Green Ginger

Yucky :( I couldn’t even taste the tea! The ginger was overpowering. Sad tea night.

I want to like Tazo. I really do. I want Starbuck’s to do for tea what it did for coffee but I think Tazo is more concerned with appearing all hip and mystically rather than concentrating on the important stuff, the tea. My opinion – your image isn’t whimsical its just dumb.

As for this tea, it smells like medicine. Reading other reviews here, I was unaware the natural flavors listed on the label meant pear. That probably explains my dislike of the smell. The taste reminds me of incense. Now in my incense burning days I might have liked that image. Today, not so much. The lemongrass, ginger, and ‘natural flavors’ blend together well enough but overwhelm the tea base which is probably sencha. It isn’t totally disgusting. It’s just not interesting enough for me to want again.

When I think of ginger I think of Vernors Ginger Ale. One of the oldest American soft drinks still in production. Barrel aged for three years. It used to be aged for longer but the company has traded hands a few times and changed some to remain competitive. It still is highly carbonated but nothing like it used to be when it came in glass bottles. I believe it was impossible to drink without the bubbles making you cough – in a glorious good way. Even in its present shadow of its former self it still stands miles above Canada Dry and Seven Up. Love it or hate it, this is a classic.

That’s what I want Starbuck’s to do for tea. Make it a fine vintage drink to be proud of and not some quirky unsatisfying half hearted attempt at tea. Make it worth my nearly $2/cup. Make the tea great and you won’t have to hide it in a gimmicky box.

I just submitted a review of this tea to the Tea Review Blog, although, like before, I don’t know when it will be published.

I really like this tea – it is very good, especially given that it’s a bagged tea. The ginger is warm but not overly spicy, and there is a pleasant fruit note to it that gives it an agreeable balance. It is one that I look forward to serving iced too – it doesn’t lose its flavor as it cools.

Thoroughly enjoyed this tea. Good blend of ginger and the green tea and the two flavors complement each other to produce a great tasting tea.

“Natural flavors” does not constitute “pear”. Whatever, I’m picky about what’s on the back of the box. I don’t even taste pear, anyway.

I’ll only drink this one iced. It’s refreshing when its cold and reminds me of a Dark ‘n Stormy (Gosling’s dark rum, Gosling’s or Saranac ginger beer, ginger and lime simple syrup, wedge of lime). If you haven’t tried one, please do. I might just try and make one with this tea.

If you drink this warm, there’s something about it that’s off-putting. The ginger is too faint and there’s too much emphasis lemongrass. Its got a bergamot intensity when it should be crisp and clean. Ginger is light and has a zing to it, its not oily and deep, like this tea makes it. Hence, why I ice it; it calms down and is sweet and clean.

Like a lot of the other reviews, I drink this usually when I am feeling sick. It has a decent ginger flavor. This is by no means a good quality tea. But it is drinkable for those sick days when you don’t want to be wasting your high quality teas.

Yum.

I went to Starbucks on my way to my sisters to fix her computer. I was sick on a cold winters day and need aid in this trek. Ginger is good for your health as green tea. So I made a purchase and headed on my way. I did add a packet or two of honey to it before leaving (later I tried it without). It soothed my soar throat and warmed me up. I enjoyed it so much I continued to drink it through the winter.

The flavor of the liquor was not bold (the ginger) but pleasant to the pallet. The liquor has a nice color of a golden pear.

Smells good, tastes good, very Chinesey and would go well with milder tasting Chinese food. Flavors are balanced without becoming muddy. A keeper.

I decided to ignore the instructions on the box, and brew it at a lower temperature as for other green teas. It does improve the flavor quite a bit. Still, it’s rather – meh. If I needed extra room on the tea shelf, it might very well wind up on the compost heap.