Tag Archives: Tea Review

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: Tenota Organic Sweet Green

Posted on May 2, 2013 by | Leave a comment

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Please note that while we were sent free samples of this tea to review we are just as critical of free tea. If we receive something we don’t like we give an honest review or skip it all together!

Overall Rating:

Taste: 4.5 of 5 leaves – Quite a good cuppa!
Steepability: 3 of 5 leaves – This tea is a bit delicate.

Abby says:

Temperature: @ 190 degrees (below boiling)
Steeped: 2 minutes first steep, 3 minutes second steep
Served: Nothing Added

Tenota’s tea notes are just the cutest things. Delicious tea snail-mailed in a stylish envelop with a personalized message attached! For Katie’s b-day I sent her a tea note as soon as I discovered the Tenota. The website for ordering is super easy to use, and there is a nice selection of teas to choose from.

Their Organic Sweet Green is a classic green tea done right. There are nice big tea leaves in the sachet that match the big tea note! This tea already had points in my book because it is organic. With all of the controversy over GMOs and “where does our food really come from?”, certified organic is carrying more weight. I was delighted to find that it tasted great too. That light grassy flavor is there, which makes for a refreshing hot tea. After drinking the first cup like it was going out of style, I decided to resteep this tea for another cup. The results were pretty good. It was certainly more earthy the second time around and the flavor wasn’t as strong. It was good, though and I drank that up quickly too!

Tenota would make a unique and personal gift for tea lovers. I think a tea note would also make a great thank you note or invitation. Most importantly the tea is good, so you know that your tea note will be well received!

Taste: 4.5 of 5 leaves – Quite a good cuppa!
Steepability: 3 of 5 leaves – This tea is a bit delicate.

Tenota Green

Katie says:

Temperature: @ 190 degrees (below boiling)
Steeped: 2 minutes first steep, 3.5 minutes second steep
Served: Tried with nothing added & with honey

Tea with a note in a card? I’m in! Plus it comes in the mail in a cute little brown envelope so it automatically feels more special than the other mail. As soon as I heard about this I thought it was a great idea and just hoped that the gimmick wouldn’t be better than the tea inside. Happily, I discovered that this tea is delicious! Not only are tea notes a cute idea this is actually quality tea, worth sending to a tea-lover, inside the note. The only drawback for me is that the price for one bag of tea is a bit high, but you’re paying for the their adorable packaging and how easy they make it to send a personalized gift.

OK, on to the tea itself! We tried the Organic Sweet Green tea. I was intrigued that it was sweet and tried it on it’s own, and with honey. It was powerful enough for a second steep so I was able to try this several ways. First I had it hot unsweetened and while it was nice I decided to add some local honey. Yum! For the second steep I drank more unsweetened, from a longer steep, with the intention of pouring it over ice later. I think iced and unsweetened ended up being my favorite! It had just enough caffeine for an afternoon pick-me-up without feeling too wired. This green tea has a green, almost grassy taste, with a hint of sweetness. If you are careful to not over-steep and you’ll find yourself with a very enjoyable tea.

Taste: 4.5 of 5 leaves – Quite a good cuppa!
Steepability: 3 of 5 leaves – This tea is a bit delicate.

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Review: Trader Joe’s Pomegranate White Tea

Posted on April 19, 2013 by | Leave a comment

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Overall Rating:

Taste: 3 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)
Steeped: 3-4 minutes
Served: Nothing added to start, then with a dab of honey

If white tea wasn’t listed in the name, I would have thought this was pomegranate herbal tea. The pomegranate totally overwhelms any tea flavor. Granted, white tea has a very mild flavor compared to other teas. It is just too bad that it is completely hidden, I would like to have tasted a true blend of the two flavors. This tea also has hibiscus flowers and lemongrass and I don’t get much of that either. Ok, now that I’ve gotten that out of the way. I like this tea!

The classic pomegranate color is vibrant and cheery. The pomegranate taste is true, not artificial tasting at all and plenty tart! In fact, I added a little bit of honey after the first couple of sips to tone down the tartness with a little sweet. Then, it was even better. I would recommend this tea to anyone who likes the flavor of pomegranate or strong tasting herbal teas. Keep in mind, that although you can’t taste it, there is actual tea here. That menas caffeine even though white tea has a lower level of caffeine. This may be a nice a choice for those seeking a little caffeine while at the same time getting a herbal tea experience. I would certainly drink this tea again, in fact, I think it would make a terrific iced tea. But I would not choose this tea if I was looking for a taste of actual tea.

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

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Katie says:

Temperature: @180 (below boiling)
Steeped: 3-4 minutes
Served: Nothing added

Abby & I often have similar reviews, but this time reading her review was like she had been reading my mind! If this had been an herbal tea I may have given it a higher rating. Don’t get me wrong, it’s good, it just doesn’t taste like it’s name and ingredients. If it didn’t list white tea on the box I’d think for sure it was an herbal tea. In fact, as Abby suggests, it would be quite nice as an iced tea. The flavor would be similar to the passion iced tea from Starbucks. This tea is a lovely red color and has a nice fruity flavor without tasting artificial. In my opinion the biggest flaw of this tea is that you can’t taste the white tea flavor.

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

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Posted in Easy to make, tea review, White teas

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Review: Good Earth Organic Apricot Ginger Black Tea

Posted on April 4, 2013 by | Leave a comment

Overall Rating:

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

Abby says:

Temperature: @212 (boiling point)
Steeped: Left tea bag in the cup
Served: Nothing added

I’m no stranger to Apricot flavored beverages. In fact, my favorite beer is Ithaca Apricot Wheat. So when I saw that Good Earth had an Apricot Ginger black tea AND it was organic, I was all over it! Unlike some of Good Earth’s other teas, I found this one to be more mild in flavor. While it steeped the smell of zesty ginger and sweet apricot was nice, but not strong. I found the taste to be similar. I liked how well the spicy ginger, the sweet apricot and the nutty black tea blended together. It all combined to make an easy to drink and interesting tea.

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

Katie says:

Temperature: @212 (boiling point)
Steeped: Left tea bag in the cup
Served: A bit of sugar

First, let me say, this tea is NOT good with milk. It’s a good thing Abby gave me 2 samples because at first I added milk and, yuck! I’m not sure why I thought milk was a good idea but it wasn’t. My second cup, with just a hint of sugar was much better. I, like Abby, found that the ginger and apricot were a nice combination. It could have been a bit stronger but was still overall a nice tea.

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

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Review: Cafe Escapes Chai Latte for Keurig

Posted on March 20, 2013 by | Leave a comment

Overall Rating:

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

Abby says:

Temperature: Hot straight from the Keurig!
Served: Nothing added

Who knew that a chai latte and leftover Irish soda bread would make for a good afternoon snack. Really, it was a pretty good combo. I found the Cafe Express Chai Latte to be quite sweet, so it was nice to pair it with something not-so-sweet with depth of flavor. The Keurig chai latte was one note in flavor, sweet. It completely lacks any spice which is synonymous with chai. That being said, I still thought it was pretty good. For it was more similar to powered hot chocolate in consistency: creamy and sweet. Not really like tea at all, more like a guilty pleasure (the fast food version of chai latte). :)

Taste: 3 of 5 tea leaves – A decent tasty tea(ish).
Steepability: 5 of 5 tea leaves – this is easy to make!

Cafe Express Chai Latte

Katie says:

Temperature: Hot straight from the Keurig!
Served: Nothing added

Hmmm, I’m beginning to wonder if Keurig is just for coffee! This chai wasn’t bad, but it didn’t really taste like traditional tea. Have you had the coffee shop “chai” lattes that are made from a powder or syrup and not tea leaves? Well, this k cup is like that coffee shop drink. It’s warm and even a bit tasty but more like hot cocoa that tea. Once you’ve had real brewed chai I think it’s hard to ever go back and be satisfied. If you’re a tea drinker and find yourself faced with a stack of k cups I bet, like me, you’d still greatly prefer this to coffee. It is decent, but not great. Hopefully Abby & I can find a k cup tea to review that we think is better than decent! I’d love to share one we think is quite good. For now, the hunt for a great k cup tea continues.

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

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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: Tea Forte Breakfast

Posted on February 28, 2013 by | Leave a comment

Overall Rating:

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

Abby says:

Temperature: @212 (@ boiling)
Steeped: 4 minutes
Served: Nothing added

Nice and strong with good flavor and body, this Assam tea is incredibly satisfying as a first-thing-in-the-morning cuppa! The caffeine level is what you would expect (and what most of us need) from a morning tea. It pairs well with hearty breakfast food, but has enough of its own flavor to satisfy long after the food is all gone. Most of all, I like the nuttiness found in Forte Breakfast. It also holds just a hint of sweetness that doesn’t turn bitter if steeped for a while, which is great for busy mornings when tea-making is not as precise as maybe it should be.

Forte Breakfast is USDA certified organic! Just another reason to give it a try. We sampled this tea in Tea Forte’s biodegradable filterbags, but it also comes in single serving loose tea packs. Love those too!

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

Katie says: Abby gave me a sample of this tea but I can’t find it. Oops! I’ve had it before and enjoyed it but haven’t had any recently enough to remember for an accurate review. Guess you’ll all have to just trust her word on this one!

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Review: Bhakti Chai (Unsweetened)

Posted on February 15, 2013 by | Leave a comment

 

Overall Rating:

Taste: 4 of 5 – quite a good cuppa!
Steepability: 5 of 5 — this tea is easy to make!

Katie says:

Temperature: Hot from the stove, but not boiling
Steeped: N/A
Served: With 1:1 ratio of milk, then with honey

For me this is hands down, the best chai from a bottle ever. I love the idea of chai mix due to convenience but most are just a syrupy mess. This tastes like real TEA! Also, without sweetener or milk added you can make it to your taste. One word of caution, I think real chai needs real milk. I’m talking 2% or greater…in India it’s practically cream!

I have to say, I was surprised to see Abby’s rating on this one because we tend to agree more often than not. It may just be that while she likes chai, she’s not a fan of milk in tea. And this mix NEEDS milk.  I love that I can count on the ratio and make the same cuppa more than once. If you like traditional chai with a kick of ginger than this is a MUST try. But pass the cream. :)

I also like that this tea comes refrigerated and has a shelf life. That certainly makes it seem more real. And, when you real the label there is in fact good (ie real) stuff in there. It’s also a pretty cool company out of Fort Collins, CO. Check out their website for their story & more of their flavors.

Taste: 5 of 5 – outstanding a must try!
Steepability: 5 of 5 — this tea is easy to make!

Abby says:

Temperature: Hot from the stove, but not boiling
Steeped: N/A
Served: With 1:1 ratio of milk, then with honey

Seriously spicy! You know how, sometimes you find chai teas to be dull without the spice that you love? Well, forget all that.  This tea is spicy and has a ton of flavor. Bhakti Chai comes pre-brewed in a refrigerated bottle containing: “organic fair trade black te, organic ginger juice, organic cardamom, black pepper and other spices.” It carries the fair trade certification, but it is not certified organic. The directions call for heating the tea with milk at a 1:1 ratio and heating on the stove top or in the microwave.  It also says you can serve it over ice, but I can’t even think about that right now (too much snow everywhere for that).  Typically I choose not to add milk to my tea, but for the sake of the review I decided to be a good girl and follow the directions.  I’m glad I did because I think skipping the milk would have been a mistake for sure.  In fact I ended up adding more hot milk and a bit of honey to mellow out the spice level. This tea was good, but I will only have it when I am craving the spice!

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

Bhakti Chai

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Review: Harney & Sons Holiday (HT Tea Blends)

Posted on January 4, 2013 by | 2 Comments

Overall Rating:

Taste: 3.25 of 5 tea leaves – A decent tasty tea.
Steepability: 4 of 5 tea leaves – This tea requires very little effort

Abby says:

Temperature: @200 (below boiling point)
Steeped: 3 minutes
Served: Nothing added

Better late than never. That’s what I say! Here is a holiday tea from Harney & Sons, called “holiday”. So appropriate for today – when the holidays are officially over! Enjoy…

When I first opened the tea tin I was overwhelmed by the spicy aroma of this tea. I smelled some clove and what seem to me to be licorice. Licorice is not my fav, I did not enjoy that but decided to steep it anyway. And I’m glad I did. Though the aroma was strong, but the tea was not. It was flavorful and spicy and thankfully did not taste like licorice at all! I liked that it was light with mild spice flavor because so much of what we eat and drink over the holidays is heavy and rich or over-the-top. While still festive, this tea provides a much need break from all that with something lighter without being dull. The flavor might be strong if steeped longer, so that could be something interesting to try next time.

Taste: 3.5 of 5 tea leaves – A decent tasty tea.
Steepability: 4 of 5 tea leaves – This tea requires very little effort.

Katie says:

Temperature: @200 (below boiling point)
Steeped: 3 minutes
Served: With cream & sugar

The spices in this tea smell and taste similar to chai with strong notes of clove and cinnamon. Chai is one of my favorite teas so when I opened the tin I was so excited to try this similar-smelling tea. I thought this tea was good, but what kept it from being great was the strength. I found the favors, while nice, to be very mild. I’d suggest steeping it longer or using two tea bags if you like a strong cuppa!

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

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Posted in black teas, Easy to make

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Review: Capital Teas Talk of the Town

Posted on December 20, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Capital Teas was kind enough to send us samples of their teas to review.* Thank you!

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Overall Rating:
Taste: 4 of 5 leaves: Quite a good cuppa!
Steepability: 5 of 5 — this tea is easy to make!

Abby says:

Temperature: @200 (@ boiling point)
Steeped: 3.5 minutes
Served: Nothing added

As this tea steeps it starts to smell more and more lovely. Talk of the Town is a blend of Sri Lankan Black Tea, Rooibos, orange, spices, black pepper, vanilla, hawthorn leaves, white peppercorns. This intricate combination becomes more aromatic as the tea steeps. AND it tastes pretty darn good too! It has enough depth to keep it things interesting, yet is simple enough to drink all day. Though it’s named Talk of the Town, I don’t actually have much else to say about it, other than it’s a tasty cup of tea and you should try it. If you like flavorful, yet straight forward black tea, you will like this.

Also keep in mind that it re-steeps well too! For that I let it go for about 5.5 minutes. It wasn’t quite as spicy the second time around, but it still tasted great – another plus for drinking throughout the day.

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

Katie says:

Temperature: @200 (@ boiling point)
Steeped: 3.5 minutes
Served: Nothing added

This is a very nice black tea! As Abby said, some of the unusual ingredients give it lovely aroma as it steeps and just a hint of complex flavor blended with the black tea. I can taste hints of cinnamon and orange, yum! Oranges and cinnamon seem like holiday spices to me so I think this is a great tea for drinking in the week leading up to Christmas. The orange flavor would also come out nicely in an iced tea with lemon. A tea for all seasons!

Some fun facts from the capital tea website:

Black Tea has been shown to reduce cholesterol
Great Source of Antioxidants, which have been shown to lower the risk of heart disease
Has approximately 20% of the caffeine content of coffee

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

*Please note that we are just as critical of free teas as the ones we purchase. If we get a sample we don’t like we won’t include it on our blog.

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