267 Tasting Notes
I really hate licorice, but Kristin sent me a bag of this, so I sucked it up and tried it. It reminds me of the tea they give out free samples of in Aveda stores and sell loose. I actually used to enjoy that tea. I DO feel like the licorice is fairly strong in this, with an herby, peppery undertone to it. The taste of this could certainly be relaxing for a lot of people, so if you like chais (although this doesn’t taste like chai), or like anise, do try this. I feel like my dislike of it is really subjective. Oh, and this really really reminds me of one of Yogi Teas’ medicinal blends- perhaps throat coat? I can’t remember, but the taste is super familiar and has a strong cinnamon component. It’s one of the ones that I try to get through when I need it for health reasons.
Preparation
This smells and tastes very strongly of honey- an herby, delicious honey that I’d love to get in a skincare product. But I don’t like to drink the strong taste of honey particularly, so as soon as I smelled this, I knew I was in trouble. The green tea was overshadowed by the ginseng and honey. I did get a bit of an energy boost from this, but it meant that I felt a bit shaky and no more alert. I knew I wasn’t going to like this one going in- trying to make things taste like honey is never a great idea in my book.
Preparation
Dear Teavana,
Normally I don’t think much of your tea blends. And I think far less of your customer service and store ambiance. But this chai blend is pretty okay. It truly does taste like warm red-hots, but I also taste lemongrass and pepper. I like that it’s not like any other chai I own… but of course now I own $40 worth because you bagged up a ton more than I asked for, and I stupidly paid for it because I felt badly about getting tricked.
Anyway, a pretty unique chai blend, but you must really love cinnamon tea. And I’m really only ambivalent about cinnamon.
Preparation
In the bag this smells just like astronaut ice cream, which was fine by me. I love astronaut ice cream (and in Houston, aka “Space City” it’s not too hard to find, but always overpriced.) I’m so glad this is a honeybush blend, as I don’t like to drink caffeine, and I believe that black tea would have drowned the other flavors out pretty thoroughly.
I’m not sure what cacao nibs are adding to this mix (they tend to taste pretty cardboardy to me, anyway), but I definitely taste the strawberry and vanilla.
Scratch that, I do taste cacao. Not chocolate, but cacao.
Hm, I think I do like this. It’s odd, and certainly not my favorite in my cabinet, but I like it.
This is an ’it’s okay’ tea day for me.
Preparation
Did you sweeten it at all? I liked it a lot better after I sweetened it (just a little sweetener; easy to overdo it on this one).
It was all I could do not to eat the peanut butter chips out of this blend. Oh, how I love peanut butter. It is my dear friend. And I love chai. How could I not love this? Well….
When brewed it smells deliciously nutty, but definitely tastes like a chai. The black tea in this is as prominent as the nuts, which is why I usually like my chais without black tea and just spices. Hmmm I am on the fence about how to rate this…. I am a chai fan, and I am a PB fan, but I’m having trouble getting super psyched about this. “It’s just a’ight for me.”
Edit- Added some vanilla almond milk, and a touch of Texas wildflower honey. Mmmmmmmm! Much better. Drew out the sweetness of the peanut butter.
Preparation
I think I may have to try this. Well, at least milk and honey. I have neither sugar or (horror) PB in the house right now.
I don’t usually like flavored black teas- I so much prefer to get my fix from flavored rooibos or honeybush… but this one smelled deliciously like raisins or even blueberries in the packet, so I was hopeful. Brewed, I definitely smelled the toast, but was a little wary because that’s pretty strange. Ok, sipping this I taste two things- the black tea, which is definitely there, and raisins- I can actually justify this on my palette as cinnamon raisin toast, which is bizarre. I’m not sure, though, if I would have come to this conclusion on the taste without the flavor suggestion on the packet. Trying to taste this without considering the name is hard, but I’m not sure I’d have liked it as much without preparing myself for something strange. With a little almond milk added I feel like the flavors even come out a bit more. I even tried a little agave nectar in this, because I have decided that a lot of flavored black teas need it… but it didn’t really change anything. I have to come down on the side of ‘this is just okay’. Thanks for hooking me up, K!
Preparation
I’m tempted to dock them a whole bunch of points for overcharging me by a ton on the loose tea that I bought at the same time, and putting way more in the bag than I initially asked for. Anyway, I generally dislike the way Teavana does business, but it’s the only tea shop in the mall, and if I’m in the mall then an iced tea is my consolation prize. So I got the Blueberry Bliss to go, iced in addition to my loose tea.
This one is really, really good iced. I’d probably hate it hot, but I love the combination of cold and blueberry-roobois. I picked this having had prior good experiences with this type of flavor. The SA seemed really confused that I didn’t want it sweetened and commented that Western women didn’t usually take their tea plain (She was Vietnamese). What can I say? I like unsweetened iced tea. Anyway, I’d drink this again… next time I’m in the maul- that is if I decide to give Teavana any more business.
Preparation
I’m not a huge fan of red fruit teas, particularly those with either hibiscus or rose-hips as primary ingredients, but I’ll try anything once! Alas, this one tastes just like all of the other types I don’t much like- like warm jell-o. I wanted to love it because of how delectable it smells in the pouch, and even in the cup. And the idea of Strawberries and Cream in a tea makes me salivate. But plegh. Please take this review with a grain of salt of you tend to enjoy berry fruit teas. (I feel badly, because Kristin gifted me with this- but it’s just not for me.)
Preparation
Not overly impressed with this, although black flavored teas almost never seem to wow me. This one gave me a bit of a dry mouth-feel, and tasted only slightly of sweet strawberry, but mostly of darjeeling? black tea. Next time, I’ll try steeping it 2 minutes rather than 3. I also tried my large cup with and without unsweetened vanilla almond milk- it didn’t actually make much of a difference either way. The tea smelled so good in the bag and while steeping that I was a bit disappointed not to like it.
Preparation
This is a delicious, unusual fruity tea! It’s got a pale sort of papaya sweetness with a hint of mango. I found it to be really relaxing, and tropical in a way that’s not overbearing. Plus, my first intro to ‘Green Bush’ aka green rooibos (which I could hardly taste in comparison to the lovely fruit). This would be amazing iced, but my sample might not last that long. It’s nice to taste a mostly fruit tea that I actually like. Perfect for the summer.
Man, you are not having any luck today! I can’t even imagine licorice in tea. bleah. Although I also liked Aveda’s tea.
Well I deliberately brought a couple of the ones I didn’t think I’d like to school with me so I’d be forced to try them using water cooler water. :)
Mmm, aveda tea :) I have a jar of it next to me…maybe I should make myself a cup :)
Y’know, I wish this had ended up tasting more like Aveda’s tea and less like it actually did. Blegh!