Tag: Tazo Tea

Posted on

Tazo Tea’s Chai Pumpkin Spice Latte Concentrate

Chai Pumpkin Spice Latte Concentrate by Tazo Tea
Black Tea / Flavoured
$3.29USD for 1 carton (31 fl oz/946mL)

First Impressions

When I saw it on the shelf at Target, I knew I had to buy it to try it out! (Side story: Target used to be in Canada, folded very quickly due to money/bankruptcy issues/not paying their suppliers and was, in short, run very poorly in comparison to the American version of the company – so we no longer get Target in Canada so I had to go when I went down last weekend!) I can find the regular Chai Latte Concentrate from Tazo Tea here in Canada, but I’ve never tried the Chai Pumpkin Spice version and I’m not sure if it is available in Canada at all (a quick search through the usual places where I can find the regular Chai Latte concentrate came up empty for the Pumpkin Spice version).

Chai Pumpkin Spice Latte Concentrate comes in a carton with a twist off/on cap. If you’re not drinking the entire thing in one go, it does need to be refrigerated and then it’s good for one week/seven days after opening it. It does seem to have a fairly long shelf life though (the best before date on my carton is June of 2020).

The black tea concentrate is a dark reddish brown that is a bit cloudy. The aroma is quite strong of spices – I can definitely make out cardamom, ginger, and cinnamon. The ingredients in Chai Pumpkin Spice Latte Concentrate are: “an infusion of (water, black tea, black pepper, ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, star anise, natural flavours), cane sugar syrup, honey, ginger juice, natural flavours, and citric acid”.

Preparation

Tazo Tea recommends shaking the carton, and then mixing equal parts concentrate to milk (or dairy alternative of your choice). It can be had either heated (stove top, microwave, etc.) or poured over iced if you’re wanting an iced Chai Pumpkin Spice Latte. I measured out equal parts of the concentrate and 1% milk and had it in a glass mug, heated via the microwave.

First Taste

The aroma from the blend of concentrate and milk reminds me a lot of the regular Chai Latte concentrate. There’s definitely the aroma of the warming spices in there, which is really quite pleasant. I can make out the ginger, cinnamon, and cardamom aromas. The one thing that really hit me when I tasted it was how sweet it is. I think as I finish off this carton, I would mix a bit more milk to concentrate to help temper down how sweet it is (and this is coming from a girl who likes her sweets!). There’s really no pumpkin flavour at all, but the spices that I would expect to find in a pumpkin pie are definitely present and very flavourful, albeit accompanied by a lot of sugar. The black tea base is mostly covered up by the spices in the blend, along with the cane sugar syrup and honey.

As an aside, the original Chai Latte concentrate has nearly identical ingredients to the Chai Pumpkin Spice Latte Concentrate (this one is missing vanilla extract) and has less sugar (16g per ½ cup versus 21g per ½ cup).

My Overall Impression

I thought that Tazo Tea’s Chai Pumpkin Spice Latte Concentrate was just okay. It was really fun to try from a novelty perspective since it is the season for pumpkin spice all the things. The spice blend is on point for what I expect from something that’s supposed to taste like pumpkin spice, it was just on the side of too much sweet for me when prepared the way that Tazo Tea recommends. I think it’s quite concentrated (and very sugary) and will cut the concentrate with more milk in the future (probably a 1:2 ratio instead of 1:1). However, it does make for a nice novelty drink and I will happily finishing the rest of the carton up before the week is up!

Curious about the cup rating system? Click here to learn more.

Posted on

Tazo’s Dessert Delights Collection

20180112-tazodessertdelightsVanilla Bean Macaron by Tazo Tea
Black Tea / Flavoured
$2.98USD for 1.11oz  (15 sachets)

Butterscotch Blondie by Tazo Tea
Black Tea / Flavoured
$2.98USD for 1.11oz  (15 sachets)

Glazed Lemon Loaf by Tazo Tea
Herbal Infusion / Flavoured
$2.98USD for 1.11oz  (15 sachets)

20180112-tazodessertdelights1

First Impressions

20180112-tazodessertdelights2

Tazo reached out to me to send me a little something. Fast forward to mid-December when I received a lovely package in the mail from them – complete with a zippered pouch filled with individually wrapped tea bags of their new Dessert Delights collection (Vanilla Bean Macaron, Butterscotch Blondie, and Glazed Lemon Loaf) along with a few extra teas that are part of their core collection (Zen, Passion, and Green Ginger) and an enameled pin set – aren’t they just sweet?

For the purposes of this post, I’ll be focusing on the Dessert Delights collection teas only and will be discussing them each in the same order throughout each section.

20180112-tazodessertdelights3

Vanilla Bean Macaron has a very strong vanilla aroma, but surprisingly does not contain vanilla in the ingredients. The ingredients listed are: black tea, natural flavours, chicory root, cocoa peel, licorice root, roasted yerba mate, cinnamon, and cardamom. I can make out the cinnamon and cardamom, and while the vanilla is delightfully strong, it doesn’t remind me too much of a macaron. (As an aside, on the back of the packaging of each bag, the information for the ingredients and steeping instructions are in white, and they’re a bit difficult to read unless you have excellent lighting.)

20180112-tazodessertdelights4

Butterscotch Blondie surprised me a lot by smelling just like a butterscotch candy. Surprisingly, the ingredients listed for this black tea blend is nearly identical to that of Vanilla Bean Macaron. This tea consists of: black tea, natural flavours, chicory root, cocoa peel, licorice root, cinnamon, and cardamom. Just missing the roasted yerba mate and it would have been just the same.

20180112-tazodessertdelights5

Glazed Lemon Loaf is the one that surprised me the most. This herbal infusion actually smells like a glazed lemon loaf. It has the citrus and vanilla aromas from the dry leaf, along with what reminds me of the aroma of a sugary glaze. This herbal infusion consists of: apple, natural flavours, green rooibos, orange peel, chamomile, rose petals, licorice root, and ginger.

20180112-tazodessertdelights6

Preparation

All three of the blends in the Dessert Delights collection suggests steeping in 212°F (100°C) water for 5 minutes. I steeped the two black tea blends (Vanilla Bean Macaron and Butterscotch Blondie) for 3 minutes each and steeped the herbal infusion (Glazed Lemon Loaf) for 5 minutes.

First Taste

Vanilla Bean Macaron steeps to a deep orange with an unfortunate oil slick across the top. I’m not entirely sure which ingredient this came from (perhaps the ‘natural flavours’?), but I found that the aroma was very much vanilla. It reminds me of the aroma of vanilla cupcakes more than a macaron (although perhaps I just need to become more acquainted with macarons?). The flavour of vanilla isn’t subtle in the steeped tea. I found that the spices (cinnamon, cardamom) to be quite warming while the vanilla was just present. I was able to pick out the yerba mate at the tail end of each sip because it left a bitter aftertaste in my mouth.

20180112-tazodessertdelights7

Butterscotch Blondie also steeps to a deep orange, but I didn’t notice an oil slick across the top of my cup. I found that the aroma of the steeped tea still screamed ‘butterscotch’ to me, although I didn’t find that to be the case with the flavour. I didn’t really find that it reminded me of a blondie when I steeped it straight, but I found that a tiny addition of sugar and milk actually helped it along to add some creaminess to it.

20180112-tazodessertdelights8

Glazed Lemon Loaf steeps to a happy and bright yellow. The aroma that wafts up from this herbal infusion is one of lemony citrus and sweetness. I found the flavour to be enjoyable, the lemon was rather calming (or perhaps that was the chamomile) and the sweetness was just enough. I could taste some heat from the ginger, and I found it to be nice and soothing. I think this tea was fine on its own, but was improved with a touch of honey.

20180112-tazodessertdelights9

A Second Cup?

I did attempt to resteep all three of the Dessert Delights, but found that the second steepings of each were watery and diluted compared to the initial steeps. This can often be the case for teas found in tea bags, especially when the quality of the teas (and size of tea leaves) aren’t top notch.

My Overall Impression

3cups-2

I liked Tazo’s Dessert Delights Collection. I probably wouldn’t keep much of Vanilla Bean Macaron or Butterscotch Blondie around, but I would definitely buy a box or two of Glazed Lemon Loaf because I think it did the best with matching the name to the aroma to the flavour. Plus, the flavour combination makes for an excellent just-before-bed drink (or a I-have-a-sore-throat cuppa).

At the time of writing, I’m not entirely convinced that this collection is available in Canada. I’ve never seen it in stores, and none of the retail sites for Canadian groceries stores seem to have in in stock. However, if you’re in the USA, you’re in luck! The price isn’t bad either, considering you get 15 sachets for less than $3. Not a bad deal if you’re just looking to try it out.

Curious about the cup rating system? Click here to learn more.

Posted on

Tazo’s Awake English Breakfast

Awake English Breakfast by Tazo Tea
Black Tea / Straight
$2.50 for 61g (24 sachets)

20170401-tazoawake1

First Impressions

Just a note on the price, I bought two boxes of Tazo Tea while they were on sale for 2 boxes for $5.00. Regular price is usually higher ($4.99-6.99/box, depending on retailer). The box itself is cardboard, I like recyclable packaging. The tea bags come individually packaged in paper and the tea bags themselves feel like they’re biodegradable.

20170401-tazoawake2

Awake English Breakfast is made up of “a blend of black teas”. There’s a malty aroma to the black tea that reminds me a lot of Assam tea, so it wouldn’t surprise me of one of the black teas in this blend is Assam. I did rip open the tea bag to see what it looked like inside, I was not surprised that the tea leaves inside of the tea bag were tiny, definitely not the whole leaf tea that I’ve been getting used to. I mostly bought the bagged tea for the convenience factor that tea bags have when it comes to having tea on the go (where I work, I don’t have a desk and I can’t have open mugs).

20170401-tazoawake3

Preparation

Tazo Tea recommends steeping Awake English Breakfast in 100°C (212°F) water for 5 minutes. I followed the steeping directions.

First Taste

Awake English Breakfast steeps to a deep orange, it’s got a great smell to it that reminds me of other breakfast teas. I think 5 minutes are far too long. I ended up trying again (and again) with other tea bags and found that 3 minutes was a good amount of time. 5 minutes – I wound up with a very astringent and bitter cup of tea. Less than 3 minutes and it was just very weak. 3 minutes was a good length of steeping time because I wound up with a strong cup of tea with a very strong malty flavour, but minimal astringency and no bitterness. 5 minutes is definitely far too long for this tea (perhaps if it was whole leaf tea, it would be a different story).

20170401-tazoawake4

Awake English Breakfast was good on its own, but also good with some honey and evaporated milk. It helped tone down what little astringency there was with the 3 minute steep.

A Second Cup?

Awake English Breakfast is a one steep wonder, I found that a second steep resulted in a very watery cup of tea.

20170401-tazoawake5

My Overall Impression

2cups-2

I thought that Tazo Tea’s Awake English Breakfast was just okay. As far as breakfast teas go, Awake English Breakfast is okay. I don’t recommend their recommended steep time (5 minutes is just far too long!) and I wouldn’t buy at full retail price ($0.30/sachet vs. $0.10/sachet). It’s very convenient to have tea prepackaged into tea bags, which is what I typically have when I’m at work (each to steep and easy to discard). If you can find it on sale, I would recommend snagging some Awake English Breakfast for some black tea on the go. For the love of tea, don’t over steep this one and pull the tea bag out at the 3 minute mark – life is too short for a bad cup of tea.

Curious about the cup rating system? Click here to learn more.