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.

Tazo Wild Sweet Orange (Herbal Tea with lemongrass, orange and a lot of other stuff)

You know, maybe I was wrong about Tazo.  Maybe they aren't so bad after all.  I mean, I now like 2 teas of theirs, although I still think that they are overpriced as all hell.  And now I'm going to try Wild Sweet Orange, which sounds fruity but pleasant.

Outsides:  This tea has a laundry list of ingredients; lemongrass, blackberry leaves, citric acid (first thing that should be noted), rose hips, spearmint leaves, color (tumeric, riboflavin), orange peel, hibiscus flowers, natural flavors, rose petals, orange essence, ginger root, licorice root and licorice extract.  It's in a nice foil wrapped packet and is your standard tea bag.  I brewed this at boiling for three minutes before i tasted it (the second thing you should take note of since herbals should steep for 5 minutes).  The tea is a brighter orange and smells like oranges.

Insides:  I don't know if I can properly put my feelings on this tea into words, but I'll try.  OHMYGOD THIS IS F***ING TERRIBLE!  It's sour, and I like sour but this is undrinkable sour.  The licorice makes the texture of this drink seem very thick so it's pretty much a thick, sour mess.  It's just terrible and I don't understand how Tazo can call this SWEET wild orange.  Maybe the licorice is supposed to act as the sweetener but then it should be the third ingredient instead of friggin' CITRIC ACID!  Also, why do we have all these ingredients if you're going to bombard your drink with sour and licorice.  This is bad and I honestly can't imagine someone liking it without copious amounts of sugar and bad taste.

Overall:  No, just no.  Tazo, my lack of faith in you is restored.

My Rating:  Stay AWAY!  It's not even worth stealing.

Tazo is everywhere.  I often get my Tazo teas from the hospital cafeteria because it's "free" there.  

Zen Tea Anti-Strain Herbal Tea

I'm going to assume Anti-Strain is supposed to be the Canadian Tension Tea.  I don't really drink normal tension tea, but figured I'd try a bag.  Plus, I've had too much caffeine already and don't want to be up forever.

Outsides:  This tea contains cinnamon, licorice, ginger, fennel, orange peel and cardamon and i have to say, it smells amazing, like a sweet and spicy chai tea.  I put a teaspoon and a half in 8 oz of boiling water and let it sit for 5 minutes.  The tea is the normal yellow herbal color (It's funny how many herbal teas get that color) and still smells amazing.  This also apparently supports the Dosha "vata" in accordance to Ayuvedic teachings, which I know very little about.

Insides:  Well, this smells great and it might possibly taste great except for the smack in your face of weird sweetness that is the licorice.  Is there supposed to be that much licorice in accordance to Ayuvedic principals, because the aftertaste is riddiculous.  Putting aside the licorice, which is pretty near impossible, the herbs used are the spicy sweet kind and the tea has a nice brightness to it.  But you better like licorice.

Overall:  Works great as an air freshener, not as a drink.

My Rating:  Pass.

Zen Tea is a Canadian tea retailer that specializes in mid to high quality tea. 

Prestogeorge's Cranberry Orange Herbal Tea

Outsides:  This tea is LOADED with big, chunky pieces of fruit.  What you see in my picture is the very bottom of the bag where all the little bits gather, but the vast majority of this is big pieces of cranberry and big pieces of orange.  Apparently this has Chamomile, Rosehips and Hibiscus as well.  I didn't have much left but still wanted to review it, so I put more tea than was necissary into the basic infuser ball and stuck it in 8 oz boiling water.  The liquid is a lovely red color and it smells of sweet citrus and cranberries.

Insides:  There's almost a juice-like quality to this.  The liquid tastes very thick and tangy, not like the normal tea (granted, this is herbal tea).  It's sour, but if you like hibiscus tea then it shouldn't be a problem for anyone.  I really like this.  It tastes like a very fall/winter beverage with the cranberry and citrus flavors and is what I expect when I think of cranberry tea.  Since this is a fruity herbal tea, it can handle hot or cold, sugar or no sugar.  I might even add some cinnamon if I'm feeling audacious.

Overall:  It's a bit sad that this was my last cup of this.

My Rating:  Try it!

Prestogeorge is my local tea shop in Pittsburgh.  It has a nice, big variety although the shipping is expensive so you should probably find somewhere else if you need a place for tea.  

Tazo Orange Blossom Tea

  

So, I got this tea from my secret Santa on my Jumpstart team who said that she liked tea and knows how much I love it.  I didn’t tell her that I hated Tazo teas and only got them by stealing them from random places, but thankfully, this comes in a pretty sweet metal tin that will hold some of the pound of Davidson’s Tea Spring Fruit and Flowers I got (I found that I’m addicted to blueberry herbal tea and I really should just get the pound).  Anyway, this particular tea appears to be a blend of jasmine green tea, TANGERINE PEEL (as opposed to, you know, orange) and goji berries with all kinds of spices such as orange essence, chamomile flowers, fennel, tarragon and more stuff that I don’t even care about.  

Outsides:  So, I got this tea in a cool metal tin.  Sadly, it is not loose-leaf but in cornsilk sachets that are not individually wrapped.  I actually kind of think that’s a giant waste of space because you have this big freaking container and you only get 15 bags of this stuff, but I digress.  Since this is green tea based, I used 6 oz of slightly below boiling water and about 2 oz of room temperature water and steeped it for 3 minutes (but the temp was so low that you can get away with longer).  The color is similar to a lot of chamomile teas and this one smells both citrusy and flowery. 

I also need to note that the tea in here seems to be at a much higher level than the normal bagged Tazo.  For one thing, it’s whole-leaf and the bigger the leaf, the better the tea.  It’s also very pretty to look at in the cup, almost like blooming tea.  And they used corn-silk instead of paper so I’m guessing this is some fancy stuff.

Insides:  The jasmine is a bit strong, but it’s still a nice citrusy herbal blend.  The base of green tea and chamomile gives this a bit of a sweet taste while the jasmine and orange are both relaxing.  The weird thing is, I don’t know if all of these flavors are overpowering the green tea or if they just didn’t use a very flavorful kind but I’m guessing it’s a bit of both.  If you add sugar, I feel that it does a good job toning down some of the citrusy and floral flavors while bringing out the green tea and I also imagine this being nice as an iced tea.  It’s a bit of a weird blend for me, but overall it is still enjoyable.

Overall:  I’m sure that for the pricepoint, it is not worth it but this is a nice tea overall and I’m glad I got it as a secret Santa present.

My Rating:  Try it!

Tazo can be found pretty much anywhere that sells Starbucks related stuff but I'll have to check with my team leader where she got it.  I do hope that it wasn't too expensive.

Adagio Gingerbread Black Tea

So, this is the last of the 6 teas in the Holiday Stocking Stuffers collection.  I'm part of a Polish family and our gingerbread is a bit different from other gingerbread in that it's softer, but ultimately has the same flavor.  That being said, I don't care for those cookies.  I don't know why since I love ginger and spices, but I just prefer more vanilla based cookies.  But, we'll see how this tea is.

Outsides:  This tea is black tea with pieces of orange and ginger.  Also, I have no idea what constitutes Gingerbread flavor, but that's apparently what's in this.  I steeped it for 5 minutes at near boiling water.  The tea is, again, dark and smells like gingerbread, a bit gingery but warm and baked.

Insides:  This is almost like a mild non-spicy chai.  The ginger and cinnamon add a nice warmth to the flavor while the orange peel adds a nice zing.  The tea is a bit bitter but not undrinkable.  I actually like this a lot and think it gets the gingerbread flavor almost spot on.  Adding cream gives this a nice milk and cookie flavor but you should probably drink this warm.

Overall:  This is probably my second favorite tea from this collection and it's a nice tea for those cold winter nights or just getting into the holiday spirit.

My Rating:  Buy it/Try it!

Adagio is an online tea retailer that sells a lot of interesting flavors.  This flavor was part of the Holiday Stocking Stuffers collection which has 6 oz of loose leaf tea for $14.  

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 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.