Teavana
Edit CompanyPopular Teas from Teavana
See All 546 TeasPopular Teaware from Teavana
See AllRecent Tasting Notes
I really enjoy this tea. The first time I brewed a cup, it was very bland-tasting, even though it had a really nice fruity aftertaste. The next time I brewed it, I used more tea, and it turned out very tasty! Not sure I would purchase again, but I do enjoy it. :)
Preparation
I have been so busy the past couple of days that I haven’t had time to have tea! :( But finally I have some time today, so I made this one up first thing this morning! I was in the mood for comforting and yummy. As usual, this does not disappoint. :)
Preparation
I’ve been wanting to revisit this one for a while now, but I’ve been too distracted by the New and Shiny. :P
Even after all the new teas I’ve tried lately, this is still one of my favorites. :) I love how smooth and creamy this tea is, and I like the vanilla in it, but nothing overpowers the bergamot. Yum! :)
Preparation
New and shiny is SUCH a danger with me and tea. Oh, to not be so easily distracted…
Hahaha, I knowww! And I keep seeing new tea I want to try. Hopefully I’ll be able to resist, at least for a little while longer. :P Maybe someone should just confiscate my internet…
And the teas that they tempt you with on the Steepster Select! Don’t you always want to order it? I do and have to remind myself that I have tea tins in the cupboard that still needs opening ….!
Omg, I know. I want all of the Select things! Especially when they’re samplers. But samplers tend to be the most evil, because then they make me want to buy the full sizes. And I have no room for more tea! lol
TOTAL AGREEMENT!
No notes yet. Add one?
Preparation
You should also try Harney and Sons Cranberry Autumn if you like cranberries. I’m crazy for them too – and this tea! I’d send you some but I finished mine! It’s that good :)
How could I miss that tea! Added to my shopping list. I might have glanced over it because the orange pieces scared me off.
Second the Cranberry Autumn love.
Ooh, this is making me crave cranberry juice. :) The only cranberry tea I’ve tried is Portsmouth Cranberry fruit tea…it’s pretty good. More like Kool Aid than tea, though :)
And, now I’m going to go make some Cranberry tea, which isn’t in my “drink it up” pile but I’m craving it. :)
Harney, Golden Moon, Samovar…. oh boy I’m going to be broke. Shantea bug might take over. Poor wallet.
Haha, what’s this drink it up pile?!? Mine are all those Adagio tin. Good idea, I should try finishing those.
Heh, I took a page out of Bethany’s book and made a “drink it up” pile of Adagio tins that I NEED to finish.
Alas, I didn’t end up making cranberry fruit tea OR Adagio tea…instead, I opted for some yummy Simple Leaf oolong :)
Drank some Shanti? Wait, that’s not oolong, that’s green.
Nope, Tankha this time :) It’s goooood.
Simple Leaf’s another company I have to try. I’ll get to it eventually, haha. So much tea left to finish off!
Oh, their stuff is amazing…but yeah, no rush, finish off some of what you have first! (I’m telling myself that before I go and buy more stuff, too hehe)
By the way, I spoke too soon re:cranberry tea—I just got my package from 52teas w/ the mandarin matcha and I got a free package of Cran-Cherry Black Tea! Hooray!
I’m in a toss up if I want to take advantage of that Golden Moon free 1/2lb of Rose tea offer. Decisions, decisions…. my 52teas order hasn’t arrived yet =(
Glad you liked it!
I got cran-raspberry black as my 52teas extra. I bet it will be great iced in the summer, and now I have something else to offer my mom when she’s over – she likes fruity black teas. They’re not my fave but I’m going to try it hot soon…
Janefan – I dunno about 52tea’s cran-raspberry, but Teavanna’s cranberry black was AWFUL (IMO) iced (and that’s why I wanted it). It was passable hot, I thought, but I ended up passing it over for things I liked better.
thanks for the warning!
Haha, add me to the list of people who received cran-raspberry black 52teas.
Did you guys get cran-raspberry or cran-cherry? I got cran-cherry.
OH just took a closer look. cran-blackberry.
Cran-blackberry? That sounds good!
Hey it’s like the same thing as teavana =] I might like it we’ll see!
Oh wow! I checked the website, and they have LOTS of cranberry black blends: cran-blueberry, cran-strawberry, cran-blackberry, cran-cherry, cran-apple, cran-raspberry, cran-orange, cran-peach, cran-grape….
Ohhhh, cran-strawberry! I realized no one ever rated a zoom dweebie bar tea before. How strange!
mine’s def cran-raspberry. #094. I keep forgetting that zoomdweebie’s has so many more flavors than what’s on 52teas (or manteas). Not sure how they keep it all straight!
Haha, right? It seems they have about 200 teas! That’s crazy, what a large selection. Now Frank, I’m curious. Why do you only advertise 52teas for the most part?
After my less than spectacular experiences with this earlier today, I was going to switch to English Breakfast, but I decided to give it ONE more chance. Taking a suggestion from Cofftea, I let it steep for 6 minutes and made it with steamed milk and honey. So much better than earlier. I actually really enjoy this tea when made like this. The spice level holds up well with the milk and it still has a very strong black tea taste.
Thanks Cofftea!! Because of you, this tea has earned a slightly higher rating…I love a good chai.
Preparation
Third infusion of my chai/vanilla black blend. It is a really light honey color this time and while it tastes better than the last infusion (probably due to the longer steep time) it is still pretty light tasting. I guess three infusions is all this blend can handle. My rating will stay the same because this infusion actually tastes pretty good, just light.
Preparation
This tea is not consistent for me. I’ll have it once and it is great, the next time it tastes weak or unbalanced. I steeped this second infusion of the chai/vanilla black blend for a bit longer and it is still weak. After this, I will try for a third infusion, if it is not what I am looking for, the rating will be dropped.
Preparation
Try shaking the container before each time you take out some tea to steep. 3.5 min is quite weak for my personall preference so maybe try closer to 5? Depending on how you drink it, you may even want to go to 6 min. If I add milk or creamer to my chai I always steep it for 6. Hope this helps! It’s so sad to have chai that isn’t good:(
I know, I absolutely love chai. Looking back over my tealog, I realized that I have always just steeped this tea for 3-4 minutes. I will definately try steeping it longer, I really want to love this tea…just haven’t gotten the formula right.
I have the same problem, tried shaking the container and steeping it longer.. just made an overpowering bitter flavor..
any other ideas?
I’m starting my day with this. I added 2 tsp chai to 1 tsp vanilla black tea and I think that the vanilla black really helps to even out the spices. I added a bit of honey and it tastes great. Next infusion I will add a bit of steamed milk also. I think this tea has earned a couple more rating points because of the smoothness I’m getting today.
Preparation
Okay, I’m trying this again. This time I added honey and just a tad of milk. Much, much better. I think last time I just used too much milk and the rock sugar wasn’t sweet enough to balance out the spice. I am adjusting my rating to reflect this… I’m sure glad I have this since I am running out of some of my other fave teas.
Preparation
I’ll confess: I’ve been drinking this as a latte.
Someone else (Ricky? Cofftea, perhaps?) was posting about matcha lattes, and since drinking a cup of just plain matcha doesn’t often appeal to me (sometimes it does, but only very selectively and only every now and then, as with almost all green tea) I thought I would give it a try. I haven’t the first idea what the temp or steep time are. My method is to mix water and milk (I use 2% for almost everything) at a 1:1 ratio in a pot on the stove, heat it until it’s hot but not so hot that it seems likely to bitter the powder, then I sift the matcha through the bottom of one of my mesh basket infusers to reduce it to fine powder and clear lumps, whisk it, and pour it into a cup into which I’ve already added a tiny bit of raw honey. The results are delicious. It’s a non-standard way to drink matcha, obviously (though my Japanese friend tells me that taking matcha with milk is pretty common in Japan, so I don’t feel like an utter heretic), so I’m going to avoid trying to review this matcha as compares to other matchas (especially as I’m hardly a connoisseur)…but I do like it. It seems tolerant of the method of preparation; I have yet to make a bitter cup. The caffeine content is fair, the color of the powder is rich and bright enough to promise that whatever their processing methods or sources are, they’re (more or less) legitimate, the aftertaste is sweet and grassy. No complaints.
That’d be Ricky- I’m the Matcha Drinking Chocolate girl:)
I’m loving all the Matcha love. lol.
I love the idea of using a mesh basket infuser to sift the matcha. That would make things so much easier!
Huh. I might need to try that some morning.
It is handy! I just use the teaspoon to do it. Works like a charm. :D
this sounds like a great way to prepare it! I’ll have to try it. I drink teavana matcha with milk & a pinch of sugar too, but your ratios and prep method sound ideal. thanks for sharing! I’m really starting to understand and appreciate the versatility of matcha.
Hahah, yeah, I always drink matcha as a latte. Guilty! Cofftea is the one who prepares it traditionally =P
Is there a difference with the stove versus microwave to warm up the milk? You know… one day I’ll just make two cups of latte and see what the difference is. I always crave a second cup of matcha latte after the first anyways.
@Ricky: Knew it was one of you. ^^ I’ve never tried microwaving it, so I have no idea! Presumably not. I tend to prefer normal heat sources instead of microwave generally (when I’m not feeling lazy)…it may be that there’s not really any difference. If you find that there is one, you’ll have to let me know.
@JF/tak: Hope you like it. It’s pretty good with turbinado sugar, too, in a pinch. And matcha is awesome for cooking purposes. One of these days I’m going to make a huge batch of ice cream. :D
Ricky, the difference between microwave vs stove is the microwave is MUCH easier to scorch the milk. It seems to go from cold to a sticky film all over your cup and microwave instantly.
What I need is a nonstick pan to heat the milk. It’s either I hate cleaning the pot afterwards or it leaves a sticky film on the bottom. I think it might be because I mix the whole mixture into the pot and heat it. I don’t remember.
I mix it all into the pot and heat it, too. The trick is just to put water into the pot immediately afterward. You do have to probably sponge the bottom, but it’s not that bad…and really, the heat should only ever go up to moderate heat, so it doesn’t scorch the matcha; that helps keep the bottom of the pot from gumming up too badly…a quick pass with a sponge is really enough. :D
I totally agree with Luthien (the first post) on this one. In that it is a pretty good oolong but you can’t beat a good Formosa Oolong! Formosa Oolongs are my current favorite so I maybe biased. I will continue to drink my monkey picked until it’s all gone but won’t rebuy Monkey picked from Teavana. It’s not worth the price when their are better oolongs at more reasonable prices.
Preparation
This tea was hiding in the back of the drawer, not surprising, seeing that there was only enough for one more pot of Almond Biscotti tea left. Today was the day though. I think it was the best cup yet, all the small flavoring pieces had settled to the bottom and produced an incredibly smooth, creamy tea that needed neither sweetener nor milk. I will steep the leaves once, possibly twice more, and then this tea will be forever missed.
