Zhena's Gypsy Tea: Coconut Chai

Steep time: 3-5 minutes

Ingredients: Indian black tea, cinnamon bark, Ginger root, cardamom seeds, whole cloves, orange peels, nutmeg, black pepper, coconut flavor, natural cinnamon oil.

Aroma: out of the packet the tea leaves have a sweet cinnamon coconut smell. Very sweet. After brewing tea has a strong cinnamon/clove/nutmeg smell. I like those scents, luckily, because they took up my kitchen.

Packaging: I like that they named the tea bag "100% biodegradable couture tea sachet", I agree. It has that unique triangle shape which allows the tea leaves to unfurl, and it has a thread, which I like because I can take the tea bag out by hand. It's bag packaging is a plastic-mix material which is recycleable and I would imagine would keep the tea fresh for a long time.

Tea Leaf Quality: Tea pieces & tea leaves. Before steeping I saw small tea chunks, after steeping I realize they are actually curled up tea leaves. There are also chunks of clove and Ginger root, I see actual orange peels, I see the cardamom seeds, I'm happy.

Taste: the bag describes the tea as full flavored black tea accented with exotic imperial spices. I didn't taste so much coconut (a bit disappointing because it is in the name), I tasted a lot of cinnamon, nutmeg, and nut. I felt like I was drinking a strong nutty tea. I definitely still liked it! The bag recommended that I add milk, I added French vanilla creamer - YUM!




Aroma 8/10
Packaging 10/10
Price 7/10
Taste 7.5/10
Tea Quality 9/10

Overall 8.3/10

Available @ http://www.gypsytea.com/

Choice Organic Teas: Estate Blend Darjeeling

             

Steep time: 4-5 minutes

Aroma: Dry tea bag has a subtle black tea scent. When brewed the tea has a naturally sweet scent. I liked the smell, it's like something I would wear, delicate perfumey scent.

Packaging: Packaged in Eco-friendly 100% recycled box, and natural fiber tea bag. I love the unique triangle shape the bag has, and I like that the bag is clear, I can actually see the tea.

Tea Leaf Quality: Tea pieces. I saw some leaves (broken up but not shredded or flaked) I saw a few stem like pieces, I'm impressed of the quality of tea in the bag. Not powdery, just simple - the way tea should be.

Taste: the bag describes the tea as a delicate black tea. I can't think of a better description! I didn't need sweetener or cream, the tea itself was great. Not sweet but flavorful. It didn't have a burnt or artificial flavor. I really like this tea, I will purchase it often.




Aroma 8/10
Packaging 10/10
Price 8/10
Taste 9/10
Tea Quality 8/10

Overall 8.6/10

Available @ http://www.choiceorganicteas.com/

Stash: Wild Raspberry herbal tea

Steep time: 2 minutes

Aroma: Dry tea bag doesn't really have a scent. When brewed there is a nice subtle and fruity- not sweet - scent.

Packaging: Packaged in simple paper, I like the hot pink color. The bag is thin mixed thread material.

Tea Leaf Quality: Tea flakes, nice colors, average size.

Taste: Subtle, and sweet. Doesn't taste like actual raspberries, tastes like raspberry candy. After cooling tea has a weird aftertaste. Like a sort of rotten aftertaste. Tea doesn't need sweetener, is great on it's own.

Aroma 6/10
Packaging 5/10
Price 9/10
Taste 6.5/10
Tea Quality 6/10

Overall 6/10

Tazo: Passion Herbal Infusion

Tazo® Passion™ is blended with exotic hibiscus flowers, natural flavors of mango and passion fruit, lemongrass and tart rose hips. The result is bold and flavorful.

Ingredients: Hibiscus flowers, natural tropical flavors, citric acid, licorice root, orange peel, cinnamon bark, rosehips, lemongrass, and fruit juice extract (color).

Steep Time: I guessed about 3 1/2 minutes, it did not say.

Aroma: WOW! This tea is jam packed with aroma. I can smell the fruity mango smell, I can smell the rose and I can definitely smell the hibiscus. Out of the package the tea is sweet, but not candy sweet, just floral and fruity, after steeping the tea aroma seems to fill up the whole front side of the house. Amazing and powerful aroma.

Packaging: It's packaged in thin paper- which while environmentally friendly- won't keep as fresh as tea packaged in aluminum. The tea bag itself is threaded, which is higher quality than that cheap waxy stuff that is sometimes used. 

Tea leaf quality: Large tea leaf flakes, varied color, texture shows through nice, not powdery, but not the actual leaf either. Average.

Taste: At first (right after steeping) the tea tastes sort of bitter (with no sweetener) but after I let it cool a bit, the bitter taste is gone, and its pretty flavorful. It has a strong lemon flavor, I can taste a hint of cinnamon, and when I add a little honey, I think it brings out (what I would imagine) a hibiscus tone.

Aroma 9/10
Packaging 5/10
Price 6/10
Taste 7/10
Tea Quality 6/10

Overall 7/10

Available @ http://www.starbucksstore.com/tazo-tea/

Bigelow Green Tea with pomegranate

Steep Time: 2-4 minutes.

Aroma, out of the packet the smell is more of a pomegranate lollipop than actual pomegranate. It's sweet, like too sweet. After steeping there really isn't an aroma unless you put your nose right over the cup.

Packaging, the tea bag is stored in aluminum, which I love. The actual tea bag is too waxy, I'm not sure if it's just the packet I got or if it's the norm. It isn't like the Earl Grey tea bags. It seems to be so waxy that there is a residue left on top of the tea after steeping.

Tea leaf quality, The tea itself is barely visible, it's more like tea powder or tea flakes than tea.

Taste, there isn't much of a taste. It doesn't taste like green tea or pomegranate, which is odd. It seems like they muted out both flavors to be able to mix them.

Overall I'm underwhelmed.

Switching to a 10 rating.

Aroma 3/10
Packaging 6/10
Price 9/10
Taste 4/10
Tea Quality 5/10
Overall 4/10

www.bigelow.com sold at most supermarkets. 

Bigelow Earl Grey Tea

This is my everyday tea choice. I adore Bigelow Earl Grey, it was the first tea I ever bought,and have had a cup every single day for 2 years (I even carry these little guys in my purse!). I usually drink it with Coffee Mate fat free French Vanilla (my go-to creamer) and honey.

I love that the tea stays fresh in the individual aluminum packaging and I like that there is no staple holding the bag together, it's tied.

Steep time is 2 minutes, if done any longer tea gets a bitter taste.

Price - 5/5

Aroma - 4/5

Packaging - 4/5

Flavor - 4/5

Overall - 4/5

www.bigelow.com sold at most supermarkets.