Teavana Goes Bottled

Stopping in at my local Starbuck's this week, I discovered that Teavana is now selling bottled iced tea.  Well, that sorts of demands that I try it.

The first bottle was Passion Tango Herbal Tea.  It tracks Teavana's Passion Tango tea blend fairly well.  It's fruity and sweet, but the hint of cinnamon in there makes it better than the average sweetened fruit tea.  I would dial back the hibiscus and the sweetener, myself, but that's a very personal taste issue.  If sweetened tea is your thing, it's pretty good.

On the other end of the spectrum was the Peach Green Tea.  This one definitely qualifies as "I drink bad tea so you don't have to."  It started out just fine, as a nice peachy green with very little sweetness.  But then the horrible grassy aftertaste reared up and smacked me in the palate, as though I'd been gargling with lawn cuttings.  I like a good grassy or leafy green tea.  This, however, was far too much grass for the taste of anyone not an equine.  The nasty aftertaste ruins what had been a perfectly workable slightly sweet green tea.

Thyra's Tea Tasting Party, part 3

Iseault’s Clewefull Green: (green tea, orange peels, natural pomegranate flavor, raspberry leaves, marigold flowers, raspberries, natural mandarin flavor)

Tastes accurately as it smells (and especially tastes as strong as it smells)

Very citrusy. Good summer tea

"I get more of the raspberry than citrus flavor" ..."I’m opposite."

Many folks don’t get citrus flavor.  It’s tart but not citrusy tart. 

Smells like Tealuxe's Vanilla 

Sabine’s Merry Melody: (assam black tea, lavender flowers, orange peels, blue cornflowers, natural vanilla flavor, natural bergamot flavor, natural creme flavor, red peppercorns)

Smells more aromatic when than it tastes Maybe needs milk?

Tastes like regular black tea with all the extra aromatics just in the nose. Not as warm as an Assam. Not as flavorful as Earl Grey. 

Would like it as a candle or sachets. Smells great.

The peppercorns did not come through, nor the lavender.

Want it to effervesce a little bit, like Sabine!

Sabine’s outfits make us think of hibiscus, for possible improvement. Want to turn it into a shortbread-accompaniment, we think it would go really well together. 

Not bad but doesn’t live up to any expectations.

Nataliia’s Chocolate Babka: (black tea, natural hazelnut flavor, natural caramel flavor, natural chocolate flavor, dark chocolate chips, cocoa nibs)

Everyone loves the smell.  Once brewed, smells like coconut or German chocolate cake

Has a mouth-filling quality, like good coffee.

Good dessert substitute when you’re too full for actual dessert. But also good with cinnamon cookies (and probably with gingerbread).  

"Yum, yum, yum!"

Good with milk – makes it taste more like babka

"Is there more?"

Lillia’s Blueberry Crampet: (black tea, rose hips, hibiscus, apple pieces, natural blueberry flavor, blueberries, raspberry leaves, lavender, cornflowers)

All getting different smells out of the tea tin (lots of rose, lots of hibiscus, and blueberry in combination).  Hibiscus is stronger in the nose, but not in the flavor

Differing opinions on the fruit elements: Good with cinnamon cookies, but the blueberry gets lost.  Blueberry flavor is there, but can be easily overwhelmed.  On the other hand, too fruity for some tasters

Extremely clean finish, no astringency. Very easy-drinking.

However, easily obscured by chocolate (e.g. accompanying cookies)

"Reminds me of blueberry cookies."

Elizabeth’s Danger Spice: (black tea, cinnamon bark, ginger root, natural pumpkin spice flavor, natural gingerbread flavor, cloves, natural caramel flavor, orange peels, marigold flowers, cardamom)

Surprisingly un-aromatic when steeped.  Some folks definitely get the caramel, not everyone.  Not rich caramel, just a hint.

Bitter, with a big empty place in the middle. Very sorry to be reporting this![1]

[1] (Its namesake really likes it, but I am open to suggestions for improving it)

Boardwalk Creamsicle: (decaf ceylon tea, black tea, orange peels, safflower, natural vanilla flavor, natural creme flavor, natural orange flavor)

We like it! (Universal crowd pleaser) Like a really light orange cake

For some, it's all orange flavor, no creamsicle, but that’s just fine. Others definitely get the crème.  Also good with milk in it.  Very clean finish. 

Super great with milk. But also good without. Neither really is superior, just different. This surprises us, since usually it’s more distinct which way is better.

Thyra's Tea Tasting Party, part 2

Elizabeth’s Caramel Apple Moxie: (black tea, cinnamon bark, ginger root, cardamom, cloves, orange peels, cinnamon, apple pieces, natural caramel flavor, natural apple flavor, natural cinnamon flavor)

Smells like little old lady at the Christmas Tree Shops down the Cape (in a good way – evoking fond memories of Yankee women). Strong aroma but mellow flavor. Might have needed more steeping (3 minutes may not be enough). Definitely getting the caramel flavor, less so the apple. Probably good with sweetener. 

Frasier’s Mustache: (gunpowder green tea, lapsang souchong tea, lemon grass)

Smells like a fencer.... It smells like a peaty Scotch!... Yeah, smells like a fencer. 

Yep, smells like Frasier.

The flavor is much less intense than the aroma (phew!). It’s reminiscent of Scottish breakfast tea, with an earthy tone. There’s a flavor in it that gives it a little bite (lemon?), which is nice. But the aroma gets to be much. 

Mercedes’ Citrus de Califia: (green tea, lemon grass, orange peels, marigold flowers, natural orange flavor, natural lemon flavor, lemon verbena)

The scent is pleasantly lemony. It’s a lovely change of pace after Frasier’s Mustache (like cleaning up after fencer crud with pleasant lemon cleaner!). Super-pleasant. Citrusy without being bitter or sour, no sharp flavors.

It is, indeed, Mercedes the Peacemaker, come to make our Kingdom whole. Wouldn’t sweeten it, but pairs nicely with sweet treats (particularly coconut macaroons). 

Avelina’s Wicked Chai: (black tea, yunnan jig tea, wuyi ensemble tea, cloves, ginger root, ginger, cardamom, natural vanilla flavor, natural cinnamon flavor, cinnamon bark)

Surprisingly mild. Expected to be punched in the face. Good blend of flavors.  Needs more cardamom, and perhaps sugar.

Maggie’s ChocolateChip Mint: (green tea, spearmint, peppermint, cocoa nibs, natural chocolate mint flavor, peppermint leaves)

Ooh! Ooh, yes.  Mmmmm.  The smell makes me happy.

Definite crowd pleaser. Nice clean taste, both of the mint and the chocolate. Good after-dinner tea, or good sick-at-home tea.

Thyra's Tea Tasting Party, part 1

+Karen Veale and friends conducted several tea-tasting parties sampling some of my Adagio specialty blends.   They've generously permitted me to post their reviews.

At each party, the way it would work: Each person got to choose a tea from the list of un-tasted teas. I would pass around the tin so everyone could smell it before it was brewed. I would make one small pot of tea (about 2 normal servings), trying to steep it for the recommended time, or 3 minutes as a baseline. I would divide up the pot between 5-7 small teacups, for a small serving of each.  We would comment on the smell of the brewed tea before drinking it. 

We took our time with each cup and ate a few bites with most cups, to see how that changed the opinions. People were not required to finish their serving, though usually they did. Usually we didn't put any sweetener or milk in, and if we did, it was after tasting it "neat." We thought we would get through the samplers faster and have the chance to go back and try them with additives, but it's been hard to schedule one every month.  

The snacks each time have been different, usually on the sweet side but with some variety (I realize this is not good scientific method!). 

Session 1: 

Thyra’s Flamingo Chai: (black tea, lemon grass, ginger root, cinnamon bark, dried coconut, cardamom, natural coconut flavor)

Everyone liked it. We are used to chai with milk, but we think a) it wouldn’t work with it, and b) it doesn’t need it. Maybe the coconut takes the place of milk? 

Aife’s Irish Wisdom: (black tea, natural hazelnut flavor, natural forest berries flavor, raspberry leaves, raspberries, strawberries)

Not everyone tastes the berry flavor, but some wanted less. Some thought it was a little bitter. It tasted better when tasted with food.

Meggie’s Bad Idea Mate: (toasted mate tea, cinnamon bark, ginger root, orange peels, dark chocolate chips, natural spice flavor, natural chocolate flavor, natural hazelnut flavor, marigold flowers)

Tastes the way that coffee smells; tastes like a mocha coffee; this tastes just like of my winter cookies; this is a winter tea

Bruni’s Green Tea: (green tea, white tea, orange peels, natural mandarin flavor, marigold flowers, natural bergamot flavor, blue cornflowers, ginger)

Mostly straight up green tea. Maybe a little extra flavor at the finish, but hard to identify.

Goldie Chai: (black tea, orange peels, rose hips, hibiscus, cinnamon bark, ginger root, natural orange flavor, cocoa nibs, natural chocolate flavor, natural cinnamon flavor)

Lovely color. Very orangey, not very chocolate (which is a nice balance). Fruity without any weird aftertastes. Nice and light, quite pleasant. Expect it to be good iced. Universally liked. 

Engracia’s Pumpkin Gingerbread: (black tea, cinnamon bark, ginger root, natural pumpkin spice flavor, cloves, natural gingerbread flavor, marigold flowers, orange peels, cardamom, cinnamon, ginger)

The black tea has an acerbity that we didn’t love. It didn’t come across as pumpkin or even pumpkin spice – pretty much just gingerbread, and even then the non-black-tea flavor isn’t enough to balance the black tea. Not bad, but not exciting.

Marion’s Vanilla Mint: (decaf ceylon tea, spearmint, peppermint, natural vanilla flavor)

Delightful. Smells fantastic. More body than a straight-up mint tea. Good balance of flavors. No weird aftertaste. Crowd pleaser.

Bad Tea Chronicles: Arteasan Black Tea with Blueberry and Ginseng

Today I discovered I don't like ginseng.   I've had teas that purport to have ginseng flavors in them before without objecting to them.  But this . . . whatever it is, well it's simply awful.

Arteasan is a new line of bottled iced teas now being carried by my local upscale grocery store.  I've quite liked the Green Tea with Passionfruit and Elderberry (which is what I was going to write about today before I put this other awful substance in my mouth).  The Black Tea with Blueberry and Ginseng, however, is powerfully wretched.

It is so wretched, in fact, that I am currently eating Cheetos simply to get the taste of it out of my poor unfortunate mouth.   I drink bad tea so you don't have to.

I detect absolutely no blueberry flavor in this swill whatsoever.  I don't even taste any tea, despite black tea "extract" allegedly being the first ingredient.  All I get is an initial dry almost powdery taste of too much ginseng, followed by a horrid cloying sweetness that attempts to claw its way off of my tongue and escape back to whatever Lovecraftian cesspool spawned it.

And what the hell is guarana seed?  Oh, it's some sort of New Age-y alternative to caffeine.  I'll take my caffeine in its natural leafy form as Nature intended, thank you very much.

For reasons that pass my understanding I bought two bottles of this, and I have valuable prizes for anyone willing to drink that second bottle.   The first bottle has been pored down the toilet to kill the alligators breeding in the sewers.