Asian Pear Ginger
Kombucha Wonder Drink
After writing about Kombucha Wonder Drink the other day, I decided I'd like to give it a try. One trip to my local Wild Oats store later and I was in possession of a bottle of the Asian Pear Ginger variety.
The full ingredients list is kombucha from organic oolong tea, organic cane sugar, natural pear flavoring and organic raw ginger juice. Though it purports to be "subtly carbonated" it pours up with a color and head on it that looks just like beer.
The flavor was quite tart, almost sour - kind of like grapefruit juice mixed with apple cider - but after the initial shock it grew on me rather quickly.
Though it's a little on the pricey side, I could see myself getting into a regular KWD routine. I think I'll make my way back to Wild Oats and try out the other flavors, which include Himalayan Blend, Orient Blend and two new additions - Jasmine Niagara Grape and Rooibos Red Peach.
Recommended.
Contents: 8.5 ounce bottle
I paid: $1.99
Showing posts with label Tea Reviews 1. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tea Reviews 1. Show all posts
Thursday, October 06, 2005
Wednesday, October 05, 2005
Tea Review 24 - Adagio Golden Needle
Golden Needle
Adagio Teas
While I'm by no means immune to the charms of a good oolong or white tea and I'm even fonder of quality green tea, nowadays I find black the most appealing. Unfortunate, perhaps, given the fact that I have a sensitivity to caffeine, of which black tea contains the most, but so it goes.
Adagio's Golden Needle is one of those that keep me coming back to black tea. Named for the thin leaves and golden tips that give it added visual flair, it is grown in China's Fujian province and hand processed.
Golden Needle has a great aroma dry and brews up with a very pleasing reddish brown color. I steeped it for the recommended five minutes with boiling water and came up with a brew with a very smooth and mellow taste, flavorful and with just a hint of malt.
Golden Needle is available in four sizes, from a three dollar sample size to a one-pounder that sells for $34.
Recommended.
Contents: Sample tin
I paid: na
Adagio Teas
While I'm by no means immune to the charms of a good oolong or white tea and I'm even fonder of quality green tea, nowadays I find black the most appealing. Unfortunate, perhaps, given the fact that I have a sensitivity to caffeine, of which black tea contains the most, but so it goes.
Adagio's Golden Needle is one of those that keep me coming back to black tea. Named for the thin leaves and golden tips that give it added visual flair, it is grown in China's Fujian province and hand processed.
Golden Needle has a great aroma dry and brews up with a very pleasing reddish brown color. I steeped it for the recommended five minutes with boiling water and came up with a brew with a very smooth and mellow taste, flavorful and with just a hint of malt.
Golden Needle is available in four sizes, from a three dollar sample size to a one-pounder that sells for $34.
Recommended.
Contents: Sample tin
I paid: na
Sunday, October 02, 2005
Tea Review 23 - Republic of Tea Pink Grapefruit
Pink Grapefruit Green Tea
The Republic of Tea
The field of flavored green teas is looking a little crowded these days, but Republic's Pink Grapefruit entry sounded promising all the same. It's part of the company's Sip For the Cure line, which also includes Pink Lemonade, Pink Rose and Pink Lady Apple. A portion of the proceeds from each sale go to support breast cancer.
The ingredients list for Pink Grapefruit includes Premium China green tea, pink peony petals and natural pink grapefruit flavoring and it's all packed into a nifty round tea bag. When I opened the single serving sample pack I was assaulted by a strong grapefruit aroma. Not a bad thing, mind you. In fact, I kept the empty packet around for a little while just to enjoy that fragrance.
Unfortunately, the pink grapefruit flavor and aroma didn't carry over to the tea quite so well. After brewing, I caught a faint whiff of it and then for the first few sips there was an ever so subtle grapefruit overtone, but this seemed to dwindle.
But this is not such a bad tea, all in all, as the green tea component is good enough to make up for the relatively weak grapefruit taste.
Contents: Single serving sample packet
I paid: free
The Republic of Tea
The field of flavored green teas is looking a little crowded these days, but Republic's Pink Grapefruit entry sounded promising all the same. It's part of the company's Sip For the Cure line, which also includes Pink Lemonade, Pink Rose and Pink Lady Apple. A portion of the proceeds from each sale go to support breast cancer.
The ingredients list for Pink Grapefruit includes Premium China green tea, pink peony petals and natural pink grapefruit flavoring and it's all packed into a nifty round tea bag. When I opened the single serving sample pack I was assaulted by a strong grapefruit aroma. Not a bad thing, mind you. In fact, I kept the empty packet around for a little while just to enjoy that fragrance.
Unfortunately, the pink grapefruit flavor and aroma didn't carry over to the tea quite so well. After brewing, I caught a faint whiff of it and then for the first few sips there was an ever so subtle grapefruit overtone, but this seemed to dwindle.
But this is not such a bad tea, all in all, as the green tea component is good enough to make up for the relatively weak grapefruit taste.
Contents: Single serving sample packet
I paid: free
Monday, September 26, 2005
Tea Review 22 - Peach Paradise
Peach Paradise
London Fruit and Herb
With only a few exceptions, I can safely say that I'm not that fond of flavored teas, most of which seem to be modified using fruit flavors. As for fruit flavored herbal teas, they don't really do much for me either.
The notable exception these days is peach. As I've mentioned before, in these very same pages, Good Earth makes a passably good black tea flavored with peach. There are also some decent peach herbal varieties, including Peach Paradise, from London Fruit and Herb Co.
Peach tea really shines, in my opinion, when it's blended with something with a more low key flavor to make an iced tea. I like two parts rooibos and two parts peach, with maybe a few pinches of a good loose green tea or some yerba mate tossed in for effect. And though I'm not real keen on fruit teas served hot, peach, once again, is the exception to the rule.
The ingredients list for Peach Paradise is an odd one. The first ingredient is apple pulp, which makes perfect sense to me (?). Next on the list are blackberry leaves, the ubiquitous hibiscus (trying saying that three times fast), the mysterious "flavourings," roasted chicory root, malic and citric acid, the also ubiquitous rosehips, peach juice (2.1%), lemongrass and peach flakes (1%).
I brewed a cup of hot Peach Paradise, using nearly boiling water. I steeped for more than the recommended time, as I often do with herbal teas, using the rule of thumb that stronger is generally better. Well, maybe that rule doesn't apply in this case, as the result was distinctly tangy. Since it was my last bag, I couldn't really verify whether this was caused by over steeping. Said theory will have to wait.
Recommended, even so, especially for iced tea.
Contents: 20 tea bags
I paid: $2.29
London Fruit and Herb
With only a few exceptions, I can safely say that I'm not that fond of flavored teas, most of which seem to be modified using fruit flavors. As for fruit flavored herbal teas, they don't really do much for me either.
The notable exception these days is peach. As I've mentioned before, in these very same pages, Good Earth makes a passably good black tea flavored with peach. There are also some decent peach herbal varieties, including Peach Paradise, from London Fruit and Herb Co.
Peach tea really shines, in my opinion, when it's blended with something with a more low key flavor to make an iced tea. I like two parts rooibos and two parts peach, with maybe a few pinches of a good loose green tea or some yerba mate tossed in for effect. And though I'm not real keen on fruit teas served hot, peach, once again, is the exception to the rule.
The ingredients list for Peach Paradise is an odd one. The first ingredient is apple pulp, which makes perfect sense to me (?). Next on the list are blackberry leaves, the ubiquitous hibiscus (trying saying that three times fast), the mysterious "flavourings," roasted chicory root, malic and citric acid, the also ubiquitous rosehips, peach juice (2.1%), lemongrass and peach flakes (1%).
I brewed a cup of hot Peach Paradise, using nearly boiling water. I steeped for more than the recommended time, as I often do with herbal teas, using the rule of thumb that stronger is generally better. Well, maybe that rule doesn't apply in this case, as the result was distinctly tangy. Since it was my last bag, I couldn't really verify whether this was caused by over steeping. Said theory will have to wait.
Recommended, even so, especially for iced tea.
Contents: 20 tea bags
I paid: $2.29
Friday, September 16, 2005
Tea Review 21 - Dragonwell Requiem
Dragonwell Requiem
Adagio Teas
I recently found myself in the enviable position of having a number of quite fine, high quality green teas in the cupboard, but during this time I found myself returning to Adagio's Dragonwell Requiem and, in fact, that's the one I ran out of first.
To put it as eloquently as I can, Dragonwell Requiem kicks ass. Now I know that's not the kind of high falutin' language and reserved professional demeanor that's going to land me a job as a tea taster, but that friends, is the way it is.
Everything about Dragonwell Requiem is an outstanding green tea experience, from stuffing your nose in the tin and wallowing in that incredible fragrance to shaking out the thin, flat and rather bright green leaves and then, of course, the best part - drinking it. Adagio describes Dragonwell Requiem as a "First Grade" version of the tea and further describes it as "refreshingly smooth, sweet and delicate."
Hey, I'll buy that and I would add that it's rather forgiving to blundering lunkheads like yours truly who tend to overhead the water or steep the leaves too long. You can coax some bitterness out of this one, but you have to work at it a little harder than you do with most green teas.
Adagio makes Dragonwell Requiem available in the usual array of sizes from sample ($3) to one pound ($33) and you can even obtain it in a package of 25 gourmet bags ($10), should you so desire.
Highly recommended.
Contents: sample tin
I paid: na
Adagio Teas
I recently found myself in the enviable position of having a number of quite fine, high quality green teas in the cupboard, but during this time I found myself returning to Adagio's Dragonwell Requiem and, in fact, that's the one I ran out of first.
To put it as eloquently as I can, Dragonwell Requiem kicks ass. Now I know that's not the kind of high falutin' language and reserved professional demeanor that's going to land me a job as a tea taster, but that friends, is the way it is.
Everything about Dragonwell Requiem is an outstanding green tea experience, from stuffing your nose in the tin and wallowing in that incredible fragrance to shaking out the thin, flat and rather bright green leaves and then, of course, the best part - drinking it. Adagio describes Dragonwell Requiem as a "First Grade" version of the tea and further describes it as "refreshingly smooth, sweet and delicate."
Hey, I'll buy that and I would add that it's rather forgiving to blundering lunkheads like yours truly who tend to overhead the water or steep the leaves too long. You can coax some bitterness out of this one, but you have to work at it a little harder than you do with most green teas.
Adagio makes Dragonwell Requiem available in the usual array of sizes from sample ($3) to one pound ($33) and you can even obtain it in a package of 25 gourmet bags ($10), should you so desire.
Highly recommended.
Contents: sample tin
I paid: na
Saturday, September 10, 2005
Tea Review 20 - Trader Joe's Honeybush
Honeybush
Trader Joe's
I hadn't encountered a Trader Joe's prior to moving to the West, even though the company is apparently based in Massachusetts. For those of you who may not be familiar with Trader Joes, they're kind of an eclectic specialty grocery store with good prices on most of the items they stock. While the selection's not what you'll get at your local megagrocerymart, the prices tend to compensate for that.
This applies to tea, among other things. You may not find as wide a selection as you will at the grocery store, but you'll definitely get a good price and every now and then they stock something off the wall, like yerba mate or Rooibos, also known as red bush.
Not so long ago, our local Trader Joes started stocking the other bush tea - honeybush. There's not much info provided on the packaging for this one. About all you're gonna get from reading the box is that the sole ingredient herein is honeybush tea, that it's organic, caffeine free and a product of South Africa.
Oh, and there's a little blurb about "the Khoi and San peoples who gathered the Honeybush leaves in the mountainous regions of their native South Africa." Said blurb further claims that the brew is rich in antioxidants, phytoestrogens and essential minerals and that it "makes a luxurious brew with sweet honey overtones."
Well, these honey overtones are very faint ones indeed and actually, for my money, honeybush is not all that far removed from its South African cousin, Rooibos.
To test this thesis, I brewed up a cup of each and tasted them side by side. Though the honeybush brews up just a few notches lighter in color, the taste wasn't all that much different. The only real difference I noticed was that Rooibos had kind of a musty overtone that the honeybush lacked. Which is not necessarily a bad thing and I actually liked both varieties equally.
Like Rooibos, honeybush is good as an iced tea, especially when blended with something a little more flavorful. But then again, it's not bad on its own either.
Recommended.
Contents: 20 bags per box
Paid: na
Trader Joe's
I hadn't encountered a Trader Joe's prior to moving to the West, even though the company is apparently based in Massachusetts. For those of you who may not be familiar with Trader Joes, they're kind of an eclectic specialty grocery store with good prices on most of the items they stock. While the selection's not what you'll get at your local megagrocerymart, the prices tend to compensate for that.
This applies to tea, among other things. You may not find as wide a selection as you will at the grocery store, but you'll definitely get a good price and every now and then they stock something off the wall, like yerba mate or Rooibos, also known as red bush.
Not so long ago, our local Trader Joes started stocking the other bush tea - honeybush. There's not much info provided on the packaging for this one. About all you're gonna get from reading the box is that the sole ingredient herein is honeybush tea, that it's organic, caffeine free and a product of South Africa.
Oh, and there's a little blurb about "the Khoi and San peoples who gathered the Honeybush leaves in the mountainous regions of their native South Africa." Said blurb further claims that the brew is rich in antioxidants, phytoestrogens and essential minerals and that it "makes a luxurious brew with sweet honey overtones."
Well, these honey overtones are very faint ones indeed and actually, for my money, honeybush is not all that far removed from its South African cousin, Rooibos.
To test this thesis, I brewed up a cup of each and tasted them side by side. Though the honeybush brews up just a few notches lighter in color, the taste wasn't all that much different. The only real difference I noticed was that Rooibos had kind of a musty overtone that the honeybush lacked. Which is not necessarily a bad thing and I actually liked both varieties equally.
Like Rooibos, honeybush is good as an iced tea, especially when blended with something a little more flavorful. But then again, it's not bad on its own either.
Recommended.
Contents: 20 bags per box
Paid: na
Thursday, September 08, 2005
Tea Review 19 - Guayaki Yerba Mate
Yerba Mate
Guayaki Yerba Mate
Though some of the peripheral details have faded, I still remember most of my first encounter with yerba mate quite vividly. My wife and I were at a craft show with "new age" tendencies. We passed a booth where a gregarious young fellow stuffed a tea bag into a bottle of water, shook it vigorously and offered it to us.
Well, free is free, so I took it, hoping that it didn't contain any of the fabled brown acid. After a few sips I decided that free was probably a pretty fair price for yerba mate. Suffice to say that I've acquired what, for most, will probably be an acquired taste. Many, for that matter, will probably never acquire it.
I've actually grown quite fond of yerba mate over the years, even though I'm still drinking it tea bag style. I'm told, by a very reliable source, that this is a pale imitation of "proper" yerba mate consumption using a gourd (mate), an ornamental straw (bombilla) and the mate itself, in its loose form. So I have yet to have that authentic experience, but I like yerba mate all the same.
As for a review of Guayaki's mate, that's a bit problematic, since I don't really have much to compare it to at the moment. I may have tried some other brands somewhere along the line, but I can't seem to recall it and, the fact is, if you're an ordinary Joe Schmoe shopping in an ordinary grocery store you're most likely to find Guayaki's version of the goods, if indeed, you find any mate.
So, as far as my review goes, here's what I always say about yerba mate. If you like drinking liquid dust, you're gonna love it. If not, well, maybe it will grow on you and maybe not.
Guayaki's mate is grown in Paraguay, one of several South American countries where the drink is wildly popular. It's 100% organic, it's distributed by a company out of San Luis Obispo, California and now it even comes in six flavored varieties. Why, there's even a Mate Rooibos. How's that for a blend of exotic "teas"?
Contents: 25 bags per box
I paid: na
Guayaki Yerba Mate
Though some of the peripheral details have faded, I still remember most of my first encounter with yerba mate quite vividly. My wife and I were at a craft show with "new age" tendencies. We passed a booth where a gregarious young fellow stuffed a tea bag into a bottle of water, shook it vigorously and offered it to us.
Well, free is free, so I took it, hoping that it didn't contain any of the fabled brown acid. After a few sips I decided that free was probably a pretty fair price for yerba mate. Suffice to say that I've acquired what, for most, will probably be an acquired taste. Many, for that matter, will probably never acquire it.
I've actually grown quite fond of yerba mate over the years, even though I'm still drinking it tea bag style. I'm told, by a very reliable source, that this is a pale imitation of "proper" yerba mate consumption using a gourd (mate), an ornamental straw (bombilla) and the mate itself, in its loose form. So I have yet to have that authentic experience, but I like yerba mate all the same.
As for a review of Guayaki's mate, that's a bit problematic, since I don't really have much to compare it to at the moment. I may have tried some other brands somewhere along the line, but I can't seem to recall it and, the fact is, if you're an ordinary Joe Schmoe shopping in an ordinary grocery store you're most likely to find Guayaki's version of the goods, if indeed, you find any mate.
So, as far as my review goes, here's what I always say about yerba mate. If you like drinking liquid dust, you're gonna love it. If not, well, maybe it will grow on you and maybe not.
Guayaki's mate is grown in Paraguay, one of several South American countries where the drink is wildly popular. It's 100% organic, it's distributed by a company out of San Luis Obispo, California and now it even comes in six flavored varieties. Why, there's even a Mate Rooibos. How's that for a blend of exotic "teas"?
Contents: 25 bags per box
I paid: na
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
Tea Review 18 - CS Country Peach Passion
Celestial Seasonings Country Peach Passion
Celestial Seasonings Teas
Country Peach Passion sounds like it should be a good old-fashioned dose of down home herbal tea goodness - or something like that. In reality, it falls victim to a problem I've mentioned before in connection with fruity herbal teas - Overly Tangy Syndrome.
"Natural peach and passionfruit flavor with other natural flavors" is seventh on the list of nine ingredients, followed only by peaches and citric acid. This is about par for the course with herbal teas, as are the first six ingredients - rosehips and hibiscus (surprise, surprise), orange peel, roasted chicory, chamomile and blackberry leaves.
Perhaps a more cultured palate could pick out each one of these individual flavors, but for me it was all just a big mishmash of stuff - and did I mention that it was too tart? And no, I didn't oversteep it, thanks very much.
Anyway, it's Celestial Seasonings, so it's all natural and recycled and environmentally friendly and made from free range herbs and not tested on cute little fuzzy bunnies and no baby seals were clubbed in the making of this tea and whatnot, so you can feel really good about yourself and the world while you're drinking it.
Kind of on the so-so side as a standalone tea, but not so bad in a blend with something else that will tend to cut the tanginess. Provisionally recommended.
Contents: 20 bags per box
I paid: $1.99
Celestial Seasonings Teas
Country Peach Passion sounds like it should be a good old-fashioned dose of down home herbal tea goodness - or something like that. In reality, it falls victim to a problem I've mentioned before in connection with fruity herbal teas - Overly Tangy Syndrome.
"Natural peach and passionfruit flavor with other natural flavors" is seventh on the list of nine ingredients, followed only by peaches and citric acid. This is about par for the course with herbal teas, as are the first six ingredients - rosehips and hibiscus (surprise, surprise), orange peel, roasted chicory, chamomile and blackberry leaves.
Perhaps a more cultured palate could pick out each one of these individual flavors, but for me it was all just a big mishmash of stuff - and did I mention that it was too tart? And no, I didn't oversteep it, thanks very much.
Anyway, it's Celestial Seasonings, so it's all natural and recycled and environmentally friendly and made from free range herbs and not tested on cute little fuzzy bunnies and no baby seals were clubbed in the making of this tea and whatnot, so you can feel really good about yourself and the world while you're drinking it.
Kind of on the so-so side as a standalone tea, but not so bad in a blend with something else that will tend to cut the tanginess. Provisionally recommended.
Contents: 20 bags per box
I paid: $1.99
Friday, September 02, 2005
Tea Review 17 - Adagio Jasmine 12
Adagio Jasmine Suite 12
Adagio Teas
It would probably be uncouth of me to point out that Adagio's Jasmine 12 looks kind of like rabbit pellets and it might even elicit a visit from the gourmet tea police, so I'll refrain.
Jasmine 12 is one of three jasmine-flavored oolong teas currently in Adagio's inventory. I'm assuming that nine others have either fallen by the wayside or are yet to come, but I could be wrong.
Jasmine Suite 5 is made using Chun Hao grade tea, while 9 uses "the finest grade Yin Hao tea." At the top of this modest heap is Jasmine Suite 12, which uses a Dragon Pearl Phoenix oolong grown in the Fujian province of China. At five dollars for a 10-cup sample or $23 for a five-ounce package, this is some fairly serious stuff.
One of the best things about Jasmine 12 is the little show it puts on for you as it brews. The pearls, each of which contains two leaves and an unopened bud, are quite a lot of fun to watch as they slowly unfold in the hot water. Just be sure to give them plenty of room to unfold. I used an "in the cup" strainer the first time around, but the next time I go much better results putting the pearls and water in a covered Pyrex measuring cup.
As for the taste? Well, I'm not a huge fan of jasmine tea, but even I'll admit that Jasmine 12 is something pretty nifty. Now if they could just come up with a name that's a little more on the poetic side.
Adagio Teas
It would probably be uncouth of me to point out that Adagio's Jasmine 12 looks kind of like rabbit pellets and it might even elicit a visit from the gourmet tea police, so I'll refrain.
Jasmine 12 is one of three jasmine-flavored oolong teas currently in Adagio's inventory. I'm assuming that nine others have either fallen by the wayside or are yet to come, but I could be wrong.
Jasmine Suite 5 is made using Chun Hao grade tea, while 9 uses "the finest grade Yin Hao tea." At the top of this modest heap is Jasmine Suite 12, which uses a Dragon Pearl Phoenix oolong grown in the Fujian province of China. At five dollars for a 10-cup sample or $23 for a five-ounce package, this is some fairly serious stuff.
One of the best things about Jasmine 12 is the little show it puts on for you as it brews. The pearls, each of which contains two leaves and an unopened bud, are quite a lot of fun to watch as they slowly unfold in the hot water. Just be sure to give them plenty of room to unfold. I used an "in the cup" strainer the first time around, but the next time I go much better results putting the pearls and water in a covered Pyrex measuring cup.
As for the taste? Well, I'm not a huge fan of jasmine tea, but even I'll admit that Jasmine 12 is something pretty nifty. Now if they could just come up with a name that's a little more on the poetic side.
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
Tea Review 16 - Stash Mango Passionfruit
Mango Passionfruit Herbal Tea
Stash Tea
I probably wouldn't know a passionfruit if one fell on my head. I've had a little more experience with mango, but not much.
The odd thing about Stash's Mango Passionfruit is that "natural mango and natural passionfruit flavors" are at the bottom of the ingredients list. I found that odd, anyway. Maybe you won't.
Comprising the rest of the mix are pretty much the usual suspects - orange peel, safflower, lemongrass, citric acid and licorice powder. Oh, and did I mention that it contains rosehips and hibiscus? But you knew that. After all, it's the law. I don’t know exactly what either of these substances are, but I'd guess that somewhere in this great big world they make a pretty good living growing rosehips and hibiscus for the herbal tea crowd.
Anyway, this one's not bad. I steeped it for the full five minutes and proceeded to taste. A bit on the bland and undistinguished side, but maybe that's what passionfruit tastes like. I have no idea.
This is another variety that would probably work best blended into an iced tea with something that has a little more flavor. Recommended, with that caveat.
Contents: 20 bag per box
I paid: $2.99
Stash Tea
I probably wouldn't know a passionfruit if one fell on my head. I've had a little more experience with mango, but not much.
The odd thing about Stash's Mango Passionfruit is that "natural mango and natural passionfruit flavors" are at the bottom of the ingredients list. I found that odd, anyway. Maybe you won't.
Comprising the rest of the mix are pretty much the usual suspects - orange peel, safflower, lemongrass, citric acid and licorice powder. Oh, and did I mention that it contains rosehips and hibiscus? But you knew that. After all, it's the law. I don’t know exactly what either of these substances are, but I'd guess that somewhere in this great big world they make a pretty good living growing rosehips and hibiscus for the herbal tea crowd.
Anyway, this one's not bad. I steeped it for the full five minutes and proceeded to taste. A bit on the bland and undistinguished side, but maybe that's what passionfruit tastes like. I have no idea.
This is another variety that would probably work best blended into an iced tea with something that has a little more flavor. Recommended, with that caveat.
Contents: 20 bag per box
I paid: $2.99
Monday, August 29, 2005
Tea Review 15 - Adagio White Monkey
White Monkey
Adagio Teas
White Monkey is, of course, a green tea. Nothing confusing about that, now is there? It's grown in the Taimu Mountains in the Fujian Province of China and is processed exclusively by hand. The leaves are small to medium-sized with a coating of fine white down that presumably gives this one it's name.
Now, I might actually go so far as to say that a cup of White Monkey makes me want to jump around, twittering and screeching like...well, like a big white monkey, but I would never stoop to such undignified shenanigans. However, this is a very nice tea all around, from the time you open the little tin and catch a whiff of that pleasing aroma, to watching the leaves unfold in the hot water - the agony of the leaves - to the pale golden color and the light, but very pleasing, green tea taste.
Like most of Adagio's teas, White Monkey is available in four different sizes, from a ten-cup sample tin up to a half-pounder that goes for $19. A relatively rarefied pleasure, compared to some teas, but if you've got the hots for the good stuff, it's worth it.
Contents: Sample tin
I paid: na
Adagio Teas
White Monkey is, of course, a green tea. Nothing confusing about that, now is there? It's grown in the Taimu Mountains in the Fujian Province of China and is processed exclusively by hand. The leaves are small to medium-sized with a coating of fine white down that presumably gives this one it's name.
Now, I might actually go so far as to say that a cup of White Monkey makes me want to jump around, twittering and screeching like...well, like a big white monkey, but I would never stoop to such undignified shenanigans. However, this is a very nice tea all around, from the time you open the little tin and catch a whiff of that pleasing aroma, to watching the leaves unfold in the hot water - the agony of the leaves - to the pale golden color and the light, but very pleasing, green tea taste.
Like most of Adagio's teas, White Monkey is available in four different sizes, from a ten-cup sample tin up to a half-pounder that goes for $19. A relatively rarefied pleasure, compared to some teas, but if you've got the hots for the good stuff, it's worth it.
Contents: Sample tin
I paid: na
Saturday, August 27, 2005
Tea Review 14 - Kikkoman Green Tea Soymilk
Kikkoman Pearl Green Tea Soymilk
Kikkoman-USA
Okay, now I've seen everything. I was in the health food section of our local food emporium the other day, looking for soymilk, when what should I run across? That's right - green tea soymilk. Who would have guessed?
Most of us probably know Kikkoman by their most famous product - soy sauce. But they also make several types of soymilk, including - obviously - a green tea variety.
I have to admit that I wasn't really bowled over by this idea. It smacked of bandwagon-jumping of the loopiest sort and frankly, I really didn't see the point. Then I tried it.
The first and most important quality of a good soymilk is that it be thick and creamy. I've tasted some that were more like colored water than anything and they're definitely something to steer clear of. I recently tried another Kikkoman variety, besides green tea, and found both to be very creamy and thick.
The other thing that surprised me was how much tea was actually in this product. I was expecting the green tea to be a token component, but what I got instead was a dark green beverage thick with bits of powdered green tea. Okay, so the color is nothing to write home about, but the taste actually is.
This is pretty much a standard base of soymilk ingredients. The "active" ingredient is simply described as "organic green tea powder," which is good enough for me. As a matter of fact, the whole kit and caboodle are organic and the price isn't half bad either.
I bought this one mainly for the novelty value, but the funny thing is, I would probably buy it again. Recommended.
Contents: 32 ounce box
I paid: $1.79
Kikkoman-USA
Okay, now I've seen everything. I was in the health food section of our local food emporium the other day, looking for soymilk, when what should I run across? That's right - green tea soymilk. Who would have guessed?
Most of us probably know Kikkoman by their most famous product - soy sauce. But they also make several types of soymilk, including - obviously - a green tea variety.
I have to admit that I wasn't really bowled over by this idea. It smacked of bandwagon-jumping of the loopiest sort and frankly, I really didn't see the point. Then I tried it.
The first and most important quality of a good soymilk is that it be thick and creamy. I've tasted some that were more like colored water than anything and they're definitely something to steer clear of. I recently tried another Kikkoman variety, besides green tea, and found both to be very creamy and thick.
The other thing that surprised me was how much tea was actually in this product. I was expecting the green tea to be a token component, but what I got instead was a dark green beverage thick with bits of powdered green tea. Okay, so the color is nothing to write home about, but the taste actually is.
This is pretty much a standard base of soymilk ingredients. The "active" ingredient is simply described as "organic green tea powder," which is good enough for me. As a matter of fact, the whole kit and caboodle are organic and the price isn't half bad either.
I bought this one mainly for the novelty value, but the funny thing is, I would probably buy it again. Recommended.
Contents: 32 ounce box
I paid: $1.79
Thursday, August 25, 2005
Tea Review 13 - Adagio Mambo
Mambo
Adagio Teas
My dancing style has been described as something along the lines of "drunken fat man with wooden leg and a bucket stuck on his head falling down the stairs." And yet I've been doing the Mambo like a sonofabitch lately. The Mambo, in this case, is not a dance - fortunately - but rather a black tea that makes me want to get up and do a jig.
To paraphrase the old saw about art, "I don't know about Mambo, but I know what I like." Which is kind of an awkward way of saying that since I'm not a tea expert, I may lack the impressively hoity-toity vocabulary to express what is wonderful about this blend. But I like it.
Adagio describes Mambo as having "smoky highlights and flavorfully rich body." A big amen to the latter and, in the case of the former, there's just a hint of smoke, at least to my taste buds. That's a huge plus in my book since the Lapsang Souchongs and other smoky teas are among the few types I most definitely don't like. Lapsang Souchong, to me, tastes kind of like a liquid version of Lebanon bologna, which is a reference that may leave you saying "huh?," unless you hail from the same region of central Pennsylvania that I came from.
Anyway, Mambo is a mix of Yunnan and Wuyi Chinese black and is well worth your while. It's offered in four sizes, ranging from a nifty little sample size tin that makes about ten cups and goes for two bucks all the way up to the full one-pounder, for nineteen dollars.
Contents: sample tin
I paid: na
Adagio Teas
My dancing style has been described as something along the lines of "drunken fat man with wooden leg and a bucket stuck on his head falling down the stairs." And yet I've been doing the Mambo like a sonofabitch lately. The Mambo, in this case, is not a dance - fortunately - but rather a black tea that makes me want to get up and do a jig.
To paraphrase the old saw about art, "I don't know about Mambo, but I know what I like." Which is kind of an awkward way of saying that since I'm not a tea expert, I may lack the impressively hoity-toity vocabulary to express what is wonderful about this blend. But I like it.
Adagio describes Mambo as having "smoky highlights and flavorfully rich body." A big amen to the latter and, in the case of the former, there's just a hint of smoke, at least to my taste buds. That's a huge plus in my book since the Lapsang Souchongs and other smoky teas are among the few types I most definitely don't like. Lapsang Souchong, to me, tastes kind of like a liquid version of Lebanon bologna, which is a reference that may leave you saying "huh?," unless you hail from the same region of central Pennsylvania that I came from.
Anyway, Mambo is a mix of Yunnan and Wuyi Chinese black and is well worth your while. It's offered in four sizes, ranging from a nifty little sample size tin that makes about ten cups and goes for two bucks all the way up to the full one-pounder, for nineteen dollars.
Contents: sample tin
I paid: na
Sunday, August 21, 2005
Tea Review 12 - Fuze White Tea
Fuze Orange Blossom White Tea
Fuze Beverage, LLC
Rather than take the risk of offending millions of Southerners, not to mention a host of tea drinkers abroad, I'll refrain from stating that sweetened tea is an abomination. But that doesn't mean I won't be thinking it.
The first thing you notice about Fuze teas - they also make a green variety - is the nifty keeno bottle and the not so shabby packaging. The second thing you notice is that they're really going after the "tea as health tonic" demographic. The majority of the packaging is devoted to touting the praises of the many polyphenols and vitamins contained therein. By golly, one eighteen ounce bottle of this stuff contains as many antioxidants as three whole servings of vegetables! Whee!
But I think I'd rather go with the vegetables - unless there are lima beans involved. Because the third thing I noticed about Fuze white is that the neato packaging was a lot more appealing than what was inside. Though, if you're a fan of sweet tea, your mileage is likely to vary.
In addition to filtered water, Fuze white's main ingredients are crystalline fructose, honey, natural orange ginger flavor with other natural flavors, white tea solids and white tea extract.
Which all adds up to a rather bland flavor that's kind of like weak lemonade made with oranges instead of lemons. Oh, and a slightly bitter aftertaste.
As for the white tea component, I going to assume it's in there, since it says so on the label. I didn't taste it, but maybe that's just me.
Provisionally recommended, to fans of pre-sweetened ready to drink beverages. A relatively good value, I might add, if you're into this sort of thing.
Contents: 18 ounce bottle
I paid: $1.39
Fuze Beverage, LLC
Rather than take the risk of offending millions of Southerners, not to mention a host of tea drinkers abroad, I'll refrain from stating that sweetened tea is an abomination. But that doesn't mean I won't be thinking it.
The first thing you notice about Fuze teas - they also make a green variety - is the nifty keeno bottle and the not so shabby packaging. The second thing you notice is that they're really going after the "tea as health tonic" demographic. The majority of the packaging is devoted to touting the praises of the many polyphenols and vitamins contained therein. By golly, one eighteen ounce bottle of this stuff contains as many antioxidants as three whole servings of vegetables! Whee!
But I think I'd rather go with the vegetables - unless there are lima beans involved. Because the third thing I noticed about Fuze white is that the neato packaging was a lot more appealing than what was inside. Though, if you're a fan of sweet tea, your mileage is likely to vary.
In addition to filtered water, Fuze white's main ingredients are crystalline fructose, honey, natural orange ginger flavor with other natural flavors, white tea solids and white tea extract.
Which all adds up to a rather bland flavor that's kind of like weak lemonade made with oranges instead of lemons. Oh, and a slightly bitter aftertaste.
As for the white tea component, I going to assume it's in there, since it says so on the label. I didn't taste it, but maybe that's just me.
Provisionally recommended, to fans of pre-sweetened ready to drink beverages. A relatively good value, I might add, if you're into this sort of thing.
Contents: 18 ounce bottle
I paid: $1.39
Friday, August 19, 2005
Tea Review 11 - Stash Lemon Ginger
Stash Lemon Ginger Herbal Tea
The Stash Tea Company
I don't know how it came about, but over the years I've developed a marked fondness for raw ginger. I've taken to keeping a sliver in my mouth and nibbling off a tiny piece now and then and chewing it. If freshens the breath and, if reports are to be believed, it's pretty good for you. Whether or not a quarter of a pound a week or so is good I don't know, but I guess time will tell.
I also like lemons. I'm one of those people who will sometimes take their lemon out of the tea or water glass in a restaurant and dig in. So it stands to reason that Stash's lemon ginger infusion would be pretty high on my list.
I wish I could say it was, but the fact is that I haven't really run across many ginger infusions or teas or whatever that are worth much. In fact, I've only run across one that's worth mentioning and that's Ginger Aid, by Traditional Medicinals, but more about that one at a later date.
As much as I love ginger, I have to admit that it's not good for much as a tea, at least not as far as the taste goes. It almost has to be combined with another ingredient and few manufacturers have demonstrated thus far that they have much of a knack for this.
Stash makes a good stab at it and this one isn't all that bad, but the lemon needs to be kicked up a notch or two - or three or four.
The ingredients list, by the way, is ginger root, lemongrass, the ever-present hibiscus, safflower, citric acid and natural lemon and ginger flavors.
Not particularly recommended as a standalone or a hot tea, but not so bad when mixed in an iced tea with something that packs a little more punch.
Contents: 20 bags per box.
I paid: na
The Stash Tea Company
I don't know how it came about, but over the years I've developed a marked fondness for raw ginger. I've taken to keeping a sliver in my mouth and nibbling off a tiny piece now and then and chewing it. If freshens the breath and, if reports are to be believed, it's pretty good for you. Whether or not a quarter of a pound a week or so is good I don't know, but I guess time will tell.
I also like lemons. I'm one of those people who will sometimes take their lemon out of the tea or water glass in a restaurant and dig in. So it stands to reason that Stash's lemon ginger infusion would be pretty high on my list.
I wish I could say it was, but the fact is that I haven't really run across many ginger infusions or teas or whatever that are worth much. In fact, I've only run across one that's worth mentioning and that's Ginger Aid, by Traditional Medicinals, but more about that one at a later date.
As much as I love ginger, I have to admit that it's not good for much as a tea, at least not as far as the taste goes. It almost has to be combined with another ingredient and few manufacturers have demonstrated thus far that they have much of a knack for this.
Stash makes a good stab at it and this one isn't all that bad, but the lemon needs to be kicked up a notch or two - or three or four.
The ingredients list, by the way, is ginger root, lemongrass, the ever-present hibiscus, safflower, citric acid and natural lemon and ginger flavors.
Not particularly recommended as a standalone or a hot tea, but not so bad when mixed in an iced tea with something that packs a little more punch.
Contents: 20 bags per box.
I paid: na
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
Tea Review 10 - Lipton Green Tea to Go
Green Tea to Go
Lipton Tea
Some ideas are pretty lousy in theory, but turn out to be okay in practice. Other ideas are just lousy all around.
I've never worked for a giant food conglomerate, so I can't say for sure, but I'd be willing to bet that the new products division is constantly under the gun to come up with nifty new gimmicks that will sell by the boatload. Which may go a long way toward explaining a product like Lipton's Green Tea to Go - or maybe not.
The gimmick here is a single serving foil pack of tea mix that you drop in a 16.9 ounce bottle of water, shake and drink. What could be more convenient? And, of course, it's green tea, so you know it'll make you live to about two hundred years old, cure your leprosy and - for the guys - enlarge your you know what until you have to wheel it around in a cart.
Actually, the primary health claim Lipton makes for the product is that it contains eighty milligrams of "protective flavonoid antioxidants," which help guard your body against free radicals - molecules that can damage your precious little cells. Well, gee whiz, I'd better get me some of them and, by the way, that's more flavonoids than broccoli or cranberry juice and twice as much as orange juice, so flavonoid fans rejoice.
The ingredients are instant green tea, maltodextrin (yum), citric acid, sucralose (double yum), natural flavors and - what tea would be complete without it - silicon dioxide.
To say that I wasn't expecting much from this health-giving elixir, would be putting it mildly, but I grabbed a bottle of water and plunged boldly ahead.
The verdict? Well, my mother always told me that if I couldn't say anything nice, I shouldn't say anything at all. But since I never listened to my mother too well, I'll say that if you're looking for a cough medicine/Kool Aid type flavor that's heavy on the artificial sweeteners, you're gonna flip for this one. As for me? Straight down the drain.
Contents: Ten packets per box.
I paid: NA
Lipton Tea
Some ideas are pretty lousy in theory, but turn out to be okay in practice. Other ideas are just lousy all around.
I've never worked for a giant food conglomerate, so I can't say for sure, but I'd be willing to bet that the new products division is constantly under the gun to come up with nifty new gimmicks that will sell by the boatload. Which may go a long way toward explaining a product like Lipton's Green Tea to Go - or maybe not.
The gimmick here is a single serving foil pack of tea mix that you drop in a 16.9 ounce bottle of water, shake and drink. What could be more convenient? And, of course, it's green tea, so you know it'll make you live to about two hundred years old, cure your leprosy and - for the guys - enlarge your you know what until you have to wheel it around in a cart.
Actually, the primary health claim Lipton makes for the product is that it contains eighty milligrams of "protective flavonoid antioxidants," which help guard your body against free radicals - molecules that can damage your precious little cells. Well, gee whiz, I'd better get me some of them and, by the way, that's more flavonoids than broccoli or cranberry juice and twice as much as orange juice, so flavonoid fans rejoice.
The ingredients are instant green tea, maltodextrin (yum), citric acid, sucralose (double yum), natural flavors and - what tea would be complete without it - silicon dioxide.
To say that I wasn't expecting much from this health-giving elixir, would be putting it mildly, but I grabbed a bottle of water and plunged boldly ahead.
The verdict? Well, my mother always told me that if I couldn't say anything nice, I shouldn't say anything at all. But since I never listened to my mother too well, I'll say that if you're looking for a cough medicine/Kool Aid type flavor that's heavy on the artificial sweeteners, you're gonna flip for this one. As for me? Straight down the drain.
Contents: Ten packets per box.
I paid: NA
Monday, August 15, 2005
Tea Review 9 - Celestial Peach Apricot Honeybush
Peach Apricot Honeybush
Celestial Seasonings
Celestial Seasonings is the second largest tea seller in the United States, after Lipton. They are probably best known for their line of herbal "teas," but over the years they have branched out into traditional varieties as well. Based in Boulder, Colorado and now a part of the Hain Celestial Group, the company has been doing their thing since 1968.
You can probably find Celestial Seasonings in just about any grocery store in the nation, though you may not necessarily run across Peach Apricot Honeybush. Honeybush, for the unitiated, is derived from a plant of the Cyclopea species. Like rooibos, also know as red bush, it is only grown in one specific region of South Africa, where its leaves, stems and yellow flowers are harvested to make tea.
Peach Apricot Honeybush contains honeybush - of course - peach and apricot flavor, with other natural flavors, dried honey, linden and vanilla bean. It contains no artificial colors or preservatives and is packaged in 100% recycled boxes.
Recommended preparation time is 4-6 minutes in boiling water. I steeped a bag closer to the high end of that range, but with water that wasn't quite boiling. The end result was a clear reddish-brown brew with a very pleasing look.
As for the taste, I have to admit that I didn't pick up much of the peach flavor, or the apricot or vanilla, for that matter. I caught a bit of the honey early on, but there was no hint of sweetness in the after taste. Ultimately, I felt like I was drinking a straight rooibos, with perhaps just the faintest touch of peach or apricot - not that that's a bad thing.
I also used this one to make iced tea. It works great, mixed with three parts to one part of lemon ginger or wild raspberry.
Contents: 20 tea bags per box.
I paid: $3.29
Celestial Seasonings
Celestial Seasonings is the second largest tea seller in the United States, after Lipton. They are probably best known for their line of herbal "teas," but over the years they have branched out into traditional varieties as well. Based in Boulder, Colorado and now a part of the Hain Celestial Group, the company has been doing their thing since 1968.
You can probably find Celestial Seasonings in just about any grocery store in the nation, though you may not necessarily run across Peach Apricot Honeybush. Honeybush, for the unitiated, is derived from a plant of the Cyclopea species. Like rooibos, also know as red bush, it is only grown in one specific region of South Africa, where its leaves, stems and yellow flowers are harvested to make tea.
Peach Apricot Honeybush contains honeybush - of course - peach and apricot flavor, with other natural flavors, dried honey, linden and vanilla bean. It contains no artificial colors or preservatives and is packaged in 100% recycled boxes.
Recommended preparation time is 4-6 minutes in boiling water. I steeped a bag closer to the high end of that range, but with water that wasn't quite boiling. The end result was a clear reddish-brown brew with a very pleasing look.
As for the taste, I have to admit that I didn't pick up much of the peach flavor, or the apricot or vanilla, for that matter. I caught a bit of the honey early on, but there was no hint of sweetness in the after taste. Ultimately, I felt like I was drinking a straight rooibos, with perhaps just the faintest touch of peach or apricot - not that that's a bad thing.
I also used this one to make iced tea. It works great, mixed with three parts to one part of lemon ginger or wild raspberry.
Contents: 20 tea bags per box.
I paid: $3.29
Saturday, August 13, 2005
Tea Review 8 - Kalahari Red
Kalahari Red Tea
Kalahari Limited
As far as I can tell, rooibos tea is pretty much rooibos tea, no matter who makes it. At least that's been my experience so far, just going on the evidence provided to me by my taste buds. Perhaps, upon further investigation, I'll find that there are high grades of rooibos and crappier grades. That research will have to wait for now.
The last rooibos I reviewed was from Twinings. Kalahari, which calls itself a "premium South African rooibos herb tea," does not taste noticeably different, though ideally, I should have done a side by side taste test. Kalahari also bills itself as "the original pure rooibos." The box offers no explanation for this claim, though it does point out that the "tea" is made using only the tips of the plants. So maybe there's something to the company's claim that it's a premium variety.
Founded by a Californian and a South African, Kalahari is distributed on these shores from a base in Atlanta, Georgia. I brewed a cup using almost boiling water and steeped it for about five minutes. Color and taste were about the same as any other rooibos I've sampled, but again, a side by side taste test might provide more accurate results.
Recommended, as are any of the rooibos brands I've tried thus far.
Contents: 20 tea bags in a box.
I paid: $2.79
Kalahari Limited
As far as I can tell, rooibos tea is pretty much rooibos tea, no matter who makes it. At least that's been my experience so far, just going on the evidence provided to me by my taste buds. Perhaps, upon further investigation, I'll find that there are high grades of rooibos and crappier grades. That research will have to wait for now.
The last rooibos I reviewed was from Twinings. Kalahari, which calls itself a "premium South African rooibos herb tea," does not taste noticeably different, though ideally, I should have done a side by side taste test. Kalahari also bills itself as "the original pure rooibos." The box offers no explanation for this claim, though it does point out that the "tea" is made using only the tips of the plants. So maybe there's something to the company's claim that it's a premium variety.
Founded by a Californian and a South African, Kalahari is distributed on these shores from a base in Atlanta, Georgia. I brewed a cup using almost boiling water and steeped it for about five minutes. Color and taste were about the same as any other rooibos I've sampled, but again, a side by side taste test might provide more accurate results.
Recommended, as are any of the rooibos brands I've tried thus far.
Contents: 20 tea bags in a box.
I paid: $2.79
Friday, August 12, 2005
Tea Review 7 - Steaz Key Lime
Steaz Key Lime Green Tea Soda
The Healthy Beverage Company
Thus far I've had the opportunity to taste four of Steaz's eight flavors of green tea soda (lemon, orange, root beer and now lime) and thus far I've been relatively unimpressed. Key Lime, my latest Steaz experience, is the only one I'd really give the thumbs up to, though to be fair, I have yet to sample cola, ginger ale, grape and raspberry.
Steaz sodas all use pretty much the same basic mix of ingredients - sparkling filtered water, organic evaporated cane juice, organic Ceylon tea and an assortment of "bottom of the label" ingredients. The unique ingredient in this case, of course, is natural key lime flavor and this time around Steaz has finally come close to hitting the nail on the head. Key Lime has a nice taste, with just the right mix of fizz, sweetness and tang.
Unlike other Steaz products that I've sampled, this is one that I would come back to again.
Contents: 12 ounce bottle
I Paid: $.51 (clearance price)
The Healthy Beverage Company
Thus far I've had the opportunity to taste four of Steaz's eight flavors of green tea soda (lemon, orange, root beer and now lime) and thus far I've been relatively unimpressed. Key Lime, my latest Steaz experience, is the only one I'd really give the thumbs up to, though to be fair, I have yet to sample cola, ginger ale, grape and raspberry.
Steaz sodas all use pretty much the same basic mix of ingredients - sparkling filtered water, organic evaporated cane juice, organic Ceylon tea and an assortment of "bottom of the label" ingredients. The unique ingredient in this case, of course, is natural key lime flavor and this time around Steaz has finally come close to hitting the nail on the head. Key Lime has a nice taste, with just the right mix of fizz, sweetness and tang.
Unlike other Steaz products that I've sampled, this is one that I would come back to again.
Contents: 12 ounce bottle
I Paid: $.51 (clearance price)
Sunday, August 07, 2005
Tea Review 6 - Steaz Root Beer
Root Beer Green Tea Soda
The Healthy Beverage Company
I liked root beer well enough when I was growing up, but I was never a huge fan. I was much more enamored of the charms of birch beer. Remember that one?
Healthy Beverage Company makes eight flavors of green tea soda, which it markets under the Steaz brand. Five of these are fruit flavors (see the review of orange here), which makes sense, and one is ginger ale, which doesn't sound half bad.
The other two flavors, though, just don't sound like winning ideas, at least not on paper. I haven't had a chance to sample Steaz's cola variety yet, though I have to admit that their root beer was nowhere near as gruesome as I expected.
I'm not sure exactly what I expected, but the notion of root beer mixed with green tea just didn't ring any bells for me. Of course, if the truth be must be told, my crude palate couldn't detect any tea flavor at all. As for the root beer, it was passably good, if a little bland.
All of Steaz's sodas are organic micro-brews, with no preservatives. The root beer mix is sparkling filtered water, organic evaporated cane juice, natural root beer flavor and caramel color. The green tea component, as with all Steaz varieties, is organic Ceylon green tea. There are also a few other minor ingredients listed.
It's been a long time since I've had a proper root beer, so perhaps I'm not the best person to judge this one. But I'd be willing to bet that root beer lovers could do better. As for green tea fans, well, unless you buy into that "green tea as miracle health tonic" song and dance, you could do better too.
Contents: 12 ounce bottle
I paid: $.51 (clearance price)
The Healthy Beverage Company
I liked root beer well enough when I was growing up, but I was never a huge fan. I was much more enamored of the charms of birch beer. Remember that one?
Healthy Beverage Company makes eight flavors of green tea soda, which it markets under the Steaz brand. Five of these are fruit flavors (see the review of orange here), which makes sense, and one is ginger ale, which doesn't sound half bad.
The other two flavors, though, just don't sound like winning ideas, at least not on paper. I haven't had a chance to sample Steaz's cola variety yet, though I have to admit that their root beer was nowhere near as gruesome as I expected.
I'm not sure exactly what I expected, but the notion of root beer mixed with green tea just didn't ring any bells for me. Of course, if the truth be must be told, my crude palate couldn't detect any tea flavor at all. As for the root beer, it was passably good, if a little bland.
All of Steaz's sodas are organic micro-brews, with no preservatives. The root beer mix is sparkling filtered water, organic evaporated cane juice, natural root beer flavor and caramel color. The green tea component, as with all Steaz varieties, is organic Ceylon green tea. There are also a few other minor ingredients listed.
It's been a long time since I've had a proper root beer, so perhaps I'm not the best person to judge this one. But I'd be willing to bet that root beer lovers could do better. As for green tea fans, well, unless you buy into that "green tea as miracle health tonic" song and dance, you could do better too.
Contents: 12 ounce bottle
I paid: $.51 (clearance price)
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