Category: Review

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Celestial Seasonings’s Wild Berry Zinger

Wild Berry Zinger by Celestial Seasonings
Fruit Infusion / Flavoured
$3.49USD for 47g (20 tea bags)

First Impressions

Remember that time I talked about the Fruit Tea Sampler from Celestial Seasonings and how I was planning to drink through the whole thing? Yeah, week two! Wild Berry Zinger also came in a sealed packet with all of the tea bags inside. I’m quite pleased with the aroma of this one because it has a nice field berry aroma that reminds me of field berry yoghurt that also has a heavy raspberry aroma which is quite nice.

Wild Berry Zinger consists of the following ingredients: hibiscus, rosehips, roasted chicory, orange peel, blackberry leaves, natural flavours of black raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, red raspberries, cranberries, cherries with other natural flavours, and citric acid. I did tear open the tea bag, and noted that most of the ingredients aren’t really discernible.

Preparation

Celestial Seasonings recommends using boiling water (100°C/212°F) water and steep for 4 to 6 minutes. Celestial Seasonings recommends adding sweetener while it is hot, and if you desire to drink Wild Berry Zinger iced, to cool before adding to ice. My initial steep of Wild Berry Zinger was using 100°C water for 5 minutes.

First Taste

Wild Berry Zinger steeps to a dark cloudy red tisane. The aroma is very much ‘berry’, with a light floral note in the background. I noticed that the flavour was a blend of sweet, tart, and fruity. It’s very pleasant, and the tart notes provides a nice mouth pucker effect. It has a nice level of sweetness to it, so I don’t think it really needs sweetener (although I’d recommend a nice local honey if you wanted to sweeten it).

I do think Wild Berry Zinger would be good as an iced tea, with the balance of sweet and tart. It would also probably pair very well with a slice of lemon or a slash of lemonade (and a handful of ice).

A Second Cup?

An attempt at resteeping Wild Berry Zinger reminded me why I don’t usually resteep tisanes. The flavour wasn’t particularly great and I would recommend steeping Wild Berry Zinger just the one time.

My Overall Impression

I liked Celestial Seasonings’s Wild Berry Zinger. I found the flavour to be quite pleasant, and the balance between sweet and tart to be really fun. It makes for a very nice hot tea, and I think it’d be great for an iced tea and would definitely love to have it in the summertime when it’s hotter out (drinking it on a grey afternoon probably really isn’t showcasing it to the fullest potential).

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Trader Joe’s Candy Cane Green Tea

Candy Cane Green Tea by Trader Joe’s
Green Tea / Flavoured
$1.99USD for 39g (20 tea bags)

First Impressions

I’m forever fascinated by Trader Joe’s – I think it’s mostly because the stores and their products aren’t available in Canada and that is part of their charm! So I’m sharing my thoughts on the Candy Cane Green Tea, which is a decaffeinated seasonal offering. Like the Harvest Blend Herbal Tea, it’s happily illustrated (with a bonus narwhal on inside flap of box). The tea comes in a cardstock box that is sealed under cellophane. Inside the box, the tea bags are inside of a waxed paper pouch that is resealable.

Candy Cane Green Tea is a delightfully minty smelling blend and the ingredients in this seasonally appropriate green tea blend are: peppermint, decaffeinated green tea, orange peel, natural flavours, cinnamon, milk thistle seed, blackberry leaves, roasted carob pods, vanilla beans and roasted chicory. There is hidden soy in this green tea blend though – there’s soy bean oil used to roast the chicory root.

Preparation

Trader Joe’s recommends heating water to “just below boiling” and allowing it to cool before steeping the tea for 3 minutes. I opted to use my variable temperature kettle and heat water to 175°F (79°C) and steeped the tea for 3 minutes.

First Taste

Candy Cane Green Tea steeps to a golden brown colour. There’s a strong minty aroma from the steeped tea, which is what I was expecting considering what the dry leaf smelled like. The flavour is a mixture of minty and sweet. The peppermint aroma is strong and I like it. It does make me think of candy canes, which is such a quintessential holiday flavour. There’s a hint of vanilla in the background, which make it all the more well-rounded in terms of flavour. I don’t really taste the green tea base, but that’s perfectly fine considering I’m drinking it more for the minty goodness than anything else.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Candy Cane Green Tea but found that the peppermint wasn’t nearly as strong as the initial steep. I would say that Candy Cane Green Tea is good for just the one steep.

My Overall Impression

I loved Trader Joe’s Candy Cane Green Tea. I love a good seasonal tea, and the peppermint in this green tea blend really ticked all the boxes for me. Luckily, unlike my favourite mint-laced black teas, Candy Cane Green Tea is decaffeinated, which means I’m able to drink it at all times of the day and be less concerned about the caffeine hindering me from sleeping (a nice option for shift workers). Bonus, it’s an inexpensive holiday tea option that’s going to work with me that’ll be good for both twelve-hour day and night shifts alike – and it’s very tasty!

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Celestial Seasonings’s Country Peach Passion

Country Peach Passion by Celestial Seasonings
Fruit Infusion / Flavoured
$3.49USD for 41g (20 tea bags)

First Impressions

I picked up the Fruit Tea Sampler a while back and sort of forgot that I had it (why do I keep doing that?), so decided when I rediscovered it in my tea stash that I should give it a try. This sampler consists of five fruit infusions, each of which will be getting their own review so I can properly give attention to each one.

The first of which is Country Peach Passion, which came with 3 tea bags packaged in a thick foil wrapper to keep the tea fresh. The tea bags are simple square bags, with no string. The aroma of the dry leaf is peachy with a hint of floral notes in the background.

Country Peach Passion consists of: orange peel rosehips, hawthorn, chamomile, natural peach flavour with other natural flavours, blackberry leaves, hibiscus, peaches, citric acid and paprika (for colour),

Preparation

Celestial Seasonings recommends pouring freshly boiled water (100°C/212°F) water over 1 tea bag and to steep for 4 to 6 minutes. For iced tea, it recommends using 2 tea bags and 1 cup of boiling water, and then adding 1 cup of cold water and to chill.

I followed the hot tea recommendations and steeped Country Peach Passion for 5 minutes.

First Taste

Country Peach Passion is a slightly cloudy orange colour. The aroma is a blend of peach and orange. The flavour however, doesn’t quite match up with what I was expecting. It’s a curious blend of citrus, chamomile, a hint of peach, and something that reminds me of pineapple. It’s not as sweet as I expected with all the fruity ingredients, but it does have a nice fruit punch flavour to it. I do wish that the peach itself was stronger.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Country Peach Passion but found the flavour to be lacking in comparison to the initial steep. I would recommend Country Peach Passion for just one steep.

My Overall Impression

I thought that Celestial Seasonings’s Country Peach Passion was just okay. While I found the flavour to be pleasant, it just doesn’t screamed ‘peach’ tea (or tisane!) to me. I wish that the peachy flavour was stronger overall, although I did enjoy the citrus and pineapple-y flavours in the tisane. I think it would be pleasant iced (I did enjoy it hot!), I just wish that it tasted the way that it smelled to me.

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