TasTEA Time! Lipton Green Tea with Orange, Passionfruit and Jasmine

Alright, we have the final tea in the Lipton Green Tea sample box.  I saved this one for last because Orange, Passion Fruit and Jasmine sounds like it would be the best of the bunch (however, I'm probably going to be proven wrong) and I like tropical flavors like passionfruit. 

Outsides:  Your standard Lipton bag.  It looks like a slightly darker version of the normal green tea and smells like orange. 

Insides:  Eh, it's not bad.  Definitely has one of the better balances in the bunch, although I wish it had more passionfruit flavor.  The orange and jasmine actually go really well together, making this sweet and bright, floral and fruit combination.  However, you can still taste the green tea through all of this, making this a nice tea as opposed to lemon drink with some tea flavoring in it.  I guess this and the Honey green tea are my favorites, and this would be a crowd-pleasing iced tea.

Overall:  If you see a bunch of different Lipton Green Teas and feel the need to have one, this is a good choice to make.  It's slightly fruity, has a little dimension and a good amount of balance and is just a nice tea to drink.  It's not good enough (for me at least) to justify buying on its own, but if you feel like something bright with a hint of tropical flavor, then check this one out. 

My Rating:  Try it!  Here's the site:  Lipton Home

Summary of the box:  Overall, I think most of the teas were a good value for the money.  Oh sure, none of them were outright amazing, but if you want to try a few different flavors to see what they're like or want to get someone a cheap box of green tea to amuse themselves with for a few days, this isn't the worst one you could get.  I personally liked the Honey and OPJ the best while I found the berry to be terrible.  Personal opinion aside, I think you should get the mint if only for those people who get tummy aches.  I still don't care that much about Lipton's tea, but I'm a snob and I'll admit to it. 

Also, now i have to find other tea sampler sets.  Preferably cheap ones that are widely available. 

TasTEA Time! Lipton Green Tea with Mint

Only two more Lipton Green Teas to go!  Much like lemon, mint tends to overpower the tea that it's mixed in with.  However, mint doesn't change the flavor of the tea as much so to me, it's a bit better as a mixer.

Outsides:  It's in the standard Lipton bags.  The tea is your average tea color and smells sweet and minty.

Insides:  It's just a nice, minty tea.  I can't exactly say that it's revolutionary, but the sweetness of the mint goes well with the tea.  The mint IS a bit overpowering to the balance, so if you're expecting a strong green tea flavor, you'll be disappointed.  But it's actually quite nice cold and seems pretty vesitile.  It's not very multi-dimensional but sometimes, simplicity is ok. 

Overall:  I think this is my second favorite Lipton green tea (after the "honey").  it's simple, sweet and refreshing.  Also, the green tea would be gentler on the stomach than the black one, so if you have a choice then get this one.

My Rating;  Buy it (I think I gave the honey a try, but honestly, I think this is just a solid mint tea).
Here's the website:  Lipton Tea Home

TasTEA Time! Lipton's Green Tea with Lemon and Ginseng

The Saga continues!  I'm not particularly excited about this one since our family always used to add lemon to our tea (I don't anymore, but it was a thing).  Lemon just seems so common, so mundane, and yet I see it everywhere.

Outsides:  Paper outside, plastic inside, individually-packaged sachets.  The tea itself is your standard green tea color, maybe slightly more yellow and smells lemon-y fresh!

Insides:  Well, if you like lemon then you should love this!  Ok, here's the problem I have with this.  There's so much of the lemon flavoring in here that you can't taste anything else.  Tea has its own distinct flavor and this blend also has some lemongrass in it.  But drinking this is like drinking lemonade.  Now, the lemon flavor is good and at the very least, tastes natural.  But subtlety!

Overall:   Despite my complaining, I don't actually think it's that bad.  I guess if you like lemon, give this a shot.

My rating:  Try it!  Here's the site:  Lipton Tea Home.

TasTEA Time! Lipton Green Tea with Honey

So, what made me pick the Honey Lipton next is the list of ingredients because it definitely doesn't contain just green tea and honey.  Other than the green tea, it has orange peel, licorice root, chamomile and chicory.

Outsides:  Still paper outside, saran inside.  The tea is a normal green tea color but has a hint of orange in the scent.  Orange and chamomile actually.  If i hadn't read the ingredients before, I would have been confused.

Insides:  Surprisingly, this is my favorite one yet.  The orange give a nice tang paired with the green tea, but isn't overpowering or paired with spices.  The licorice, chicory and chamomile are more background flavors, experienced more when you let the tea sit in your mouth as opposed to a hearty swig.  The one complain is that this doesn't really scream "Honey" to me, maybe a light citrus or calming green tea.  The chamomile adds a bit to the sweetness but the tea itself isn't overly floral, which is what i associate with honey.  Still, it's good.

Overall:  I like it.  It definitely hides any problems you might find with the green tea and it's nice and flavorful.  Try it out.

My Rating:  Try it!  Here's the site:  Lipton Home.

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.

TasTEA Time! Lipton Green Tea

Oh Lipton, I've made fun of you on this blog and I'm probably going to do it again.  But it's not necessarily because you're bad.  No, it's because you're a big giant corporation that has so many different branches and kinds of tea that it's ridiculous.  Yes, something as awful as Brisk and as....decent as Pure Leaf can be in the same company.  I actually bought a sampler of green teas just to see how they compare to the other green teas I have.

Outsides:  See, I thought the sachets were just wrapped n paper, but the inside is saran wrap so good job Lipton.  The green tea looks like green tea that you'd get in America, kinda gold colored as opposed to matcha green.  And it smells very fresh and plant-like.

Insides:  The flavor is nice and strong, plantlike with a very sweet tastes.  It's not as warm as the Dilmah but it's not as sweet as the Chunmee, so I'm guessing it has more Ceylon than anything else.  Despite a strong, green tea flavor, it has very little bitterness however, I did taste a hint of chemical (Lipton isn't organic).  Despite that, it's not a bad cup of tea.

Overall:  It's ok.  You can probably do better and I'd encourage you to buy some loose leaf, but if you see it at a hospital (and mix some cold water in with the hot water so you don't burn the flavor oils), you'll have a decent cup of tea.

My Rating:  Try/Pass.  Here's the site and now I can review all the fun flavors!