Awake English Breakfast

Had this one again this morning, and I’m lowering the rating a bit. It seems I was a bit overzealous in my first review. Or maybe I had just been deprived a good breakfast tea for so long I forgot what they were supposed to taste like. In any case, in between my first cup and this one, I had New Zealand Breakfast, and this one doesn’t even compare. It is a malty, full-feeling black tea blend, but it’s just not on the same standard at the NZ Breakfast. It’s nice, though. So I won’t lower it too much.

Sitting in Starbucks, having my first bit of tea in months. I got out of the tea habit when it got hot and combined with my complete inability to make iced tea, well, means no good tea for me.

I have had this tea before and it hasn’t gotten any better since the last time I had it, and was not helped by my inability to control all the variables, especially considering the fact that I ordered one of the herbal teas and therefore did not pay much attention to the steeping time.

Anyway, this is strong and malty but ultimately more bitter than I like with the amount of sugar that I am willing to put in it. I will make my next refill (for free since I’m a green level member or whatever the term is) the herbal I originally ordered, assuming they are still open. I am spending a lit of time here since I am out of work on a medical leave of absence right now. They also said they would give me free hot water if I brought my own tea, just have to get a thermometer because they use the same temperature for all of them.

At any rate, it’s nice to be back on steepster., even if it is hard to navigate the site on my phone.

K Cup version

I like the K Cup version better than the bag.

It’s really intense…bold…robust! Leaves a bit of an aftertaste but a nice tea offering for K Cups if you are up for a very sturdy tea.

I’m not saying I LOVE it but it is better than the bagged version.
higher 70s rating for K-Cup version.

I like this tea because when I forget about it, it doesn’t go bitter. The flavors are pretty decent for a bagged tea. Malty, dark chocolatey, sweet, rich. This is a tea I will ALWAYS have in my cupboard. It’s great when I don’t have much time or I’m feeling lazy and want something tasty.

had this tea at brunch with my friend Emily.
she is the first lady i ever met that drank tea enthusiastically.
and for my birthday, she made me a freakin quilt!! http://instagram.com/p/dUJE4Vo3x7/
i mean seriously!?!?! she’s the awesomest person ever!

i also drank an entire carafe of bellini myself. yo birthday yo.

Today I bought my coffee beans at the Starbucks on campus, and they offered me a free cup of coffee. I asked if I could have tea instead and they said sure! so I thought it would be a good opportunity to try the whole leaf version for free!

It is an improvement. Still weak but a touch more flavor. Less bitter but still some bitterness. All in all, a very lackluster tea. Bumping the rating up a bit since it is an improvement over the previous version, but I can’t recommend.

Having a cup of this with honey and a spoon or two of sugar. The honey really softens the bitterness of this tea. It’s much smoother and heartier to me when prepared this way, plus the shorter steep caused it to be less harsh than the last cup I made. It’s good. I also really enjoy the sweet scent the honey adds to it right before I take a sip.

Thank you Sare for this sample.

The bag itself is filled with finely, somewhat powdered black tea that smells a little dusky and rich.

Once steeped and a drop of milk is added a strong and sweet yet malty tea is created. It’s better than what I was expecting in honesty, it’s natural sweetness is enough to cover the dusty somewhat musky taste that bagged tea has. The malt is also of good strength which is great for those of us that prefer a stronger brew. I can also taste a dark fruitiness amongst the malty rich black tea and there has been no bitterness so far.

This is one of the only Tazo Teas that I would not mind having more of on my shelf. It says what it does on the bag, it’s strong with a good caffeine kick…what more could I ask for? :)

After staring so hard at a writing project for three twelve-hour days I fear falling headfirst into the monitor, I scrounged around for the strongest wake-up tea to hand. This was it. It’s not a fussy tea—which is great in makeshift circumstances. Not sure I can detect any significant flavor differences between Awake and good ol’ Red Rose, but it is strong and capable. Some afternoons, that’s all you need in the cup.

After that Harney and Sons tea this morning, this Tazo tea just does not compete. Sans additions, it is really bitter. With additions, it’s just a weak, noncomplex drink posing as tea. It would do in a pinch, but it’s not something I’ll stock.