Tazo - Iced Apple Spice

Tazo Apple with Book and Headphone, cir. 2008

This little number caught my eye at a local grocer, and next thing I knew I was walking another liquid impulse buy back to my car. As you can see, this is a nice, deep apple-red. I wonder how they got it so red from the listed ingredients... perhaps they souped-up the rose hips?

Let me warn you, this stuff smells awesome. It's a spicy herbed-apple cider smell. Pungent, earthy, rich smell of autumn with a hint of sweet. Mmm. I sat there smelling this for 10 minutes straight before snapping myself out of it long enough to actually take a sip.

Wow. And it's got flavor to match. It didn't let me down after my fragrance binge. This juice drink is perfectly sweet, perfectly spicy, like a juicy apple cider spiced with just the right amount of cinnamon, peppermint, and lemon for zip. Delicious. It's all natural with 40% juice, decent sugar content, and interesting herb twists. I have to give this a 5. I'm on my way to the store to get another one right now.

Rating: 5.0/5

-Danithius-

Tazo Plum Pomegranate Green Tea

Aroma : The sweet fruity smell of plum and pomegranate come first, followed by the familiar scent of green tea, which evanesces before you have a chance to enjoy the expected earthy aroma of green tea.

Taste : The sweet plum juice mixes with the mildly tart pomegranate and is followed by the unpresumptuous green tea, which vanishes in the tongue sapping tart of the pomegranate, leaving a faint sweet aftertaste of plum, but no tea.

Price : $1.39 at Good Earth. Available at stores nationwide.

Ingredients : An infusion of (water, green tea, and natural flavors), cane sugar, concentrated plum and pomegranate juices, natural flavors, and citric acid.

Other Comments : The same self-aggrandizement continues on this bottle as noted on the other Tazo sampling. One Thing Danithius neglected to mention, the website is very hip and pedantic, but a bit difficult to maneuver the first time around. And the second.

Overall : This is a pleasant juice blend, particularly for those fond of tart fruits like pomegranate, but it is supposed to be a juice/tea blend, and the barely recognizable hints of tea spoiled my opinion of this as such. Good as a juice, not so as a tea.

Rating : 3.5/5 stars.

-WiseGuise

Tazo Brambleberry

Aroma: This "herbal infusion" has a strong scent of honey. Oddly enough, there isn't any in it. Behind that aroma (probably coming from the apple and blackberry juices) is the faintest hint of the herbal blend, most notably cinnamon and peppermint.

Taste: This is an interesting combination of juice and herbal flavor, but the intricate accents of the herbs are largely lost in the potency of the marion (black) berry juice. The cinnamon and peppermint flavors do manage to rise up and get your attention every once and a while, but the juice is definitely the power-hitter in this one. And it looks like that's what it was made to be - it says on the label it's a "lively, full-bodied mouthful of sweet (juices)". I didn't read that part before tasting, so I was just expecting a lighter, more herb-centric flavor. The juice itself is quite tasty, and it lingers at the back of your throat for a good while to make sure you're doing OK. Now that's service.

Price: $1.45 at a local grocer. Available at stores nationwide.

Ingredients: An infusion of (water, hibiscus, cinnamon, peppermint, lemongrass, rosehips, orange peel, and natural lemon essence), cane sugar, concentrated apple and marion blackberry juices, natural flavors, and citric acid.

Other Comments: Wow, Tazo seems to be a little... how would you say it...full of themselves? There are TAZO-isms littered all over the label in every available place. I couldn't get halfway around the bottle without rolling my eyes at least twice. A sampling:

"Shake this bottle before opening to mix the real herbal tea inside in a swirling, joyous dance."

OK, I'm all for creative liberties in label making, but then look at this:

"TAZO BRAMBLEBERRY is (description of juices)... infused with hibiscus, cinnamon, and a pinch of amusement at the endless wonders in life".

Okaaaaay...
And another:

"Tazo is an enticing source of wonder, inspiration & antioxidants."

Come on, I know drink companies have to create a brand image for themselves, but this is getting a little crazy, don't you think? This is to the point of asking me to build a shrine to TAZO in my house. That better be some damn good tea.

Overall: If you drink it as a juice (which is how I rated it below), you'll probably be happy with it. If you drink it as a tea, you'll be a little disappointed. And if you're looking for a soft drink that guide you in the way of the Tao, evidently this is the one.

Rating: 3.5/5 stars.

-Danithius

***Review Rebuttal!***
The first scent I recognized was cinnamon, then the lemongrass and berry essences, but only got a faint hint of a honey smell.
This fantastic blend of apple, blackberry, and cinnamon conquered my taste buds in one fell swoop, leaving only a faint sour-berry taste that was not at all unpleasant.
Cinnamon can easily overwhelm the flavor of any beverage it is ‘infused’ with, but this one plays very nicely with its fellow ingredients, compliments rather than overtaking the flavors.
Overall, this is one of the best blended berry juices I have drank in a long time, and I believe I will be savoring this beverage again in the very near future.

Rating : 4/5 stars.

-WiseGuise