Prestogeorge's Coconut Vanilla Black Tea

So, I'm kind of in a tea no-buy right now.  Part of it is honestly because I have way too much tea and need to drink the stuff I have.  For example, I think I got this one in November and have only really gotten rid of it via mixing it with the Bananas Foster tea (which is another one that I love but never drink).  I figured that I'd try making some iced tea with this for dinner and see what it's like.

Outsides:  Prestogeroge just puts their teas in paper bags with ties on the end, which seems to work because I haven't noticed too much of a degradation in flavor.  I'm sorry I don't have a picture of the leaves but they're pretty much your standard black tea.  I brew 1.5 teaspoons of this in almost boiling water for 4 minutes.  The tea looks dark and has a light coconut scent. 

Insides:  The coconut and vanilla flavors bring a lot of sweetness to this while also offsetting the bitterness.  They also are a great combination (which isn't too surprising) because of how the vanilla adds a slight bit of creme flavor to the vanilla, making it more decadent.  The base tea is flavorful but not too robust.  I think the flavor diminished a bit over time, but it seems like an assam and ceylon blend.  I do like this hot and it makes a great winter treat with some added milk, but this REALLY shines as iced tea.  OH MY GAWD, it tastes like summer.   The sugar really brings out the sweetness of the coconut while the tea keeps its light texture. 

Tilt:  Obviously, this is a summer drink.  It's also pretty cheap, much like the vast majority of teas from Prestogeorge.  I don't think a coconut tea is unique to them so I'm sure that you can find an equivalent somewhere else.  I just really should use up more of my teas.

Overall:  Obviously, you need to like coconut to like this.  But I can't think of many teas more perfect than this for the summer.

My Rating:  Buy (for the summer) and Try (for every other time)

Prestogeorge is a local tea shop in Pittsburgh with a wide variety of tea and coffee. 

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.

TasTEA Time! Prestogeorge Tropical Green Tea

This is the most expensive tea I got on my trip to Prestogeorge at $3 for 2 oz.  (which is still cheaper than a lot of bagged tea and a lot of upper-scale tea).  From the website "Pan fired green tea, safflowers, marigolds, blue mallow flowers, and corn flowers with mango and passion fruit flavor. This makes the perfect iced tea. One of our most popular flavored green teas!".  Yum!

Outsides:  If you go to the store and have to walk anywhere, you'll have a hard time not keeping this tea at your nose the entire time.  This smells like tropical gum except more natural.  You can't really see them in my crappy picture but there are all kinds of colorful flowers in the green tea mix.  When brewed, the tea is a light yellow with a green tinge to it.  It still has a light tropical fruit scent.

Insides:  I love this tea.  The tropical flavor isn't in your face, but it's very refreshing and the smooth green tea base make this a fantastic drink.  It's also practically free from bitterness and has a very "fresh" scent to it.  This would make a FANTASTIC iced tea and honestly, it doesn't even need sugar.  The fruit and flowers give this a natural sweetness and the delicateness of the green tea make it so there's no harshness that requires masking.

Overall:  A very nice tea and something that I wouldn't mind spending a little more on.  Basically, an island escape in a cup!

My Rating:  Buy it!  Here's Prestogeorge's Tea Page:  Tropical Green Tea.