Choice Organic Teas

This will do for the afternoon at work. I always think there is almost no caffeine in it, but then I don’t fall asleep on my commute from work, so there must be some.

Basic, no thought required, bags for work and home. I brew this one daily.

This tea is wonderful for mornings when you’re cranky and haven’t gotten enough sleep and happen to be behind on your wordcount for Camp NaNoWriMo.

To be honest, I’m a bit biased, since I love Choice and black teas, but this tea does have a strong, rich flavor that’s really great for when you’re on your feet but not awake. I like to drink my blacks with milk, and this pairs wonderfully with a bit of milkfat (I do 2%, but whole would be even better).

And, you know, Choice’s bags are 100% compostable and the covers are 100% recyclable. …I know, I’m sounding like a hippie, but sometimes you have to celebrate the little things. Good tea + good packaging = love.

It’s a bagged decaf english breakfast, and like all bagged decaf tea I’ve had recently, needs to be dreadfully oversteeped. You’ll note that I did NOT dreadfully oversteep it this time, so it’s a little, er, mild. I know I’m not going to get a decaf with the pleasant bitter/astringent quality of a caffeinated tea though.

As bag decaf goes, it’s tasty. Not outstanding in any way good or bad.

One of the smoothest teas I’ve ever had!

When I’m not in the mood for something with really bold flavor but I still want a good taste, this is the tea I choose. I think it’s awesome when tea companies can get the smoothness just perfect on a blend, and I can definitely say that about this one. Such a favorite, it’s a taste I can never get tired of :)

This is one of my absolute favourite teas. Moroccan Mint teas in general are a rather soft spot of mine, and this hits all the right notes. The green tea base is strong without being overpowering, the mint tastes fresh and striking without being sharp, and the slight undertone of lemongrass keeps it really mellow. As with most mint teas, I suggest drinking it very sweet for a perfect cup.

I love genmaicha, and this is a nice bagged option. It’s really nutty and toasty. The tea base is prominent, but not to the point where it detracts from the toasted rice notes. It’s mildly vegetal. I’m not noticing any bitterness, even though I definitely oversteeped this time (and probably used hotter-than-optimal water).

Thank you adagio breeze for this sample. I like the large sachet this teabag comes in, looks very large and in charge compared to the usual sachet designs.

The pyramid teabag is see through so I can note dark brown broken down leaves with some dark green leaves thrown in and also a few stem/twig like pieces. It has a dry, floral scent that reminds me of Autumn.

My steeping times are as instructed on the back of the sachet.

Once steeped the tea is dark brown in colour with an earthy and dry floral aroma.

Dry, floral, musky, earthy, rich and slightly sweet. It’s a little earthier than I thought it would be and there is a fairly strong muscatel mid taste which slowly resides to a sweet and subtle floral finish. As far as Darjeeling goes this is nice but nothing special, I was hoping for more floral notes. :( The musk is almost malty. And the sweetness is more fermented fruit than flowers.

Still it’s what I would be looking for as a pre packed Darjeeling, the sort of tea I could take to work or to a friends house.

I don’t have much experience with Darjeelings, but I think I like this one! Floral & grassy with pleasant astringency and hints of muskiness. Don’t have much more to add because I drank it a bit too quickly.

This tea is really basic. The green tea and the mint are well balanced. It’s very smooth, but there’s nothing really outstanding about it. It would be a good complement to a very flavorful meal or dessert, or as a palate cleanser. This wouldn’t be my first choice if I want to really savor my tea though.

I used 1 teabag in 16 oz of near boiling water, steeped for 3 minutes per package instructions. This tea does not resteep well – it just turns out extremely weak, no matter how long you let it steep.

Intense sweet herbal aroma with a mild earthly taste. Easy on the stomach; warms you right up. Potential calming alternative to Chamomile.

I found this while my boyfriend and I were giggling-drunk in the health food section of the grocery store. I was intrigued with the name of the tea at the time, so it found its way into my basket. (Despite the fact that I have so many other teas to be reviewed!)

This is actually my second time drinking it. I took it with me to work in a 16-ounce cup. I underestimated the strength of it and used two bags, which was a MISTAKE. It was so strong that I had to gulp some and add more water. But after that, it was great.

Like I said, this is a strong black tea that does not kid around. Perfect for your first cup of the day, especially if it’s cold outside and you have things to do. (The caffeine content is delightfully high.) After barely four minutes, it’s very dark, almost like coffee or a puerh. The flavor is malty and caramel-like, especially in the aftertaste. It certainly has a bitterness to it, but I crave that sort of thing. This is an especially good black tea for something bagged, I think. I’m actually pretty surprised by it, since it’s something from the grocery store. This might end up as my go-to convenience tea for those mornings where I just don’t feel like dealing with an infuser.

Thank you CharlotteZero for sending this one! (If you were worried this tea was old, I saw numbers stamped into the box that said 062013 so I’m guessing that means June of this year. Not old yet! :D) I always have luck with Choice teas. This one is great, though I have no idea why the box says to steep this boiling. Boiling water would ruin it! I let the water cool a while and steeped for two minutes… delicious! I had no idea it would be better than some of the other genmaicha I’ve tried, even some that have been in loose leaf form. This one is very toasty and roasty while also having a buttery sweet flavor to it. I love it!

This tea has a definite smokey/woody flavour to it that hits right as you taste it like Volstagg on a powdered pastry. I drink it with milk and sugar. Good for the days you feel like you need using a word like “robust” to describe yourself.

James R sent me some tea bags to sample when I bought the delicious Harney’s Hot Cinnamon Spice. This was one of them! thanks! Surprisingly, I hadn’t previously tried any of the teabags included in that package! Nice! This one is a spicy chai with a rooibos base, so I can drink something with flavor at night without the caffeine. I’ve been trying to only drink rooibos or herbals at night, since I don’t sleep very well as it is. Of course, I can’t really taste the rooibos with all those spices… but it’s nice and peppery! A decent cup. I think I’ll resteep this with some black tea tomorrow morning. (Yes, my morning teas are much more fun. I was almost going to say because I have so many more choices, but I think I have enough choices just in the herbals & rooibos departments!)

This was actually very good! (And I am not a mango fan, thanks to too much mango vodka one night. Whoops!) Anyway, the mango flavor itself is very mild. The vanilla adds a nice sweetness while the smooth ceylon balances it out. Tasty!

I hadn’t had this tea for a couple of years and I forgot how much I enjoyed it! I love the coolness of the peppermint combined with the bit of sweet liquorice. It reminds me of the vanilla spice tea by Long Life Teas, (one that I cannot find anywhere!) This tasty organic will definitely be my next tea purchase….

Steep Information:
Amount: 1 teabag
Water: ml at 212°F
Steep Time: a little over 3 minutes http://steep.it/3%20minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: paper, sweet
Steeped Tea Smell: sweet, bakey
Flavor: paper, bakey
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: astringent
Liquor: translucent brown orange

Meh, it’s a bagged tea. I got it as a sample at NW tea fest, so it’s old, to give it some slack, but still that means better packaging needed?

Rating: 2/4 leaves

Blog: http://amazonv.teatra.de/2012/12/19/choice-organic-teas-teabag-black-tea-estate-blend-darjeeling/

Steep Information:
Water: ~500ml at 175°F
Tool: Breville One-Touch Tea Maker BTM800XL
Steep Time: a little over 2 minutes http://steep.it/2%20minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: sweet floral, hint of vegetation
Steeped Tea Smell: paper, floral
Flavor: paper, vegetal
Body: Light
Aftertaste: sweet, floral
Liquor: translucent green

Perhaps because I let the teabag set a year it tastes like paper?

Rating: 2/4 leaves

Blog: http://amazonv.teatra.de/2012/12/19/choice-organic-teas-teabag-green-tea-jade-green/

Steep Information:
Water: 12 ounces hot water from coffee machine
Steep Time: a little over 3 minutes http://steep.it/3%20minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: sweet fall leaves
Steeped Tea Smell: toasty
Flavor: earthy
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: slight astringency
Liquor: translucent orange-brown

Rating: 3/4 leaves

blog: http://amazonv.teatra.de/2012/12/19/choice-organic-teas-teabag-black-tea-english-breakfast/