Tag Archives: Tazo

Review: Tazo Passion

Posted on May 17, 2013 by | Leave a comment

Overall Rating:
Taste: 3.5 of 5 leaves – A decent tasty tea.
Steepability: 5 of 5 leaves – This tea is easy to make!

Abby says:

Temperature: @180 (below boiling point)
Steeped: 5 minutes
Served: Nothing added

Described on the teabag packet as “A magical blend of hibiscus, lemongrass, rose hips, mango & passion fruit flavors”, this tea has a lot to live up to. When steeped, it turns a vibrant red in the cup with a bright aroma. And, yes, there is a lot flavor packed in as well. I liked that. Typically, I’m not a big fan of herbal tea because I often find that there isn’t enough flavor, or there is too much flavor making it seem artificial. I didn’t find that here. It has good flavor and a nice tartness that paired well with the floral notes.

This would make a great iced tea as well and with is bright red color it would look really good in a big glass iced tea pitcher! For anyone who likes a bold, fruity herbal tea, give this one a try. Tazo Passion makes for worthwhile caffeine-free tea option.

Taste: 3 of 5 leaves – A decent tasty tea.
Steepability: 5 of 5 leaves – This tea is easy to make!

Katie says:

Temperature: @180 (below boiling point)
Steeped: 2 minutes
Served: with honey

This, for me, is a staple tea. I usually have at least a few bags in my cupboard. My favorite thing about this tea is that it is good in both warm and cold weather. In the winter, especially with a sore throat, the citrus tastes great! Although, I find if steeped too long for drinking as hot tea it can get a tangy bite. For this reason I do a short 2 minute steep. When making this as an iced tea I steep a little longer, or cold brew. Many Starbucks locations carry this as an iced tea in the warmer weather and it makes a great no caffeine and le calorie option.

Taste: 4 of 5 leaves – A decent tasty tea.
Steepability: 5 of 5 leaves – This tea is easy to make!

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Posted in decaf or hearbal tea, Easy to make, herbal tea, tea review

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Review: Tazo Refesh

Posted on March 13, 2013 by | Leave a comment

 

 
Overall Rating:

Taste: 3.75 of 5 tea leaves – A decent tasty tea.
Steepability: 5 of 5 tea leaves – This tea is easy to make!

Abby says:

Temperature: @180 (below boiling point)
Steeped: Left teabag in the cup
Served: Nothing added

The review for this tea could not have come at a better time. I woke up this morning not feeling the best and with a little bit of a scratchy throat. I just wanted something that would make me feel better, keep me warm and taste good. Cue Tazo Refresh. Typically I’m not a peppermint enthusiast, but today it worked. The peppermint, spearmint and tarragon blend together well to create a minty flavor that though pungent, isn’t too strong or too sweet. For a mint tea, I found it very easy to drink even though I left the teabag in my mug.

For me, the perfect time for mint tea is when you aren’t feeling good because as the name says, it makes you feel refreshed and has a soothing quality to help you feel more like yourself. I would certainly recommend this tea for those times. I also think it would make a really interesting iced tea for when you are looking for something cooling a refreshing.

Taste: 3.5 of 5 tea leaves – A decent tasty tea.
Steepability: 5 of 5 tea leaves – This tea is easy to make!

Tazo Refresh Wraper

Katie says:

Temperature: @180 (below boiling point)
Steeped: 4 minutes
Served: Nothing added

It must be the time of year! I too woke up with a bit of a cold. Abby had her tea cure in the morning, but I’m drinking my refresh before bed. You know, that dreaded time of day when colds tend to settle in and make you feel worse. This is a perfect “feel better” tea. It is great for a cold or even just a bit of indigestion.

What I love about this tea is it’s mild mint flavor. Some mint teas taste so strongly of peppermint that is all you taste. The mix of peppermint and spearmint along other flavors in refresh make this tea truly refreshing and easy to drink. I highly recommend tea blends like this one over a straight peppermint tea.

Colds, please go away! I hope that spring is right around the corner! But if you do find yourself with a case of the sniffles or a sore throat reach for this tea!

Taste: 4 of 5 tea leaves – Quite a good cuppa!
Steepability: 5 of 5 tea leaves – This tea is easy to make!

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Posted in decaf or hearbal tea, Easy to make, herbal tea

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Review: Tazo Awake

Posted on November 13, 2012 by | 2 Comments

Overall Rating:

Taste: 4.75 of 5 leaves: Quite a good cuppa!
Steepability: 5 of 5 — this tea is easy to make!

Abby says:

Temperature: @212 (boiling point)
Steeped: 3-4 minutes, then left in mug for the second steep
Served: Nothing added

Tazo Awake is a wonderfully strong black tea with full flavor and no bitterness. As you can guess by the name, Awake is what it promises and and awake you will be after just one cup. Not only does the caffeine work its magic to get you going, the complexity of flavor keeps it interesting. Mixed with the intense black tea taste is a bit of malty cocoa flavor that adds richness. Though I’m not much of a coffee drinker, the robust nature of this tea give me that sense.

Katie has been telling me about this tea for awhile now and I am happy to have finally tried it. Awake will clearly be a go-to for me from here on out! If you are looking for a strong, tasty tea – give this one a try.

Taste: 4.5 of 5 leaves: Quite a good cuppa!
Steepability: 5 of 5 — this tea is easy to make!

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Katie says:

Temperature: @212 (boiling point)
Steeped: 3 (med) – 5 (strong) minutes
Served: Milk & honey

This is one of my favorite morning teas. Awake is a strong and flavorful black tea. Steep 3 minutes if you like a medium strength tea and 5 if you like it strong. Some days require stronger tea! The best thing about this tea is this that it can be made quite strong without getting bitter. I like a good strong tea so that it can stand up to a good amount of cream & sugar. See the photo above for how much half & half I like in this tea. I know, have a little tea with my cream, right? It’s like my Grammie says, a tea is good when it’s “strong enough to float a horseshoe.”

This rich and flavorful tea certainly passes the horseshoe test! Because it is strong it also makes a great tea to brew in the summer and then pour over ice with lemon. This is an Indian Assam style tea. I find Assam to have particularly nice flavor and this one has a rich and malty taste. I don’t drink morning coffee but this is my tea of choice for a morning pick-me-up.

Taste: 5 of 5 leaves: Outstanding, a must try!
Steepability: 5 of 5 — this tea is easy to make!

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Posted in black teas, Easy to make

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Review: Tazo Calm

Posted on October 17, 2012 by | 1 Comment

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Overall Rating:
Taste: 2.75 of 5 leaves — A decent tasty tea.
Steepability: 4.5 of 5 — This tea requires very little effort.

Abby says:

Temperature: @180 (below boiling point)
Steeped: 3 minutes
Served: Nothing added

Upon opening the package I was not excited about trying this tea. For me, it had a smell that was quite unpleasant mixed in with all of the other nice smelling things. It had an underlying, almost hidden spoiled milk smell that was off-putting. Maybe having to do with the chamomile or licorice? Both flavors that sometime I find a bit odd. But I carried on anyway and gave it a steep. I must say that this tea taste much better than it smells! The flavor is light and a little minty and overall pleasant and enjoyable. After having a few sips I didn’t really notice the aroma anymore and just enjoyed the light herbal blend. As the name would imply, this a is nice blend to help you relax and it has a comforting smooth mouth feel as well.

Because of the off-putting smell of Tazo Calm I am not sure I would return for another cup. But for those looking for a tea to help them relax it would be worth a try.

Taste: 3 of 5 leaves — A decent tasty tea.
Steepability: 4 of 5 — This tea requires very little effort.

Katie says:

Temperature: @180 (below boiling point)
Steeped: 3 minutes
Served: Nothing added

As usual, I agree with Abby! I am not digging the smell of this tea. To me it has a sort of grassy green smell & similar taste but with a hint of mint. Chamomile is not my favorite, but I typically like it as a blended tea. This time, unfortunately, I am really not enjoying this one. I hate to say this because I love most Tazo teas. Awake? Yum! Zen? Yes please! But sadly in the future I’ll pass on Calm. Then again, if you know me, calm isn’t really my style anyway! ;)

Taste: 2.5 of 5 leaves — This tea is just OK.
Steepability: 5 of 5 — This tea requires very little effort.

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Posted in decaf or hearbal tea, herbal tea

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Review: Tazo Plum Pomegranate Green Tea

Posted on June 12, 2012 by | Leave a comment


Overall Rating:

Taste: 4 of 5 tea leaves – Quite a good cuppa!
Steepability: This tea is bottled!

Abby says:

Temperature: Cold
Served: Over ice, in a glass

What a tasty treat for a hot summer day! I found this tea to be quite refreshing with great flavor. Although I liked drinking it very much and will certainly seek it out again, there isn’t much tea taste. Katie, could you taste the green tea among the plum and pomegranate juices? It seems that plum and pomegranate juice go really well together to create a sweet and light summer drink!

It’s not a bad idea to stock the fridge with several bottles for whenever you might need a quick, yummy pick-me-up. This tea would be great for anyone, as it is sweet, but not too sweet. To me it tastes more like a full-flavored juice blend. Though, I didn’t find much tea essence, I still really enjoyed this combo. In fact, I think it could easily be used to create a variety of light summer cocktails. I’ll have to get to work on that idea and report back!

Taste: 4 of 5 tea leaves – Quite a good cuppa!
Steepability: This tea is bottled!

Katie says:

Temperature: Cold
Served: Just grabbed the cold bottle from the fridge and drank

I find this tea to be more like a light version of juice than iced tea, that said, it is very good. The clean taste of green tea blends well with the plum and pomegranate juices. When I drink juice, I tend to water it down with sparkling water or coconut water; so I really enjoy this juice/tea blend. Perhaps I’ll have to make some iced green tea to try my own juice blends. I bet white grape & green tea would be quite yummy too. The finishing flavors of this iced tea are a mild version of the sweet/sour pucker you get from eating pomegranates.

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I was, however, sad to see that tazo is longer offering the tea leaf reading (seen under the cap) on their website. It was a cute little gimmick. If you’re missing that fun feature here’s a link so you can do your own tea leaf reading: http://tarotcanada.tripod.com/TeaLeaves.html

Taste: 4 of 5 tea leaves – Quite a good cuppa!
Steepability: This tea is bottled!

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Posted in green teas, iced tea

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Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Posted on March 16, 2012 by | 2 Comments

Hope you are all gearing up for some green festivities on Saturday!  I know that Katie and I are!  Do your plans include green pancakes? Green beer? Green TEA?  I’m imagining that you said “yes” to all of the those things!  To help us all get prepared for jolly holiday I have put together a list (not comprehensive, whatsoever) of teas to try for St. Patrick’s day!  Let the fun begin …

First we have one of my favorite (what else, right?) Irish Breakfast teas… Harney & Sons Irish Breakfast.  Described: “100% Assam, like most traditional Irish blends, this is a good way to start your morning. Like cereal, it takes milk and sugar well. In contrast to other vendors, ours is a little more refined.” This tea is flavorful, comforting and familiar.  It also comes in the coolest tea tin – with a clover on it no less!  Love!

The next one is a popular favorite: Twinings Irish Breakfast.  This one is a little more traditional in terms of taste and is always a go-to when celebrating St. Patrick’s day!  With bold flavor and caffeine it is sure to get you going and ready for the party!

This one I haven’t tried, but I am surely looking forward to it.  Described: “Deep, Dark, Delightful. A traditional blend of Assam (India) and high-grown Ceylon (Sri Lanka) leaves. This hearty brew has a malty character, brisk finish and a rich color. Sure to lift the fog of a cloudy mind. Enjoy with a splash of milk for a cup that satisfies well beyond breakfast”, The Republic of Tea Lucky Irish Breakfast sounds great!  Have any of you tried it?  If so, what do you think?

If you are not into Irish breakfast tea, but still want to celebrate St. Patrick’s day with a little tea, how about a GREEN?  Anything green will work, right?  How about Tazo Zen?  It tastes great and comes in a green packet!  We have reviewed this tea already, so check it out here.

Happy St. Patrick’s day everyone! Be sure to check back and let us know how you indulged your inner leprechaun with tea.

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Posted in black teas, green teas

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Review: Tazo Zen

Posted on January 24, 2012 by | 1 Comment

Overall Rating:
Taste: 4 of 5 tea leaves – Quite a good Cuppa!
Steepability: 5 of 5 tea leaves – This tea is easy to make!

Abby says:

Temperature: @180 (below boiling point)
Steeped: 3 minutes
Served: Nothing added

Described as a harmonious blend with lemongrass and spearmint this tea is a treat! It is comforting and easy to drink. While drinking it, you taste both a strong green tea and a mild herbal tea provided by the lemongrass and spearmint. This has become one of my favorites for when I’m feeling a bit under the weather.  It has a soothing quaility, but still provides the real green tea taste so that I don’t feel like I am drinking something medicial.

Today I drank this tea hot, but it also makes a great iced tea for warmer weather.  Don’t you just love versatile teas!  Recommended for anyone,  Tazo Zen is a very popular blended green tea. Note: On second steeping of tea bag, it still tastes great and the mint comes through more so than the green tea flavor.  For all you Keurig lovers, this tea comes in K-cups!  Horray for you!

Taste: 4.5 of 5 tea leaves – Outstanding!  A MUST try!
Steepability: 5 of 5 tea leaves – This tea is easy to make!

Tazo Zen

Katie says:

Temperature: @180 (below boiling point)
Steeped: 3 minutes
Served: nothing added

Yes Abby & I are reviewing another green tea with mint. Is it just me or has there been a lot of green lately? We must be on a roll. ;)  I do find green tea and mint to be a delicious combination. This one is mostly green in flavor with just a hint of mint. I like how it still primarily tastes like a green tea. Side note: If you are looking for stronger mint taste I recommend the Tea Pigs Marakesh Mint.

What is great about this tea is that it has all of the things that I like about green tea with a slight minty twist.  The mint is light enough that this would be a good tea for any time of  day and it will blend well with most food favors. I gave it a 3.5 instead of  a higher rating because while it is a very nice tea, I just find it a tad ordinary and like a bit more of a unique flavor twist in my teas. This is a great choice for  those seeking a dependable green tea.

Taste: 3.5 of 5 A decent tasty tea.
Steepability: 5 of 5 tea leaves – this tea is easy to make!

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Posted in green teas

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