ToLife

I don’t mind cleaning the slots in the glass infuser with a toothbrush IF I have enjoyed the rooibus-infused liquor which passed through them. After these cups, I minded. If you must know more about my encounter with this cursed abomination, read my earlier tasting note. A blend is not necessarily better than, or even equal to, its ingredients, this being a case in point.
P.S. It’s the green rooibus. It just tastes nasty to me. Tastes so different than regular, red, fermented rooibus! After that 2nd bad experience, I put the ToLife tea in a screen colander and sifted out the rooibus. What was left was better stuff, in my book.

I had this again tonight after I came to the realization that I doesn’t and wont taste the way I assumed it would…sooooo I went into this with an open mind and it is actually quite good. It’s sweet, fruity and has a nice lingering jasmine that is in there as well. I like it better this go around, and so I will bump it up on the rating a bit.

Primarily I can make out nice large white tea buds, Jasmine green tea pearls, cornflower petals and green rooibos needles. There’s more there, but those are the highlights. The aroma is somewhat fruity (guava and passion fruit) and somewhat floral (jasmine).

The liquor brews to a stunningly beautiful orange gold color. The aroma from the loose material migrates more to the fruity side than the floral side. The aroma from the liquor is much more subtle, but has similar trends.

The flavor is much more astringent than the smooth aroma eludes to. I figured this for a creamier tea based on the aroma, though the ingredients should have pointed to a more puckery assertion. I guess you can blame that one on me. The fruity overtones start the flavor profile while the floral notes combine for the finish and an unusually long tail.

I’ve been bad at updating recently, I caught a cold with the sudden drop in temperature and now my nose is completely congested all the time. And my order from 52teas came, and I’ve been drinking the last of this tea since I have no more free tins.

I really do love this tea. The rooibos adds a great flavor to the white tea, and It’s so perfect to drink before bed. Not a strong flavor, but not still flavorful. I will miss having this tea around when I finish the last of it tomorrow. Even when I forget it’s steeping, it still comes out perfect, no bitterness at all. It has been such a good tea to have around, I will probably have to buy it again at some point!

I don’t even know where to begin with this one. It was one of a bunch I ordered from teavana. And though I tried to pick very diverse teas, I must admit, this was not one that I was most excited about. That all changed at first sniff. It has a lovely, satisfying bouquet of florals, specifically the jasmine, and citrus. It smells like heavy spring, when everything around you is most alive. Drinking it in the dead of winter, this made it all the more alluring to me, as I was transported in the first sip. Between this, and the quality that something within it reminds me only of a hard, powdery candy I used to get from the quarter machine at the grocery store as a child, this tea brings me the warmth and life of springtime, coupled with striking youthful nostalgia. Could there be any better combination?

This is one of my favorite teas from Teavana. It is also one of the first I discovered so maybe I’m a bit partial to it. I’m not a big Rooibos fan, so I do sift through and make sure I have enough silver needle and pearls to blend with the Rooibos Tropica in this one. Seems to only really be good for one steep and you definitely have to use a fine strainer to get all those tiny pieces out unless you don’t mind them at the bottom of your cup.

I love this tea. It’s just the right amount of lightness and fruity. One of my biggest complaints with tea is that feeling it leaves at the back of your throat, but this tea has yet to do that to me. It has a very light feel to it, but with a little bit of fruity above it.

Sometimes I add a teaspoon of honey to it if I’m having a sweet tooth moment, and lately I’ve been adding berries. I simply throw the berries in the bottom of the mug, mash them with a spoon and then steep the tea right there in with it. I don’t like to do this with dark teas because it’s harder to pick up on the light flavor of berry (I usually only throw in 3 depending on the size).

One thing I think is particularly great about this tea is that I usually get 3 good steeps out of it before I finally throw it out. The leaves still smell great after the 3rd steep so I’m itching to try for a 4th. It also tastes perfectly fine after if it’s cooled down, so I can take it to go and not have to worry about drinking it fast. I really like a lot of bang for my buck, so this is a definite plus for me.

one of my favorites. best smelling tea ive found. so many parts its difficult to make sure you get one bit in each ball. floral and fruity. pearls r fun. resteeps

Opening a canister of ToLife® is like opening a treasure chest. There’s so much to see – tiny rooibos sprigs, banana-shaped silver-green buds (Silver Needle), rolled balls of jasmine leaves, dried rosebuds, and all the little fruit pieces listed above, with strawberry being the most common. Each teaspoon of this tea differs from the last for this reason. Sometimes it brings up mostly rooibos and fruit, other times jasmine rolls with silver needles. The variety explains why each cup of ToLife® offers a unique experience to tea drinkers.

Now, ToLife®’s aroma…. Ohhhhhhh. Imagine fruity, floral, and jasmine mingling together in a seductive dance that whispers, “Come try me.” The fruitiness emerges more once the tea’s been brewed, but it’s not cloying. And, the brew’s golden-orange color is breathtaking. I’d go so far as to describe this tea as sunrise-colored, since I see a pinkish hue in there too.

I’m used to brewing ToLife® for about 4 minutes. That was Teavana’s recommended brew time when I first tried the tea, and I’ve stuck to it since then. And when steeped for that amount of time, ToLife® delivers on all its promises. You get a bright, sweet cup of perfectly balanced floral and fruit, with hints of jasmine, and a cleansing smoothness from start to finish. It’s also more delicate than the initial aroma implies. I consider that a strength, though, because the drink still presents a surprising array of flavors. If ToLife® were any heavier, it might come out syrupy (yuck!) and too bombastic in flavor, as some fruity teas do.

I was curious, though: How would ToLife® taste when steeped for only 1 to 2 minutes, as Teavana calls for now? For the sake of this review, I experimented with the shorter brew time… and it’s not bad. The color and fragrance is about the same as with the 4-minute brew, but the taste lacks the nuances it should have. (The jasmine, for example, is barely detectable.) Those extra couple minutes therefore prove to be crucial in making a true quality cup of ToLife®.

TTB 4: This is a backlog from Friday. The office was busier that day so I didn’t get a chance to write this then.
This tea was vaguely fruity and slightly tart. Not much special as far as I remember.