Celestial Seasonings

45 second steep made this tea even better than the 1 min. steep that I reported before. Remember to let the boiling water sit for 5-8 min. first before pouring. I really think the rating/score on this tea is misleading and low as a result of improper brewing. Less is more!

This tea has to be steeped “perfectly” for it to taste good and not bitter. First time I had this tea it was bitter but that’s because I used boiling/near boiling water. Here’s how to make the perfect cup:
I guessed on the water temperature scale (I don’t have a thermometer) but basically I boiled the water and then let it sit for several minutes (5-8) and then poured it over the tea bag in my mug. I timed the steep for exactly one minute.

The pear flavour isn’t overly fruity/sweet but you can definitely taste it.
The great thing about this tea is that it is the fastest steep of all my teas, it’s low on caffeine but a great ‘pick me up’ for the a.m., and using a lower water temp. meant that I didn’t have to wait for it to cool before drinking.

So don’t let the low Steepster rating talk you out of trying this tea. I purchased it on sale at the local health food store for $1.80 CDN – *TIP: watch for clearance sales on teas that only have a month or two before the expiry date. It’s a cheaper way to try new flavours.

Smell: Vanilla cookie and mint
Taste: Mint mainly. Reminds me of chocolate covered mint – like “After Eight”.
Overall impression: I like it.

Acceptable from a tasting point of view, but we didn’t really see an improvement in sleep.

An invigorating, delicious tea that makes a great pick-me-up. The peppermint is not overwhelming, and mixes well with the spices.

You can smell this steeping if you are just standing beside it. I’m surprised the flavour is so light with so much lovely aroma. I think I may try 3 tea bags next time. I need to use it up anyway (best before date approaching!).
*Improves slightly with 3 teabags. I will try even more bags in a pot sometime and report again.
*6 tea bags in about 4 cups of water. Nice smell, but still not much taste. It’s odd. The only other suggestion I have is to try it as an iced tea.

I’m nursing a super sore throat today so I pulled this out. It’s very light and slightly sweet so it works fairly well as a “comfort” tea. It’s probably my favourite decaf tea that I’ve tried—I always forget how much I like it!

Another horrible-feeling-stomach day today, so I had to pull out this tea. It really helps (along with Sprite Zero)… usually “Tension Tamer” tea is my bad-stomach-go-to, but I forgot to restock that, so CCL fills in nicely.

I had a stress-induced heavy duty stomach ache this morning, so I had to go for something gentle & minty, and this was exactly what I needed. It sure didn’t wake me up, but it made me feel well enough to be able to eat lunch! Tastes and smells pretty amazing as well—much love to Candy Cane Lane!

This is a good “upset stomach” tea, which is what I used it for today. I wish it actually had some flavour to it, but the incredible smell almost makes up for the bland minty green tea taste. Still not a favourite, but I upped the rating just a bit because I do usually enjoy it when I have some.

Drank this today because I didn’t want any caffeine. I am never impressed with the taste of it (there isn’t really any taste), but the smell is awesome. I usually drink this when I am sick or can’t have any caffeine, but it takes me forever to get through a whole box.

additional notes: My box of this is embarrassingly old but it’s still very delicious. Luckily I at least put their non-sealable papery bag in a sandwich bag. This is still solidly my favorite from Celestial Seasonings. I hope they keep making it! Even though it takes me forever to get through it….

I just have to comment some more on this one. The color is like a black cup of coffee. This is probably my favorite Celestial Seasonings from what I’ve tried. Really good. I guess I like the black teas with a vanilla flavor.

This is actually a blacker tea than the other black teas I’ve tried from Celestial Seasonings. It’s a good thing! Perfect amount of spice.

Don’t like it by itself, but it was tasty when I made apple spiced tea punch with it.

This is pure peppermint, so you have to really like peppermint to enjoy this tea. I think it’s great. I steeped 4 min. with boiling water. It does work well to relieve an upset stomach so if that’s what you are looking for, I recommend this one.

This stuff is really good and quite addicting. Very powerful taste. If you drink too much it starts to taste a bit like Hot Tamales candy after a while!

Yuck! First brew and probably over steeped, but the overwhelming flavor I got was artificial banana. It reminded me of the flavoring of liquid medicines when I was a child. I will probably try it again, sigh, as I cannot give up on it so easily. Maybe if steeped for less time the flavor will mimic something enjoyable.

Meh. I really wanted to like this, but just can’t. The green tea by itself would be nice, and the berry flavor is nice, and would be nice by itself, but together they just don’t do it for me. If you like the flavored teas with more delicate flavors, you may like this, but it’s not really for me.

Yummy! This tea was my favourite for almost a year until they took it off all the shelves to redesign the package. I had to go find another brand to get my almond fix. But I’d gladly get this again if I saw it. It does well as an iced tea :)

To me, this is sickeningly sweet.

Finished the box of teabags this morning. So long Nutcracker Sweet, until next Christmas. :)

I forgot to log this tea this morning. My box is getting quite low (nuuuuuuuu!) so I’m rationing it. :D