Tazo Green Ginger Green Tea

"There is a garden overlooking the Yangtze River gorge where an elderly man contemplates his life while sipping a cup of Green Ginger. Perhaps you would like to join him." ~on each tea packet

A friend sent me this tea and I've been in love with the slightly bitter flavor. It is quite exotic and fragrant. The ingredients are green teas, natural flavors, ginger and lemongrass.

This tea begs to be blended with orange blossom honey.

I've tasted many teas and this is by far the most exotic tea I've tried yet. This is pear ginger bliss.

Tazo Passion Tea

Passionate about the Passion Herbal Infusion

The deep purple/red color and hibiscus fragrance is enough to make anyone passionate about tea. Yet, is this really tea? It looks like tea, but it is really an herbal infusion made by steeping hibiscus flowers, orange peel, licorice, cinnamon, rose hips, lemongrass and red poppy in a swirling of hot water.

The flavor is slightly reminiscent of hot apple cider or hot cranberry juice. This tea leaves a tingle on your tongue and I think it goes very well with a spoonful of honey.

I recently discovered Tazo Teas ad have been immersing myself in the mysterious experience with a sense of abandon. So far I've tried three flavors and have been impressed. I do think you need two tea bags for each cup of tea to fully intoxicate the senses and experience the magic of the ingredients.

Tazo Decaf Chai

  Peppery Flavor

"Throughout India, chai wallahs can be found serving cups of decaffeinated chai to souls who naturally seek inner beauty at a slightly gentler pace."

If you like your Chai with a peppery kick, then this tea will interest you. Rooibos, cinnamon, ginger, decaffeinated black tea, cardamom, ginger, chicory, cloves, star anise and other natural flavors seem to take a back seat to the delicious peppery flavor of this tea. This tea tastes similar to a tea I first tasted in Africa, where Rooibos tea is grown. 

Best served with milk/powdered milk/soy milk or a dash of cream and some honey. Since this is a decaffeinated tea, it is perfect for late night writing sessions or when you want something calming to drink that doesn't taste like chamomile.

I recently discovered Tazo Teas ad have been immersing myself in the mysterious experience with a sense of abandon. So far I've tried four flavors and have been impressed. I do think you need two tea bags for each cup of tea to fully intoxicate the senses and experience the magic of the ingredients.

Tazo Awake

"There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea." -Henry James, Portrait of a Lady

This "English Breakfast" style tea is quite satisfying and has a darker color than most teas I've made. I just drank a cup of "Awake" and definitely feel invigorated and ready to write reviews. I always get a kick out of their little notes on the back of the tea bag packet that gives the address and then says: "Allow two weeks of this lifetime for a written response."

I'd like to say that their teas are best steeped for an extra 5-10 minutes to draw out all the delicious flavors. I use my coffee maker to make tea. Simply put the loose tea in a coffee filter or the tea bags in the coffee pot, then allow the boiling water to drip over the tea leaves.

Tazo has quite a good variety of teas, although I tend to prefer the herbal infusions and black tea blends to the green tea. I'm probably brewing the green tea in much hotter water than is required.

The sensual blend of exotic spices, teas and herbs used in their teas include a mixture of the following: Black tea, green tea, hibiscus flowers, chamomile flowers, lemongrass, spearmint leaves, blackberry leaves, cinnamon, Rooibos, Gingerroot, rose hips, orange peel, rose petals, licorice root, safflowers, black pepper, lemon verbena leaves, cardamom, cloves, peppermint leaves, chicory, sarsaparilla root, lemon balm leaf, star anise and red poppy flowers.

Apparently the formulas for these teas were found on a stone uncovered by a low tide in the Red Sea. I decided to research this mysterious history and found:

"The earliest known record of Tazo is the Tazo Stone, discovered by a team of archaeologists and tea scholars in the late 1980s when a solar eclipse caused unusually low tides in the Red Sea. Once the arcane language of the stone was translated, it was a simple matter to recreate the formulas for these remarkable beverages and reintroduce Tazo to civilization." - the exact phrasing at many sites that are selling the teas

At least this is the mysterious explanation for how they blend their magical tea. I had to go research this topic futher. Undaunted by pop up ads galore, I searched endlessly for information on this great mystery, all while Freedy Johnson was singing "you think I'm made of stone." That should have been sign enough, but onward.

This then led me to stories of "the lusty bellow of bull water buffalo" and Lost Cities. All the sites discussing this ancient stone are either selling the tea or have copied the information directly from tazo's site. " tazisto modif of Ba, tazor" brings up every listing for tea at a well-known online store. I then found information on tea drinking during the "Tang Dynasty" and information about china, which appeared at a number of sites in the same wording with no reference to accompany this excerpt:

"At various times throughout history, Tazo has surfaced among the more advanced cultures of the day as a calming and lyrical addition to the routines of daily life. During the Tang Dynasty, around seventh century A.D., gifts of Tazo were used to coax various moguls into attending a summit meeting where China was, for the first time, unified. The formulas for these ancient beverages have recently been rediscovered by a team of archeologist and tea scholars and are once again available to stimulate your taste buds and renew your spirit."

Then, onward to researching the court of King Zoser, a Lost Princess of Oz, Minoan civilizations and then herbal medicines. It is a good thing I have lots of tea to drink. Now if only I had a chief philosopher with whom I could contemplate the mysteries of this tea.

Anyway, when you drink these teas you can at times transcend reality for moments at a time and that is all the truth I need about these teas. Some of these teas even evoke a sense of wonder.

What does one have to do? Does one have to travel to the Nile and drink Hibiscus tea while talking to an archeologist to find more information? I also visited a few forums and found others discussing this mysterious tea.

Ok, so as predicted by the song, maybe this is all steeped in romanticized tea lore. Yes, this tea company has been mingling fact and fiction in the most amusing of ways. The rock slab carved with mysterious hieroglyphs and titled "Tazo Stone" is just an amusing fantasy and there is nothing wrong with having a little fantasy mingling with your tea leaves.

Tazo Rooibos Blend)

Creative Caffeine-Free Rooibos Blend, February 29, 2004

After growing up in Africa, one becomes rather fond of Rooibos tea and I never thought the day would arrive when I would recommend anything but a pure Rooibos tea. Tazo has taken Rooibos tea to a new level by blending African Rooibos (red bush) with hibiscus, lemon myrtle, lemon verbena, orange peel, rosemary, and lemon balm.

Rooibos has quite a distinctive fragrance that reminds me a bit of a fragrant flowers waving in a warm afternoon breeze after an African veld fire. I remember mixing in a tablespoon of condensed milk as a child. Now I mix in powdered milk and honey. Honey seems to bring out the rich flavors in this particular tea blend. For some reason, this blend is rather delicious with a toasted and buttered cinnamon/raisin bagel.

I've recently rediscovered the health benefits of Rooibos although I can truly say I've been drinking this tea for most of my existence on this planet. Rooibos is naturally sweet, very aromatic and is high in magnesium, calcium, iron and copper. Mothers in Africa will often add an infusion of this tea to a bottle of milk for babies to cure colic. An application of cold Rooibos tea can also aid in clearing the skin or is recommended for allergies, indigestion, insomnia and nervous tension.

This is one of the Tazo teas that should not be steeped for too long because of all the delicate flavors. If you enjoy this tea, you might also want to try Tazo Honeybush tea.

I'm giggling over the Tazo "history" on this package. They do love to amuse. I must say that the Tazo company really has my attention with their packaging, amusing tales of ancient Tazo wheels and they know how to blend tea to absolute perfection.

English Tea

Taylors of Harrogate Yorkshire Gold

A Daily Pleasure, December 17, 2005

This tea is a true English luxury, but once you taste it, it is difficult to be satisfied with less than the finest tea this company makes. Yorkshire Gold tea has more flavor and character than most teas.

The secret seems to be in the high quality of the teas selected for Yorkshire Gold and in the shape of the tea bag which allows for the tea leaves to spread out more and I think this enhances the ability for a full tea flavor to develop.

This tea blend is perfect to steep along with a cinnamon stick. It is strong enough to serve with whipped cream and a dash of nutmeg.

The art on the box was painted by Lizzie Sanders and it sets a nice English mood for your tea drinking experience.

~TheRebeccaReview.com

Homemade Raspberry Cream Wafers

Click for Recipe

Cake & Cookies to go with Tea

Chai Tea - Two of the Best Instant Chai Teas

Oregon Chai Tea with Whipped Cream and Nutmeg, December 10, 2005

While you can make your own chai tea, it does take some work to gather all the spices and then steep them in milk. The Oregon Chai tea mixes are rather easy to use. You can either make regular tea and add the packet like you would milk and spices or you can serve this with hot milk or even just water.

If you are looking for a very creamy version, you can make a 16-ounce cup of hot water in the microwave and then add one packet of Oregon Chai Tea Mix, 1 packet of hot chocolate and 2 Constant Comment tea bags. That is my favorite combination so far.

While the tea packets are for an 8-ounce cup, I make a much larger cup of tea, so this is perfect to mix with a tea bag and more powdered milk.

Ingredients: Sugar, dried whole milk, dried nonfat milk, natural flavors, dried honey, tapioca maltodextrin, decaffeinated dried black tea and salt. Yes, salt!

Each packet is 100 calories.

Also look for Ready-to-drink individual servings and liquid concentrates where you just add milk.

If you are just using a packet of this mix and 8 ounces of water, you might still want to add some powdered milk to make it extra creamy. Whipped cream and nutmeg also make the drink more delicious.

~The Rebecca Review

Numi Tea Collection

Numi's tea sampler has a lot to offer if you enjoy mild teas. If you prefer stronger teas, then you may want to creatively mix and match for a new experience.

Delicate Tea for Calm Mornings

The Numi "Morning Rise," organic breakfast blend has elements of smooth perfection when blended with milk powder or cream. This tea has a mild dreamy flavor when using one teabag. You may want two if you prefer a stronger morning blend. If you are looking for an elegant tea, this blend of Fair Trade Certified Keemun, Darjeeling, Ceylon and Assam black tea is sure to impress. Morning Rise is a delicate tea that awakens you slowly to the day and seems to bring a new clarity to the mind.

Dreamy Vanilla

Numi teas are blended to an elegant perfection. Numi "Decaf Black Vanilla" is no exception and will please anyone who loves mild black tea with a hint of vanilla. For a richer experience, use two teabags per 8-ounce cup. This tea is perfect for drinking at night when you are relaxing, reading poetry or starting a new novel. The vanilla flavor is enhanced with a dash of cream or even an little vanilla syrup from France. I can recommend Rieme French Vanilla syrup or even a cane sugar to add a caramel twist.

Delicate Ginger with hints of Anise

Numi "Golden Chai" is a delicately spiced Assam black tea that I like to blend with the Numi "Chinese Breakfast" tea made with Yunnan black tea. Together they seem perfect and I like using two teabags per experience. This creates a flowery tea scented with anise and cardamom and spiced with cinnamon and ginger. If you like making chai with milk, heat some milk in a saucepan and then add one or two teabags. It is much more convenient than having to look around for all the separate ingredients and the spices and tea are perfectly blended.

Afternoons in Africa

Bushmen's Brew "Honeybush," "Jasmine Green Tea" and "White Nectar Osmanthus Spring" make a good combination for a honey/floral tea. Adding in a little honey enhances the experience. With this blend you can enjoy white tea with Osmanthus flowers, green tea with jasmine flowers and honeybush tea with a mild flavor. You may enjoy this as an ice tea in the summer.

Lemon Iced Mint Tea

Numi's "Gen Mai Cha" Toasted Rice Green, Simply Mint "Mooccan Herbal Teasan" and Rainforest Green "Mate Lemon Myrtle Green Tea" can be steeped together to create a delicious tea to pour over ice. Add honey while the tea is hot and lemon juice just before serving.

The Lemon Iced Tea was the best experience of all the teas
and I can see myself buying a box of each tea so I can make
this tea again.

~The Rebecca Review