This is everything you want in a dessert tea. And, Glazed Lemon Loaf is the perfect name for it…that’s EXACTLY what it tastes like. The aroma is both sweet and buttery, almost a buttered popcorn aroma when you first open it. Who doesn’t love butter?!?! That first sip has you hooked; it’s just a hint of lemony goodness with creamy sweet vanilla that is reminiscent of a fresh lemon pound cake. This is one of those teas that is so good, you could devour a full box within a few days; but on the other hand, you want to drink slowly and enjoy for fear of running out. It’s a double edged sword. It’s just that good!
This is a great choice if you’re watching your weight (which I always am) and need a sweet treat. You can literally have our cake and DRINK it too! I highly recommend using a little bit of you favorite sweetener for this tea; I found that it really enhanced everything about it and made it truly taste like dessert. I steeped one bag in boiling water for 5 minutes, just as the package directed and it came out perfect. I used just a small amount of agave syrup to sweeten. The best part? If caffeine keeps you up, you’re in luck; this tea is caffeine free! Completely guilt free indulgence!
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Tazo
Description
Craving a glazed lemon loaf? Heat your oven to 350 degrees, grease a pan, mix in eggs, sugar, yogurt, and whisk vigorously. Stir in lemon zest, vanilla, and flour. Bake for 50 minutes. Or just brew this tea in your favorite cup. We’re a fan of both approaches.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Product Review: Organic Golden Amber Bottled Iced Tea from Tazo
Product Information:
Oolong tea unfolds its floral honey and light caramel essence, resting on a blanket under the midday sun and sprinkling sweet sugar cane on a pillow of daydreams.
Learn more about this product here.
Taster’s Review:
My oldest daughter brought me a bottle of this tea recently, so I figured I’d give it a try. I can’t recall ever having tried a RTD Oolong tea, so this may very well be a first for me!
The first thing that I notice is that there is no sediment at the bottom of the bottle. This appeals to me immediately, because that sediment … just isn’t attractive. Yeah, I know, just give it a shake and then it dispenses the sediment throughout the tea. But, I’m drinking that! I strain the tea that I brew myself before I drink it because I don’t like floaties in my tea. The fact that the sediment is there means floaties if I shake it into the tea, or if I don’t, I may be sacrificing flavor. I don’t like either option.
So, when I find a RTD tea without the sediment, I’m a happy tea drinker. I’m also happy about the ingredient list here:
Water, Organic Oolong Tea, Organic Cane Sugar, Citric Acid.
Woot! I’ve been kind of hard on Tazo products in the past, and for good reason, but, this one … this one may just be worthy of some praise.
My first impression: Not too sweet! I’m liking that immediately. It has a light sweetness to it, it doesn’t taste syrupy or like it’s more sugar than tea. That’s my biggest problem with the RTD teas. They’re way too sweet. I am liking that while there is a pleasing honey-caramel sweetness to this, it isn’t an overpowering element, and I think that some of these sweet notes are coming from the Oolong tea and not the sugar.
My biggest complaint about this is probably that it’s chilled. Sure, I like iced tea. It’s a great refresher. But, I think Oolong needs to be served hot to get the most flavor out of it. I have on occasion made iced Oolong tea, but I usually use a Formosa Oolong for this because the deeper flavor of the Oolong isn’t too transformed by the chill. Something happens to the flavor of tea when it goes from hot to cold. Sometimes … it works, and sometimes it doesn’t. With Oolongs, I find that the flavors begin to mute and there is such a lovely complexity to an Oolong that you don’t want to obscure it by chilling it.
But, I am still getting a nice Oolong flavor here. I’m picking up on some floral notes and hints of fruit notes (peach). It’s sweet and it has that thick texture that I’ve come to expect from an Oolong.
I’d give this tea extra points for the fact that it’s a RTD that’s not too sweet. Bonus points for that! I’d subtract a few points, though, because I’m missing the complexity that I seek when I sit down to enjoy an Oolong. That said, it’s a refreshing beverage that if I were to see this in the refrigerated section of a convenience store and I’m thirsty, I just might grab it based solely on the fact that I’m pleased that it’s not overly sweet, it’s made from organic ingredients and there’s not a heavy sediment collection at the bottom of the bottle.
Iced Black Tea from Tazo
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Learn more about Tazo on their website.
Tea Description:
Certain feats, like executing a reverse swan dive into a shimmering pool while wearing a pair of Euro-cut trunks and a captain’s hat, out only be attempted by a select few. This blend of black teas has the kind of cool, smooth sophistication to pull off a move like that, should it choose to do so.
Taster’s Review:
I received a box of this Iced Black Tea from Tazo from a friend, and while I certainly appreciated her generosity and thoughtfulness, I also appreciated that I didn’t actually buy this tea myself. I would have been sorely disappointed had I done so.
That’s because this is one of the most mediocre teas I’ve tasted in a long time. The thing that I appreciated most about this tea is that it helped me realize just how good the other iced teas that I’ve been drinking lately really are.
I tried brewing this many different ways. I first tried cold brewing the tea, and this produced a rather flat and boring tasting tea. Then I tried resteeping those tea bags – hot brewing the tea this time – and the results were much the same: boring tea. Not much flavor to them at all. And I wasn’t even looking for “flavoring” type of flavor, I was just looking for a good, brisk, refreshing black tea flavor. But I didn’t get that.
Then I tried hot brewing new (previously unsteeped) teabags. Again … just sort of lackluster. This is the kind of flavor I’d expect from the tea in the yellow, white and red box, but not from a tea that is supposed to be at least one notch above that brand. But after trying to brew this tea several different ways, there was nothing I could do to make this tea taste good. The problem wasn’t with the brewing method, but the tea itself.
A really sad tea. It’s tea like this that leaves a bad taste in the mouths of those that claim not to like tea. I wouldn’t like tea either if this is all that I had to drink.
Cucumber White Tea from Tazo
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Learn more about Tazo here.
Tea Description:
A replenishing blend of delicate white tea, real cucumber and lime peel.
Taster’s Review:
I had my reservations about this tea. First of all, when I think Tazo, my first thought is of Steven Smith, who started Tazo. And then I’m reminded that this company was later acquired by Starbucks and in my opinion, they ruined it.
So, now, my happy thoughts of Tazo and Steven Smith (aka the rock star of tea!) have been tainted by Starbucks and speedy, spendy coffee. But as I prepared this Cucumber White Tea from Tazo, I decided not to let my notions (be they ill-conceived or not) affect my opinion of this particular tea experience. I would do my best to go into this moment with an open mind.
When I opened the pouch, I smelled the lime. The cucumber, not so much. The taste is similar: I taste lime. I don’t taste a lot of cucumber here. I do taste some white tea notes: fresh, light, and almost melon-esque with hints of the air in the countryside after a hay field has been cut. I can also taste SOME cucumber notes … but they are diminished by the presence of the lime.
The lime tastes tart and slightly bitter. I can taste the pithy taste of the lime peel. But it also has a bright, juicy taste too … I can taste all of the lime here, as well as the crisp notes of the white tea. I just find myself wishing I tasted more cucumber. After all, this tea is called Cucumber White Tea.
Overall, it’s not a terrible tea. It has a light, refreshing taste with a bright acidity from the lime. Not bad … just not great.
PRODUCT REVIEW: Giant Peach Green Tea & Peach Flavored Juice Blend from Tazo
Product Information:
Peach is such a happy-go-lucky fruit, brimming with golden possibilites. When it’s mixed with ripe apple and the easy smoothness of green tea, you can’t help but run barefoot through the tall grass.
To Learn more about Tazo Tea, visit their website.
Taster’s Review:
While shopping this evening at my local grocery store, I picked up a bottle of this ready-to-drink Giant Peach Green Tea & Peach flavored Juice Blend from Tazo. I don’t usually even bother to stop and browse through the supermarket’s selection of RTD teas, because it’s been my experience that these convenient beverages are more sweetener than they are tea. And I like tea. I like the taste of it. I find myself put off a bit when the flavor is overpowered by sweetener. It’s not just disappointing … it’s almost an insult!
But something about this particular bottle of tea caught my eye. I think it was because there wasn’t any sediment that had built up at the bottom of the bottle. This was clear. I don’t know if that really means anything to any of you. I just don’t like it when I buy a bottle of anything and all the flavor seems to be settled at the bottom of it, and I have to shake to distribute this “sediment.”
As far as a Peach flavored Juice blend, this is … well, this is sweet. It tastes like peach. It’s sweet. I taste notes of apple. It is very fruity. It’s sweet. Did I mention that already? Well, that’s because it’s really sweet. Too sweet for my liking, but, I guess I can see how some might find this appealing. Someone who likes sweet drinks might really like this.
As far as a “tea” goes … this isn’t doing anything for me. I taste next to no tea flavor in this. And that’s really a very generous statement to suggest that there might be some tea flavor to this. If I slurp it as I sip, I can pick up hints of green tea-ish taste. But, it’s very faint. It’s barely there. It’s so barely there that it’s not even worth trying to taste it.
This was not a tea drink that was crafted for someone who actually likes tea. Perhaps I should say that this was not a tea drink that was crafted for me. You might like it. If you’re looking for a peach juice cocktail type drink, I think you’ll enjoy this. If you’re looking for a tea drink with peach notes, I believe that this is going to leave you feeling at least a little disappointed.