very purple and it smells a bit sweeter and more floral with a hint of cinnamon.

Insides:  First off, I don't see why Tazo thought the citric acid was necessary because the hibiscus already adds a bit of a sour kick to it.  If anything, I feel as though it hinders the flavor because you have this nice cinnimon and orange flavor and the tropical note of hibiscus, but drinking it, it's a little too sour.  I will say that i feel the licorice complements the sweet spices while not being in anyone's face.

Overall:  It's ok.  It needs improvement.

My Rating:  Try it (but only if you can get it for cheap/free)

Tazo is everywhere.  It's at Starbucks, in grocery stores, big box stores, drugstores and pretty much anywhere that sells coffee or tea.  Therefore, Ima be lazy and not put a website.

Celestail Seasoning Lemon Zinger Herbal Tea (K-cup review)

So, I haven't done one of these in a while mostly because I just don't use any of my K-cups.  I got a Celestial Seasonings Tea variety pack and so, well, I need to drink them.  These have pretty much been laying on my counter since July.

Outsides:  A standard K-cup.  I brewed it like I brew all the other K-cups.  The liquid is red and it smells like fake lemon.

Insides:  This tastes like citric acid (the stuff that makes things sour).  Citric Acid and fake lemon flavor.  Now, I got this without any ingredients but it tastes drastically different from the zingers I've had from celestial in that it's more sour and doesn't have that sweet scent of rosehips to go with it.  That being said, this is not the worst tea I've had for the Keurig.  It's still pretty bad though.

Overall:  Just buy the normal Lemon Zinger and save 6 bucks.

My Rating:  Pass.

Celestial Seasonings and K-cups can be found in pretty much any grocery or department store.  They are expensive and the quality of the tea is....terrible, but they are easy to find so no link for you.  

Zen Tea Cape Town Flavored Rooibos

So, I ordered from Zen Tea all of TWO DAYS ago and just got their order.  WOW!  Anyway, I bought a crap-ton of sample-sized teas as well as a few bigger ones, so you guys are going to get a lot of reviews for their stuff.  This is the only Rooibos I bought though because quite frankly, Rooibos is a pain in the ass to clean up and although I like it, it's not something I reach for often.  This one seemed interesting in that it had floral blossoms and is quite colorful with blue and red and pink flowers inside the rusty orange base of the rooibos.

Outsides:  Cape Town Rooibos contains rooibos (duh), hibiscus, rose and blue mallow blossoms and marigold.  Despite this, there are not many other colors in the leaves other than rust, but it's still rather pretty and the occasional blue flower really adds to that.  I brewed about a teaspoon and a half of this in about 8 oz of boiled water for at least 5 minutes, but I didn't really keep time.  The tea is a clear rust orange color and smells like normal rooibos with a hint of sweet floral.

Insides:  So, rooibos is not really my thing but even with that being said, this is definitely a higher-quality rooibos.  Sometimes, a cheap rooibos will taste a bit like seaweed or dirt, but this one has a medium body, vanilla undertone and sweet floral notes.  That being said, this is not really that exciting for me.  The floral touch is nice but not really making it worth it for me.  I can't deny that this is decent quality and if you need some rooibos, this is not a bad base for adding juice to.

Overall:  Meh.  I'd say try it because it's cheap and not bad quality but you don't need to bend over backwards for it.

My Rating:  Pass/Try it (I need to think of a word for this).

Zen Tea is a tea retailer that specializes in mid to high quality teas.  They're having a 50% off sale until December 24th, so now is the time to try.

Davidson's Tea Bulk: Spring Fruit and Flowers

A pound of tea is a LOT of tea

 

  

I really love this type of blueberry herbal tea.  It's usually tangy and fruity and caffeine-free, so I can drink it before bed without having to worry about not sleeping.  However, I keep on running out of it so I took a risk and ordered a whole pound from Davidson's tea on Amazon for $17.05 (I have prime so I got 2 day shipping for free).  Buying in bulk is always a bit of a risk unless you know your supplier well, but I figured that there wouldn't be that much of a difference in the herb quality between this and Prestogeorge.

Outsides:  The mix in this is pretty much the same as previous blueberry herbal teas; blueberries, hibiscus, green rooibos, blue cornflowers and a bit of cinnamon and chamomile.  The colors are always beautiful as the blue flowers and yellow have great contrast against the dark red of the hibiscus.  I brewed a hefty teaspoon and let it steep in boiling water for 5 minutes, but my last cup before this was left brewing for...10 hours (?!?).  I actually think the color of this is more on the red side whereas the previous blueberry herbal teas were kind of a dark magenta.  It smells fruity with a hint of cinnamon and chamomile.

Insides:  First off, I think the Prestogeorge one had a stronger spice and hibiscus taste to it because this one is a bit more mild in terms of sour.  The hibiscus flavor still dominates, giving this nice sour taste, but the blueberry and cinnamon give a bit of sweetness and warmth.  Now, there was a LOT of blueberries and cinnamon pieces in the mix, but you don't really taste them as much as smell them and they add little nuances to the flavor.  I actually think that the Prestogeorge one used fresher ingredients which is why the blueberries and spices tasted stronger, but this is still good just not the best.  It's very versatile and makes a good iced tea, plus it's caffeine free so it's good for bedtime and kids.

Overall: I'm assuming that this type of tea is popular so try a different kind before you buy in bulk, but if you like these kids of teas then you'll probably like the Davidson kind.

My Rating: Try it.

I got this tea on Amazon, but Davidson's Tea is an online tea vendor which I forgot to mention is organic.  It's funny because if you order this tea from the Davidson website, it's $29 whereas the Amazon price is $17.  

TasTEA Time! Prestogeorge's Blueberry Herbal Tea

Sorry that the glass is almost empty, but I didn't want to make another cup to tea just to review this.

So as you can see, I drank most of this but will give you my pre-thoughts anyway.  This is blueberry herbal tea, a popular and very versatile blend of  hibiscus, green rooibos, berry, cinnimon and in my case, blue marigold flowers for added color.  If this sounds familiar, that's probably because I reviewed a blend like this from Teavana.  Now, I really liked that herbal tea blend and honestly found it pretty addicting, but it was 8 dollars for 2 oz.  This tea was $6.25 for 4 oz. 

Insides:  I probably should take a picture of the tea because the flowers make it quite lovely, but you're supposed to drink tea, not look at it.  I just got it in a resealable paper bag with cellophane lining.  Since the tea is herbal, you want to brew it at boiling for at least 3 minutes, but I've left it on for a half an hour and it's been fine.  It's a lovely dark pink and smells a little bit stronger in spices than what I would expect from a fruity herbal tea, but it reminds me of mulled wine.

Outsides:  I think as far as herbal blueberry blends go, this is a little different from the Teavana one.  There's a bit more hibiscus in here, giving the tea a nice tart taste and the cinnamon makes it a bit different too.  It still tastes a bit thicker although the berry scent is not as strong.  The sweet and tart flavors give this a nice balance and despite the differences, I really love this (this is the second 2 oz. bag I'm consuming in about a month).  It doesn't need sugar, I can drink it at night and it tastes great hot and cold.  This is kinda how I wish those Vitamin Water drinks would really taste like. 

Overall:  It doesn't have as strong of a berry flavor as the Teavana version but at less than half the price, is still pretty damn tasty. 

My Rating:  Buy!

Prestogeorge is a local coffee and tea retailer in the Strip District of Pittsburgh.  They have a website here where you can order tea, although the shipping might be a bit expensive.  However, this tea looks almost identical to the Davidson Tea Bulk: Spring Fruit and Flowers,  meaning that if you think you'll like this then you can buy a whole pound for $17.05 (which is probably what I'm going to do).

Well, today is Black Friday and I just bought a holiday giftset at Adagio for $13.30 and free shipping (and an added ounce of blueberry).  If anyone is a new customer and wants a 5 dollar giftcard, go to my twitter at @teaandpolish. 

Have a nice Holiday if you're in the US!

TasTEA Time! Teavana's Blueberry Bliss Rooibos Tea

Ok, so I wanted to review this before my trip and now I feel like I have to because A) the last few things I've reviewed have been awful and B)  I'm almost done with this blend.  This is the first tea I've bought from Teavana and I have to say, that place is expensive.  I know that I'm supposed to mix this blend with something else but you know what?  I don't care.  Plus, I love blueberry tea and have never tried green Rooibos before (it's supposed to be a more mild version of the red).  

Outsides:  Unlike pretty much all of the other teas I've reviewed, this one doesn't come in a container (unless you count a paper bag as a container).  If you don't have a local tea shop where you can buy loose-leaf blends, it's kinda cool that you can pick the amount you get.  Anyway, the smell is....AMAZING!!!  It's so sweet and blueberry-ish and just fills your room with sunshine and happiness.  It's kind of a darker pinkish-redish color.

Insides:  This, to me, is a good example of a tea that's expensive but worth it's money.  The blueberry flavor and scent is strong and it's almost like drinking a juice, resulting in something that can (if you want) be reduced to make a strongly-flavored iced tea.  There are other flavors mixed in, like hibiscus and the green rooibos makes a good non-bitter but not too heavy blend.  

Overall:  I think this tea is a good crowd-pleaser.  For loose-leaf, it is a bit pricy for 6.95 for 2 oz, but it's fruity and fun and doesn't disappoint.  I would buy it again as a gift for myself.

My Rating:  Buy!  Here's the site:  Teavana

TasTEA Time! Loyd Raspberry and Strawberry herbal tea

Alright, so this is an interesting one.  This tea is artificially flavored.  Even brands like Biglow and Lipton all say that they're naturally flavored.  Even the no-name dollar tea brands say they're all natural.  Not Loyd.  Now I've red the ingredients and have to say, WTF is some of this stuff (Modified starch with waxy maize)?

Ok, ok.  I know I'm biased against the tea.  But yeah, most brands try to point out how natural they are, most even go organic or fair trade.  And I love Raspberry and Strawberry!  Alright Loyd Tea, let's see what you got.

Outside:  Oh polish tea with its cheap cardboard boxes with nothing between the box and tea.  The sachets are pyrimid-shaped for faster prep.  The tea smells nice, like berry candy as opposed to normal berry tea, but that's still kinda nice.  Lastly, the color reminds me more of a light raspberry juice than a tea.  It's a lovely pinkish red and a pity that I don't have my clear cup to show you.

Insides:  The tea is tangy and fruity, tasting less like a tea and more like a light fruit drink.  The raspberry flavoring gives off a more pungent smell but both berries seem equal on the flavor balance.  This may seem like a strange complaint, but the texture doesn't feel light like a lot of teas are.  It's heavy and not very smooth, partially because of the sourness (It's not really bitter).  But with added sugar, it's not bad and pretty tasty while cold.

Overall:  I think for the average human being who isn't too picky about what they consume and doesn't care about the subtleties of tea, this is good stuff.  I'll admit that this is my favorite flavor of the Loyd tea that I have tried since it's fruity and fun, plus doesn't taste as fake as some of the other ones.

My Rating:  Try it!  Here's the site:  Mokate's Loyd Tea