Awake English Breakfast

Remember how I said that the first time I had this it sucked and the second time was better? Well, with just enough milk to barely change the color and one teaspoon of sugar, it tastes positively malty with a hint of caramel. I had to go back for my second bag it hit the spot so hard.

I have a feeling that this would make a really good tea latte if I had the right tools for it. I don’t think I would go out and buy a whole box of this, but I don’t think I would turn it down anymore. With the right preparation and patience, it isn’t half bad!

Rich, bold, and robust. It hit the spot and it may have put that extra spring in my step that I so desperately needed. I feel this one would do in a pinch.

Basically just trying to use this up! Not much else to say about it, to be honest.

Backlog from Friday morning. Yes, I have a lot of backlogging to do!

This tea is alright. I love Tazo, however, this tea is very, very, very bold. And I don’t like too many bold teas. Also, since this is my most recent cup, the bags are older now and kind of beat up. So they aren’t the best quality anymore.

Smell: Black tea, bold

Taste: A very rich, bold tea with a small hint of cinnamon. Not bad, but not great. I put some sweet coffee creamer in, and it made it taste like vanilla soymilk, and it was actually really yummy. So this is one of those iffy teas that can sometimes be brilliant and other times be not so great.

Got to have this again today. Have been away on break and missed it! Also got to have it in my favorite mug reading: What is Anthropology? The tea was still delicious and gave me the caffeine boost I needed to unpack.

This really isn’t tea, as far as I’m concerned. It’s bitter, astringent water, and really doesn’t hold flavor at all. Had I known that black tea could taste so much of nothing, I never would’ve steeped this. Unfortunately, my taste buds have become a little to discerning for their own good, and now I desperately await my mum’s package of tea. (Does that make me a bad person? Derp.)

A review of Awake (Black Tea) by Tazo Tea

Company: Tazo
Tea Name: Awake
Tea Type/Varietal: Black
Region:
Steeping Vessel/Amt. Leaf: cup/ teabag
Plucking Season:
Liquor Color: bright orange red
Leaf Characteristics:

1st Steeping:
Water temperature: 200 Fahrenheit
Time: 5 minutes

I have been enjoying this one Tazo tea bag for most of the day. I took the tea bag and put it in my cup and pour the boiling water into my cup and left it to steep for a good five minutes. I than took my cup to view the tea’s color which is a lovely reddish orange cup of tea. At first there does not seem to be an aroma; nothing prevalent to permeate the air or my nostrils. Upon sipping the tea, however, I am met with a full bodied cup of tea which is smooth and creamy with a slight malt taste.

Overall, this tea has no after taste and is not bitter at all. It stands on its own with no sugar or cream added and as one drinks the tea it taste as good as first to the last drop. Tea is just as described on package “A lovely tea of boldness, depth and character, invigorating any time of day.

This another one of the tea bags obtained while volunteering at The Massachusetts Conference for Women.

Dragging my feet this morning from a late night at work. Thought I’d try to see if it woke me up.
Tea is pretty bitter, although this is my first black tea. Added a little honey to be able to drink it. Not really feeling anymore awake.

This scenario has played out more times than I’d like to admit:

“Oh, a Starbucks! I love coffee, but I could really go for a tea right now. Since I love black tea, I think I’ll get a cup of this Awake thing. What could go wrong?”

There has never been a time when I have not regretted this decision.

Unlike their coffee, which is decent, Starbucks [by way of Tazo] rarely fails to disappoint with their tea. Awake is way too harsh, without even bringing much real flavor. I’ll never get this one again. However, I have once found a way for it to be drinkable: get one bag of this, and one bag of whatever blend they have of unflavored black and oolong teas [the name escapes me and it’s not on Steepster]. Steep it extra-short, under 3 min, and add milk. You may wind up with one of the only black(ish) teas at Starbucks that does not immediately cause remorse.

I reach for this whenever I feel like a little extra kick in the morning but this time I needed the kick just to keep going. With the temps starting to creep toward 100, I’m beginning to drag. It seemed to help but I think that I needed to double brew.