Not Selling The Concept, Stash Black Forest Tea Underwhelms!

The Good: Easy to prepare, Does not taste bad, Caffeinated
The Bad: Extraneous tea garbage, Virtually no flavor
The Basics: An entirely unimpressive beverage experience, Stash Black Forest Tea fails to live up to the promised flavor.


Every now and then, I get a culinary question that has a remarkably simple answer. Up until tonight, I would occasionally find myself asking, "Just what the hell flavor is 'Black Forest?!'" After all, I've had Black Forest Cake and Black Forest Ham and there was no similarities I could find between the rich chocolate cake and the smoky, salted ham. Tonight, a box of Stash Tea cleared up the not-really-mystery for me. According to the box of Stash Tea, Black Forest is a blend of chocolate and cherry, which certainly fits with my preconceived notion of the flavor based on the cakes I've eaten for years. Unfortunately, Stash Tea's rendition of the flavor is not all it is supposed to be.

Today has been a gloomy, rainy day here in Northern Michigan and as I've sat reading, I've had pots of tea brewing and as I reached the end of my stock of Stash Black Forest tea, it occurred to me that it was time to review it. Alas, I discovered, I had remarkably little to say about it. Stash Black Forest Tea might as well be an unflavored black tea for all the additional flavor it possesses and embodies.

Basics

Black Forest is a tea from Stash. It is a tea that is naturally caffeinated, as it is an unadulterated black tea. Black Forest comes in Stash's standard individually-wrapped tea bags, means that each tea bag has a wax papery envelope it is sealed in for freshness. Each tea bag has a five-inch string with a little paper tab at the end, which is quite a bit more waste than I like from a tea bag. When I make pots of tea, I tend to use three bags and making a steeping pot of Black Forest reminds me of why I like the easy environmentalism of Celestial Seasonings' stringless bags. A box of Black Forest comes with 18 individually-wrapped tea bags.

Ease Of Preparation

Black Forest is a black tea, which means preparation is as easy as boiling a pot of water! Black Forest, as the directions clearly state, requires water that is boiling. A single tea bag will make the standard 8 oz. coffee mug worth of tea, though reusing the tea bags yields a mug full which is about 3/4 strength, so this is not the worst tea bag to reuse for tea misers.

To prepare Black Forest, simply boil up some water, and pour it over the tea bags in a cup, mug or steeping pot. This tea is recommended to take three to five minutes to steep and with boiling water, the tea is ready at the three minute mark. It did not get any more flavorful with more time added to its steeping.

Taste

Black Forest Tea smells like a simple, plain black tea, with perhap a hint of cocoa to it. The chocolate element to the aroma is buried deep beneath the scent of black tea and is very subtle compared to the overt, overwhelming tea scent the steam from the cup carries.

For a tea advertised to taste like chocolate and cherry, the Stash Black Forest Tea falls woefully short. At best, there were hints of black cherry flavor in the tea's aftertaste, which is an underwhelming position for any flavor. Instead, the palate of the tea is dominated by plain, dull black tea flavoring and the result is utterly unimpressive. This tea tastes very much like someone placed a drop or two (no more!) of Marachino Cherry juice into a cup of hot, black tea.

Interestingly, the Black Forest Tea has no noticeable aftertaste - good or bad.

Nutrition

That Stash’s Black Forest is dominated by tea flavor is unsurprising given that black tea is the primary ingredient. Ironically, because cocoa shells and hibiscus are the next two ingredients, it is surprising that the cherry flavor comes through more than anything even remotely chocolate (chery flavor is the final ingredient in the list!). Black Forest tea is appears to be all-natural, caffeinated and Kosher. It is not marked as gluten-free.

This tea is devoid of any nutritional value. It contains no calories, fat, sodium, carbohydrates or protein.

Storage/Clean-up

Stash's Black Forest is a fairly dark black tea, so it will stain light fabrics for sure. The mugs and steeping pot easily rinse out. This tea will stain if it is left on fabrics, so consult a fabric guide for cleaning any fabric this black tea gets on.

Black Forest is easy to clean up after - the tea bags may be disposed in the garbage, or composted if you have a good garden and/or compost pile. One of the nice things about this tea - like most - is that so long as it is kept cool and dry, it can last for a long time and it is easy to clean up. Like all Stash teas, there is extra waste from the strings, paper tabs and individual wrappings around each bag.

Overall

Stash Black Forest is a bland tea that is little more than tea-flavored water. It's not horrible, but it does not live up to the promise of Black Forest . . . even the ham flavor!

For other Stash teas, please check out my reviews of:
Christmas Eve Tea
Stash Peach Black tea
Stash Earl Grey

2.5/10

For other beverage reviews, please check out my Drink Review Index Page!

© 2015 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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No Matter How Strong You Make It, Christmas Eve Tea From Stash Is A Disappointment!

The Good: Easy to prepare
The Bad: Extraneous tea garbage, Smells more flavorful than it tastes, VERY weak, Caffeine free.
The Basics: One of the worst Stash Premium teas I have tried, Christmas Eve tea is exceptionally weak and does not have its own, distinctive, flavor.


For those who might not follow my regular reviews here, I have a strong love of seasonal foods. I love candy that comes out just for Easter, like Cadbury Eggs (reviewed here!) or Valentine’s candy. I also am thrilled by how many flavors of tea seem to come out just for Christmas, like Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride (reviewed here!). Seasonally-available teas are a little gimmicky, but I figure they can be a fun splurge and there is only one thing worse than finding one that is so good I wish it was available year round. It’s terrible when I track down a seasonally-available tea or food and discover it is utterly unworth the effort needed to get it in.

To be fair to Stash Christmas Eve tea, my wife and I found a box on clearance last week. This long after Christmas, we ought to have figured that the tea could not be that good if there were still boxes in the clearance area of Wegman’s (a local supermarket chain that tends to be more hoity-toity than others). I picked it up at my wife’s urging because I thought I could perform a valuable service. “Christmas Eve” is an adjective tea and the name does not indicate the flavors at all. I figured by reviewing it, I could help readers make an informed decision on whether or not to purchase the tea based upon their flavor preferences.

Having had several pots now, I can make the recommendation (don’t buy it!), but I am still stretching to describe the flavor. As near as I can tell, Stash spent a bit of time and money recreating a chamomile flavor without using any chamomile in the ingredients!

Basics

Christmas Eve is a tea from Stash. It is a tea that is naturally caffeine free, as it is an herbal tea. Christmas Eve comes in Stash's standard individually-wrapped tea bags, means that each tea bag has a wax papery envelope it is sealed in for freshness. Each tea bag has a five-inch string with a little paper tab at the end, which is quite a bit more waste than I like from a tea bag. When I make pots of tea, I tend to use three bags and making a steeping pot of Christmas Eve reminds me of why I like the easy environmentalism of Celestial Seasonings' stringless bags. A box of Christmas Eve comes with 20 individually-wrapped tea bags.

Christmas Eve is marketed as a seasonal tea, but it is not even worth picking up as a once-a-year blend. It is so weak and ultimately flavorless as to be utterly disappointing.

Ease Of Preparation

Christmas Eve is an herbal tea, which means preparation is as easy as boiling a pot of water! Christmas Eve, as the directions clearly state, requires water that is boiling, though no matter how hot the water is, this blend will not get a strong flavor. A single tea bag will make the standard 8 oz. coffee mug worth of tea, though reusing the tea bags yields a mug full which is about 1/8 strength. This is not an ideal tea bag for reusing as 1/8th strength of this flavor is barely above colored water!

To prepare Christmas Eve, simply boil up some water, and pour it over the tea bags in a cup, mug or steeping pot. This tea is recommended to take three to five minutes to steep and with boiling water, the tea was never ready with only a single teabag per mug. Instead, I ended up brewing up four pots of this tea with increasing numbers of teabags. I stopped when I was using five bags per 30 oz. pot and even then, the flavor was not very strong at all.

Taste

Christmas Eve, when brewed to actually smell or taste like anything, smells like ricewater. In fact, by the aroma, it seems like Stash has blended all sorts of herbs and spices to create . . . chamomile! Even the scent is not very strong, though.

Sadly, the taste backs the scent up entirely. While there is a subtle vanilla taste to the initial flavor, the tea quickly takes on all the characteristics and flavors of a simple chamomile tea. This is bland, weak and overwhelmed entirely by anything one puts in the tea!

As Christmas Eve cools, it gets no stronger or more flavorful.

Nutrition

That Stash’s Christmas Eve is so weak is a surprise given that the primary ingredients are cinnamon, orange peel and spearmint. For a tea with so many flavors, this is strangely reminiscent of one of the least flavorful teas! Christmas Eve tea is all natural, is caffeine free and is Kosher (a little ironic for a Christmas tea!).

Were it not for the sugar I add when I make Christmas Eve, this tea would be devoid of any nutritional value. It contains no calories, fat, sodium, carbohydrates or protein.

Storage/Clean-up

Stash's Christmas Eve is a fairly light herbal tea, even when brewed to have more strength than the directions recommend. As a result, cleanup is rather simple, even on fabrics. The mugs and steeping pot easily rinse out. This tea will stain if it is left on fabrics, so simply do not let the tea cups or mugs linger on light colored materials that might stain!

Christmas Eve is easy to clean up after - the tea bags may be disposed in the garbage, or composted if you have a good garden and/or compost pile. One of the nice things about this tea - like most - is that so long as it is kept cool and dry, it can last for a long time and it is easy to clean up. The box my wife and I bought last week expires in 2013! However, like all Stash teas, there is extra waste from the strings, paper tabs and individual wrappings around each bag.

Overall

Stash Christmas Eve is a weak tea that might only be seasonally-available, but it not worth even trying. Even fans of chamomile will be disappointed by this beverage!

For other Stash teas, please check out my reviews of:
Stash Chai White
Stash Chai Spice Black
Stash Peach Black tea

1/10

For other beverage reviews, please check out my index page!

© 2012 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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About As Weak As Every Other White Tea, Stash Premium Chai White White Tea Is A Dry Letdown.

The Good: Great aroma, Easy to prepare, Caffeinated
The Bad: Extraneous tea garbage, Smells more flavorful than it tastes, VERY weak.
The Basics: Stash's Premium Chai White tea is very weak, but smells amazing and when it has flavor, it tends to come in the form of an aftertaste.


As I return to much more regular tea reviews, I find myself let down by Stash. Honestly, Chai White tea from Stash is not a letdown as much as it is exactly what I have come to expect from white teas. I think I had hoped that as part of Stash's Premium tea line, they might have made a white tea that was actually flavorful. Unfortunately, Stash cannot fix the fundamental problem with white teas, which is that they tend to be very light on flavor. In the case of White Chai tea, the flavor is mostly from the aftertaste that is exceptionally dry.

Basics

Chai White is a tea from Stash. It is a tea that has caffeine and is a very light white tea. Chai White comes in Stash's standard individually-wrapped tea bags, means that each tea bag has a wax papery envelope it is sealed in for freshness. Each tea bag has a five-inch string with a little paper tab at the end, which is quite a bit more waste than I like from a tea bag. When I make pots of tea, I tend to use three bags and making a steeping pot of Chai White reminds me of why I like the easy environmentalism of Celestial Seasonings' stringless bags. A box of Chai White comes with 18 individually-wrapped tea bags.

Chai White is marketed as a white tea more than a chai tea and it is good that it goes that way; this is much more like a white tea than a chai tea. While Chai White is aromatic, it does not deliver on the taste front.

Ease Of Preparation

Chai White is a white tea, which means preparation is as easy as boiling a pot of water! Chai White, as the directions clearly state, requires water that is boiling, which surprised me; usually white teas are made with hot water to prevent the leaves from cooking. A single tea bag will make the standard 7 oz. coffee mug worth of tea, though reusing the tea bags yields a mug full which is about 1/4 strength. This is not an ideal tea bag for reusing.

To prepare Chai White, simply boil up some water, and pour it over the tea bags in a cup, mug or steeping pot. This tea is recommended to take three to five minutes to steep and with boiling water, the tea was ready at the three minute mark and letting it steep longer does not truly change the results. Letting the tea steep more than five minutes does not net any additional flavor, nor does it denature the flavor of the tea. However, after brewing for five minutes, trying to reuse the teabag is likely to net the consumer a terribly watery second cup.

Taste

Chai White has a powerful aroma of cinnamon and ginger. This makes sense as those are two of the dominant ingredients. This tea smells like a potpourri container and hints at an exceptionally flavorful tea that would be impossible to dislike.

Unfortunately, the taste does not back the smell up. After opening the consumer up to a great taste experience, Chai White is a huge letdown. Vaguely flavored, the best I could define Chai White as is "dirty water." I find it a regrettable description, but honestly when I tried to figure out what the tea tasted like, I kept thinking of swimming at Green Lakes Park in the summer. I realized the association my mind was making was that this tasted like warm lake water. That is all.

Cold, Chai White tastes flavorful and actually tastes more like a weak black tea. Unfortunately, the spice flavors that come out when the tea is cool also make the Chai White exceptionally dry and leave the consumer aching for something to drink!

Nutrition

That Stash’s Chai White is so weak is a surprise given that the primary ingredients are organic white tea, cinnamon and ginger root. For a tea that contains clove oil, allspice and cloves, I would expect a tea that tasted better, not just smelled so good! Chai White tea is all natural, contains caffeine and is Kosher (though finding that notation took quite a bit!). This tea was also produced promoting sustainable forest management.

Were it not for the sugar I add when I make Chai White, this tea would be devoid of any nutritional value. It contains no calories, fat, sodium, carbohydrates or protein.

Storage/Clean-up

Stash's Chai White is a fairly light white tea. As a result, cleanup is rather simple, even on fabrics. The mugs and steeping pot easily rinse out. This tea will stain if it is left on fabrics, so simply do not let the tea cups or mugs linger on light colored materials that might stain!

Chai White is easy to clean up after - the tea bags may be disposed in the garbage, or composted if you have a good garden and/or compost pile. One of the nice things about this tea - like most - is that so long as it is kept cool and dry, it can last for a long time and it is easy to clean up. The box my wife and I bought yesterday expires in October, 2014! However, like all Stash teas, there is extra waste from the strings, paper tabs and individual wrappings around each bag.

Overall

Stash Chai White is a weak tea that gets flavorful right around the time it becomes inedible. Unfortunately, this is another poor rendering of a tea that is very healthy, but not worth the health benefits on the taste front.

For other Stash teas, please check out my reviews of:
Stash Chai Spice Black
Stash Peach Black tea
Stash Double Bergamot Earl Grey

3.5/10

For other beverage reviews, please check out my index page!

© 2011 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Stash Chai Spice Black Tea Is A Real Winner With Sugar Or Milk!

The Good: Amazing aroma, Great taste especially with sugar, Easy to prepare, Caffeinated
The Bad: Extraneous tea garbage, Smells more flavorful than it initially tastes
The Basics: A very flavorful caffeinated tea, Stash's Premium Chai Spice Black tea truly comes alive when sugar is added!


Some time ago, I reviewed the Stash Chai Spice Decaf Tea (click here for review!) and while I enjoyed it, I did not think it lived up to its potential. So, I picked up the Stash Chai Spice Black tea to see if it offered a more robust flavor for those of us who love tea. It does, but it smells a bit better than it tastes, which is a little disappointing.

Basics

Chai Spice Black is a tea from Stash. It is a tea that has caffeine and is a fairly strong black tea. Chai Spice Black comes in Stash's standard individually-wrapped tea bags, means that each tea bag has a wax papery envelope it is sealed in for freshness. Each tea bag has a five-inch string with a little paper tab at the end, which is quite a bit more waste than I like from a tea bag. When I make pots of tea, I tend to use two bags and making a steeping pot of Chai Spice Black reminds me of why I like the easy environmentalism of Celestial Seasonings' stringless bags. A box of Chai Spice Black comes with 20 individually-wrapped tea bags.

Chai Spice Black is marketed as a chai spiced tea and it does a good job at that by being loaded with spices which instantly overwhelm the nose and prepare the consumer for a delightful tea experience.

Ease of Preparation

Chai Spice Black is a black tea, which means preparation is as easy as boiling a pot of water! Chai Spice Black, as the directions clearly state, require water that is boiling. A single tea bag will make the standard 7 oz. coffee mug worth of tea, though reusing the tea bags yields a mug full which is about 3/4 strength. It was only when reusing the teabag (or when the tea was cold) I found the tea to have a dry aftertaste.

To prepare Chai Spice Black, simply boil up some water, and pour it over the tea bags in a cup, mug or steeping pot. This tea is recommended to take three to five minutes to steep and with boiling water, the tea was ready at the three minute mark and letting it steep longer does not truly change the results. Letting the tea steep more than five minutes does not net any additional flavor, nor does it denature the flavor of the tea. However, after brewing for five minutes, trying to reuse the teabag is likely to net the consumer a much weaker second cup or pot.

Taste

Coming out of the package, Chai Spice Black has one of the most delicious and potent cinnamon and chai scents of any tea I have ever had. Once brewed, the tea smells like potpourri with its wide array of spiced smells. Anyone familiar with nutmeg, ginger and cinnamon will instantly discover those scents wafting up from their mug or steeping pot and the potency of this tea is exceptional. One of the elements that instantly sets the Chai Spice Black apart from the decaf version of the same tea is that the Spiced Black has a stronger clove scent to it.

Chai Spice Black tea is a flavorful blend which is an easy pick-me-up with a taste that is heavy on a variety of spices. This Chai Spice Black overpowers the consumer with black tea flavors. This is a tea that has no hint of a watery aftertaste; it smells like cinnamon, clove and nutmeg and it tastes like tea. In fact, one of the few drawbacks of this tea is that it smells more flavorful that it actually tastes. While the aroma is robust and interesting, the black tea flavor dominates most of the taste to weaken the sense of intrigue the beverage hints at with its scent.

With a teaspoon of sugar, Chai Spice Black the spices come alive! This is an odd tea in that making it sweeter actually lessens the tea flavor and allows he clove and cinnamon flavors to finally overtake the tea flavor. That makes this a suddenly amazing beverage. With milk, the spices come out even more, though there is a slightly muted aftertaste to the tea that way.

Cold, Chai Spice Black is dry and loses some of the flavor, so this is definitely a tea that is better piping hot!

Nutrition

That Stash’s Chai Spice Black is flavorful and heavily spiced makes sense and the ingredients list reflects that. The primary ingredients are: blended black teas, ginger root and cinnamon. Chai Spice Black tea is all natural, contains caffeine and is not marked as Kosher.

Were it not for the sugar I add whenever I make Chai Spice Black, this tea would be devoid of any nutritional value. It contains no calories, fat, sodium, carbohydrates or protein.

Storage/Clean-up

Stash's Chai Spice Black is a fairly dark black tea. As a result, cleanup is rather simple, save on fabrics. The mugs and steeping pot easily rinse out. This tea will stain if it is left on fabrics, so simply do not let the tea cups or mugs linger on light colored materials that might stain!

Chai Spice Black is easy to clean up after - the tea bags may be disposed in the garbage, or composted if you have a good garden and/or compost pile. One of the nice things about this tea - like most - is that so long as it is kept cool and dry, it can last for a long time and it is easy to clean up. However, like all Stash teas, there is extra waste from the strings, paper tabs and individual wrappings around each bag.

Overall

Stash Chai Spice Black is a flavorful, all-natural tea that is likely to satisfy anyone who likes their tea strong, slightly sweet and very spicy!

For other Stash teas, please check out my reviews of:
Stash Peach Black tea
Stash Double Bergamot Earl Grey
Stash Coconut Mango Ooloong

8.5/10

For other beverage reviews, please check out my index page!

© 2011 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Easier To Recommend With Sugar, Stash Peach Black Tea Still Satisfies!

The Good: Caffeinated, Robust flavor, No aftertaste, Wonderfully peachy with sugar!
The Bad: Individually wrapped, Scent is a little unappealing, Not a strong peach flavor.
The Basics: With a weak recommend, I find Stash's Peach Black tea to be delicious only with the addition of a little sugar.


Stash Peach Black was only the second tea I had tried by Stash when I first had it. I figured the Peach Black was a good choice for me because I have traditionally liked peach-flavored teas. Unfortunately, it was more of a razor decision for the Stash Peach Black; this is a good tea, but it does fall closer to the "average" range than the extraordinary. In other words, it's good, but it's not great.

Basics

Peach Black is a tea from Stash. It is a tea that has caffeine and it is a very strong black tea. Peach Black comes in Stash's standard individually-wrapped tea bags, means that each tea bag has a wax papery envelope it is sealed in for freshness. Each tea bag has a five-inch string with a little paper tab at the end, which is quite a bit more waste than I like from a tea bag. When I make pots of tea, I tend to use two bags and making a steeping pot of Peach Black reminds me of why I like the easy environmentalism of Celestial Seasonings' stringless bags. A box of Peach Black comes with 20 individually-wrapped tea bags.

Peach Black is marketed as a peach-flavored tea and it reaches that potential only with the addition of sugar. But when it does rise up to have the full flavor, it truly is peach flavored and delicious. On its own, though, the Peach Black is less wonderful than I would have liked, though it has a strong black tea taste.

Ease Of Preparation

Peach Black is a black tea, which means preparation is as easy as boiling a pot of water! Peach Black, as the directions clearly state, require water that is boiling. A single tea bag will make the standard 8 oz. coffee mug worth of tea, though reusing the tea bags yields a mug full which is about 5/8 strength. It was only when reusing the teabag I found the tea to have an aftertaste and if one is a teabag miser, the dry and sour aftertaste may be enough to discourage one from using these bags for a second mug or pot.

To prepare Peach Black, simply boil up some water, and pour it over the tea bags in a cup, mug or steeping pot. This tea is recommended to take three to five minutes to steep and with boiling water, the tea was ready at the four minute mark and letting it steep longer does not truly change the results. Letting the tea steep more than five minutes does not net any additional flavor, nor does it denature the flavor of the tea. However, after brewing for five minutes, trying to reuse the teabag is likely to net the consumer a very weak second cup or pot.

Taste

Peach Black is a tea that is hampered instantly by its aroma. The Stash Peach Black has an unfortunately rich scent that is dominated by the scent of the tea, as opposed to the peach flavorings. The result is a tea that smells more like rotting or burned peaches than it does like inviting peach cobbler or something equally delicious. It is never a good sign when one's first reaction to a tea's scent is to plug one's nose before drinking it!

Stash's Peach Black has a strong taste, though, which is rich, bold and affirmatively black. The tea has very earthy flavor which is cut as it flows over the tongue with a slight sour taste that is recognizable as the citrus from the peach flavoring. Unfortunately, the peach flavor is deeply sublimated to the tea flavor when the tea is hot and on its own, making it a tougher sell than other teas which focus more on the peach flavoring and let the tea leaves take a more mild influence.

With a teaspoon of sugar, Stash Peach Black releases its full potential. With just a little sugar, the tea comes alive with a true and delicious fruity taste which is clear to those who enjoy peaches as the flavor of peaches. The tea's scent is even cut with the addition of sugar; I'm not sure how that works, but it does. With sugar, the Peach Black is wonderful in every way I can evaluate; it tastes like what it claims and is a delicious, eye-opening black tea.

Nutrition

That Stash’s Peach Black tastes like black tea more than peach is no surprise, as the only ingredients are blended black tea and peach flavor. Peach Black tea is all natural, Kosher, and contains both caffeine and soy. There is not a ton of caffeine (the box does not say how much there actually is in this, but it does seem like it is sufficient to keep one awake, especially when drunk late at night).

Were it not for the sugar I add whenever I make Peach Black, this tea would be devoid of any nutritional value. It contains no calories, fat, sodium, carbohydrates or protein.

Storage/Clean-up

Stash's Peach Black is a fairly dark black tea. As a result, cleanup is rather simple, save on fabrics. The mugs and steeping pot easily rinse out. This tea will stain if it is left on fabrics, so simply do not let the tea cups or mugs linger on light colored materials that might stain!

Peach Black is easy to clean up after - the tea bags may be disposed in the garbage, or composted if you have a good garden and/or compost pile. One of the nice things about this tea - like most - is that so long as it is kept cool and dry, it can last for a long time and it is easy to clean up. However, like all Stash teas, there is extra waste from the strings, paper tabs and individual wrappings around each bag.

Overall

Peach Black is a good tea, but because lately I've tried to avoid adding unnecessary sugar to my teas, it is a tougher sell than I would have liked. This is a tea which pretty much requires the sugar in order to become the delicious beverage one might actually want to drink as opposed to the gross steaming mugs that initially caused me to cringe. But with the sugar it is so good that it may be recommended.

For other Stash tea reviews of mine, please check out:
Double Bergamot Earl Gray
Chai Spice Decaf
Coconut Mango Oolong

5/10

For other food and drink reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!

© 2010 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Stash Double Bergamot Earl Grey Black Tea: Another Ultimate Earl Grey Worth Buying!

The Good: Caffeinated, No aftertaste, Intriguing somewhat orange tea taste, Powerful taste
The Bad: Individually wrapped
The Basics: Flavorful and strong, Double Bergamot Earl Grey is an Alpha among the black teas and a success for Stash!


A few weeks ago, I had cause for celebration. It was new steeping pot day for me and I was exceptionally excited about my new steeping pot from my wife. My wife bought me a new 32 oz. steeping pot to replace the one that came crashing to the ground about two months ago and it's been a real challenge to find a new ceramic steeping pot. So, to commemorate the grand event, she bought me a grand new tea on the hopes that I would love it. My wife played a hunch, knowing my love of Earl Grey teas and snuck a box of Stash Premium Double Bergamot Earl Grey black tea into our cart the other night. As she expected, I was blown away.

Stash teas are fairly new to me, though I've been generally pleased with the brand. Even so, I found their Earl Grey to be a little bit more mild than I would have preferred. With Double Bergamot Earl Grey, however, Stash creates an Earl Grey which is robust, delicious and has an aroma which could fill up an entire floor of a house!

Basics

Double Bergamot Earl Grey is a tea from Stash. It is a tea that has caffeine and it is a much stronger Earl Grey than most, making for a delightful tea experience for anyone who loves flavorful black teas. Double Bergamot Earl Grey comes in Stash's standard individually-wrapped tea bags, means that each tea bag has a wax papery envelope it is sealed in for freshness. Each tea bag has a five-inch string with a little paper tab at the end, which is quite a bit more waste than I like from a tea bag. When I make pots of tea, I tend to use two bags and making a steeping pot of Double Bergamot Earl Grey reminds me of why I like the easy environmentalism of Celestial Seasonings' stringless bags. A box of Double Bergamot Earl Grey comes with only 18 individually-wrapped tea bags, which is a little more expensive than their standard teas.

Double Bergamot Earl Grey is marketed as a tea-flavored tea and it is exceptional in that regard, but it easily rivals Celestial Seasonings and Twinings when compared to other Earl Greys. In fact, in a head-on competition between the three, the Double Bergamot might well be the winner these days! If one wants something that is flavored like tea leaves this will do it. I tend to like flavorful teas and this is a wonderful one.

Ease of Preparation

Double Bergamot Earl Grey is a black tea, which means preparation is as easy as boiling a pot of water! Double Bergamot Earl Grey, as the directions clearly state, require water that is boiling. A single tea bag will make the standard 8 oz. coffee mug worth of tea, though reusing the tea bags yields little more than hot water. These tea bags can be reused and the resulting beverage is about 3/4 strength and has a more potent dry aftertaste than the original brewing. I tend to make my tea using a 32 oz. steeping tea pot and that works well, even for a second pot.

To prepare Double Bergamot Earl Grey, simply boil up some water, and pour it over the tea bags in a cup, mug or steeping pot. This tea is recommended to take three to five minutes to steep and after a couple pots (it has been a good day already!), I've found that with boiling water, the tea is ready at the four minute mark and letting it steep longer does not truly change the results. Letting the tea steep more than five minutes does not net any additional flavor, nor does it denature the flavor of the tea.

Taste

Double Bergamot Earl Grey is a tea that tastes like what it is. Double Bergamot Earl Grey is a tea flavored tea that is defined by the flavor of bergamot. Sadly, that's the best way to define it as Double Bergamot Earl Grey is a mix of black tea and bergamot. Ideally, Double Bergamot Earl Grey has a forceful flavor that assaults the taste buds and overpowers virtually anything that is combined with it. It is a very masculine tea and one that is strong, rich in aroma and uncompromising in its flavor.

Stash's Double Bergamot Earl Grey, is exactly what it promises to be. The aroma opens the consumer up for the flavor of bergamot and the flavor is all black tea with a dry and slightly fruity taste to it. Stash's tea does have a hint of orange to the flavor, but the Bergamot clearly wins out, making a tea that is strong, dry and powerfully black. It is what it is and it tastes like exactly what it smells like; strong bergamot flavoring!

With a teaspoon of sugar, Stash Double Bergamot Earl Grey becomes a little fruitier, a bit sweeter, but no more strong. Similarly, milk does little for the tea, but it is unable to overwhelm the tea flavor. This is not an ideal tea to have iced, unless one likes cool, dry and sour for their beverage choices.

Nutrition

That Stash’s Double Bergamot Earl Grey tastes like Double Bergamot Earl Grey is no surprise, as the only ingredients are premium black tea and oil of bergamot. Double Bergamot Earl Grey tea is all natural, gluten free (apparently), Kosher, and does contain caffeine. There is a lot of caffeine (the box does not say how much there actually is in this, but it does seem like it is sufficient to keep one awake, especially when drunk late at night).

Were it not for the sugar I add whenever I make pots of Double Bergamot Earl Grey, this tea would be devoid of any nutritional value. It contains no calories, fat, sodium, carbohydrates or protein.

Storage/Clean-up

Double Bergamot Earl Grey is supposed to be a fairly dark black tea and Stash’s lives up to that. As a result, cleanup is rather simple, save on fabrics. The mugs and steeping pot easily rinse out. This tea will stain if it is left on fabrics, so simply do not let the tea cups or mugs linger on light colored materials that might stain! This is definitely a tea that demands that the brewer wash out the steeping pot before brewing any other tea in the same pot, otherwise the oil of bergamot lingers in the pot.

Double Bergamot Earl Grey is easy to clean up after - the tea bags may be disposed in the garbage, or composted if you have a good garden and/or compost pile. One of the nice things about this tea - like most - is that so long as it is kept cool and dry, it can last for a long time and it is easy to clean up. However, like all Stash teas, there is extra waste from the strings, paper tabs and individual wrappings around each bag.

Overall

Close enough to perfect, the Double Bergamot Earl Grey tea is one worth picking up for anyone who likes strong, flavorful tea. Not for the feint of tastebuds!

For other Stash teas, please check out my reviews of:
Coconut Mango Oolong
Earl Grey
Chai Spice Decaf

9.5/10

For other food reviews, please visit my index page!

© 2010 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Stash Tea's Chai Spice Decaf Tea Bowled Me Over With Flavor!

The Good: Amazing aroma, Great taste, Easy to prepare
The Bad: Decaffeinated, Extraneous tea garbage
The Basics: A flavorful decaffeinated tea, Stash's Premium Chai Spice Decaf tea is a winning tea which smells and tastes wonderful!


Despite my love of environmental responsibility, especially when it comes to teas, I am finding myself more and more impressed by Stash teas these days. Since my wife picked me up a new steeping pot the other day and we made our first pot of tea in it the Stash Double Bergamot Earl Grey, it seems the teas I am reviewing these days that I actually enjoy the most are from Stash (note: I've been through almost the entire Celestial Seasonings catalog, though!). Both the Stash Mango Oolong Tea (click here for review!) and their basic Earl Grey (reviewed here!) are actually very good and when I've had the opportunity to enjoy Stash teas, I have availed myself of the opportunity. Following the Double Bergamot taste treat from Stash was Chai Spice Decaf tea.

For those who know me and my reviews, I am not usually a fan of decaffeinated teas. While I wonder how Stash can make the claim that their black tea has been naturally decaffeinated, I do find myself enjoying the tea and being impressed by the taste of this one. Despite the premium line nature of the tea (which makes it a tea that is packaged in boxes of 18 as opposed to 20), this should be a staple tea for those who like caffeine-free teas.

Basics

Chai Spice Decaf is a tea from Stash. It is a tea that has no caffeine and it is a fairly strong black tea. Chai Spice Decaf comes in Stash's standard individually-wrapped tea bags, means that each tea bag has a wax papery envelope it is sealed in for freshness. Each tea bag has a five-inch string with a little paper tab at the end, which is quite a bit more waste than I like from a tea bag. When I make pots of tea, I tend to use two bags and making a steeping pot of Chai Spice Decaf reminds me of why I like the easy environmentalism of Celestial Seasonings' stringless bags. A box of Chai Spice Decaf comes with 18 individually-wrapped tea bags.

Chai Spice Decaf is marketed as a chai spiced tea and it does a good job at that by being loaded with spices which instantly overwhelm the nose and prepare the consumer for a delightful tea experience.

Ease of Preparation

Chai Spice Decaf is a black tea, which means preparation is as easy as boiling a pot of water! Chai Spice Decaf, as the directions clearly state, require water that is boiling. A single tea bag will make the standard 8 oz. coffee mug worth of tea, though reusing the tea bags yields a mug full which is about 5/8 strength. It was only when reusing the teabag (or when the tea was cold) I found the tea to have a dry aftertaste.

To prepare Chai Spice Decaf, simply boil up some water, and pour it over the tea bags in a cup, mug or steeping pot. This tea is recommended to take three to five minutes to steep and with boiling water, the tea was ready at the four minute mark and letting it steep longer does not truly change the results. Letting the tea steep more than five minutes does not net any additional flavor, nor does it denature the flavor of the tea. However, after brewing for five minutes, trying to reuse the teabag is likely to net the consumer a very weak second cup or pot.

Taste

Coming out of the package, Chai Spice Decaf has one of the most delicious and potent cinnamon and chai scents of any tea I have ever had. Once brewed, the tea smells like potpourri with its wide array of spiced smells. Anyone familiar with nutmeg, ginger and cinnamon will instantly discover those scents wafting up from their mug or steeping pot and the potency of this tea is exceptional.

It also is a generally good preparation for what one gets when they taste the tea. Chai Spice Decaf tea is a flavorful blend which is an easy pick-me-up with a taste that is heavy on a variety of spices, yet still manages to have a light flavor to it. By this, I mean that Chai Spice Decaf is not a robust tea which forces itself over the consumer's tastebuds, but rather a tea with a more mellow flavor that seems to focus on the richness of the different spices it contains rather than simply blowing the tongue out with all the different flavors. The result is a thoroughly enjoyable tea that is chai and has the distinct flavors of each of the spices one can smell. It is worth noting that for such a spice-rich tea, Chai Spice Decaf does not have a dry aftertaste, which is common with many cinnamon-heavy teas.

With a teaspoon of sugar, Chai Spice Decaf actually has a strange culinary event occur; the flavor becomes slightly more sour and it takes on an aftertaste that is sour and dry. This is muted by adding a splash of milk, which makes Chai Spice Decaf into a cafe-style chai tea drink.

Cold, Chai Spice Decaf is dry and loses some of the flavor, so this is definitely a tea that is better piping hot!

Nutrition

That Stash’s Chai Spice Decaf is flavorful and heavily spiced makes sense and the ingredients list reflects that. The primary ingredients are: naturally decaffeinated black teas, ginger and cinnamon. Chai Spice Decaf tea is all natural, Kosher, and does not contain caffeine.

Were it not for the sugar I add whenever I make Chai Spice Decaf, this tea would be devoid of any nutritional value. It contains no calories, fat, sodium, carbohydrates or protein.

Storage/Clean-up

Stash's Chai Spice Decaf is a fairly dark black tea. As a result, cleanup is rather simple, save on fabrics. The mugs and steeping pot easily rinse out. This tea will stain if it is left on fabrics, so simply do not let the tea cups or mugs linger on light colored materials that might stain!

Chai Spice Decaf is easy to clean up after - the tea bags may be disposed in the garbage, or composted if you have a good garden and/or compost pile. One of the nice things about this tea - like most - is that so long as it is kept cool and dry, it can last for a long time and it is easy to clean up. However, like all Stash teas, there is extra waste from the strings, paper tabs and individual wrappings around each bag.

Overall

Stash Chai Spice Decaf is a flavorful, but not overwhelming tea which offers decaffeinated tea drinkers a good option for a tea that does not sacrifice caffeine at the expense of flavor.

For other teas, please check out my reviews of:
Bigelow Sweet Dreams
Yogi Ginger Organic
Dilmah Ceylon Green

7.5/10

For other beverage reviews, please check out my index page!

© 2010 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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A More Mild Earl Grey, Stash Eliminates The Dry Aftertaste In Its Earl Grey!

The Good: Caffeinated, No aftertaste, Intriguing somewhat orange tea taste.
The Bad: Individually wrapped, Taste is a bit more mild than I tend to like
The Basics: Despite the extraneous tea garbage, Stash’s more mild, slightly citrus interpretation of Earl Grey is easy to recommend to serious tea drinkers!


My wife is a sweetheart. From pretty much the first time I mentioned to her that I have a favorite tea, whenever we go out to the grocery store, she goes hunting for it. I never ask her to, but she still looks. We’ve never found it locally. The tea is Celestial Seasonings’ Victorian Earl Grey and it remains my favorite for taste and environmental responsibility. But virtually every time she fails to find a box of that in our area, she picks up another brand’s Earl Grey and it’s hard not to look at her and think how sweet she is.

This week, that Earl Grey is Stash and truth-be-told, it’s a good alternative to Celestial Seasonings, though it is not quite the same. Stash has a more mild, slightly fruity Earl Grey tea, and they have managed to eliminate from their tea the dry aftertaste that seems to characterize many Earl Grey teas. Personally, I like that about Earl Grey, but for a mild alternative with caffeine, Stash Earl Grey is keeping me happy now. I’ve not had much experience with Stash, though I did like their Coconut Mango Oolong tea (click here for my review of that!).

Basics

Earl Grey is a tea from Stash. It is a tea that has caffeine and it is a weaker Earl Grey than most, but it is still a fairly strong black tea. Earl Grey comes in Stash's standard individually-wrapped tea bags, means that each tea bag has a wax papery envelope it is sealed in for freshness. Each tea bag has a five-inch string with a little paper tab at the end, which is quite a bit more waste than I like from a tea bag. When I make pots of tea, I tend to use two bags and making a steeping pot of Earl Grey reminds me of why I like the easy environmentalism of Celestial Seasonings' stringless bags. A box of Earl Grey comes with 20 individually-wrapped tea bags.

Earl Grey is marketed as a tea-flavored tea and it is very good in that regard, but it falls behind Celestial Seasonings and Twinings when compared to other Earl Greys (but above Bigelow and way above Red Rose!). If one wants something that is flavored like tea leaves this will do it. I tend to like flavorful teas and this is a good one, but not the best by any stretch of the imagination.

Ease of Preparation

Earl Grey is a black tea, which means preparation is as easy as boiling a pot of water! Earl Grey, as the directions clearly state, require water that is boiling. A single tea bag will make the standard 8 oz. coffee mug worth of tea, though reusing the tea bags yields little more than hot water. These tea bags can be reused and the resulting beverage is about 1/2 strength and has a more potent dry aftertaste than the original brewing. I tend to make my tea using a 32 oz. steeping tea pot and that works well, even for a second pot.

To prepare Earl Grey, simply boil up some water, and pour it over the tea bags in a cup, mug or steeping pot. This tea is recommended to take one to two minutes to steep and after a couple cups and pots, I've found that with boiling water, the tea is ready at the four minute mark and letting it steep longer does not truly change the results. Letting the tea steep more than four minutes does not net any additional flavor, nor does it denature the flavor of the tea.

Taste

Earl Grey is a tea that tastes like what it is. Earl Grey is a tea flavored tea that is defined by the flavor of bergamot. Sadly, that's the best way to define it as Earl Grey is a mix of black tea and bergamot. Ideally, Earl Grey has a forceful flavor that assaults the taste buds and overpowers virtually anything that is combined with it. It is a very masculine tea and one that is strong, rich in aroma and uncompromising in its flavor.

Stash's Earl Grey, then, would be like taking a standard Earl Grey and adding a hint of orange to the flavor. There is a very subtle fruit undertaste in every sip of this tea that I’ve had. Stash has managed to cut the dry aftertaste and replace it with a subtly fruity flavor which is delicious and plays on the tastebuds in a way that usual Earl Greys just overwhelm. This flavorful tea is delicious, but is more mild than most Earl Greys.

With a teaspoon of sugar, Stash Earl Grey becomes a little fruitier, a bit sweeter, but no more strong. Similarly, milk does little for the tea, but it is unable to overwhelm the tea flavor. This is not an ideal tea to have iced, unless one likes cool, dry and sour for their beverage choices.

Nutrition

That Stash’s Earl Grey tastes like Earl Grey is no surprise, as the only ingredients are blended black tea and natural flavor of bergamot. Earl Grey tea is all natural, gluten free, Kosher, and does contain caffeine. There is not a ton of caffeine (the box does not say how much there actually is in this, but it does seem like it is sufficient to keep one awake, especially when drunk late at night).

Were it not for the sugar I add whenever I make pots of Earl Grey, this tea would be devoid of any nutritional value. It contains no calories, fat, sodium, carbohydrates or protein.

Storage/Clean-up

Earl Grey is supposed to be a fairly dark black tea and Stash’s lives up to that. As a result, cleanup is rather simple, save on fabrics. The mugs and steeping pot easily rinse out. This tea will stain if it is left on fabrics, so simply do not let the tea cups or mugs linger on light colored materials that might stain!

Earl Grey is easy to clean up after - the tea bags may be disposed in the garbage, or composted if you have a good garden and/or compost pile. One of the nice things about this tea - like most - is that so long as it is kept cool and dry, it can last for a long time and it is easy to clean up. However, like all Stash teas, there is extra waste from the strings, paper tabs and individual wrappings around each bag.

Overall

This version of Earl Grey is good and it offers a slight variety for fans of Earl Grey who are not looking for a significant departure from the tea they love.


For other tea reviews of mine, please check out:
Celestial Seasonings Tropic Of Strawberry
Yogi Berry Detox
Republic Of Tea Earl Greyer

8/10

For other tea reviews, please check out my index page!

© 2010 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Intriguing All The Way Around, Stash Coconut Mango Oolong Tea Satisfies!

The Good: Amazing aroma, Good taste, Easy to prepare, Caffeinated, Great with sugar
The Bad: Extraneous tea garbage, Proportionately expensive
The Basics: A delightful tea with a complicated flavor, Stash's Coconut Mango Oolong tea is best with sugar.


On our recent day out together, my wife turned to me and made an implicit demand for me to get some more tea for around the house. This might shock those who read my many, many tea reviews, but because I review so much tea, I tend not to keep as much on hand any longer. Instead, good teas come in and go out while the dregs get pushed to the back of the cupboard. Knowing how my desire to stock the tea cupboard seems to be based on my reviewables, she ultimately broke down and bought a box of Stash Coconut Mango Oolong tea.

This Coconut Mango Oolong tea represents a departure in my reviewing of teas as I am enthusiastically recommending it. However, in all candor, on its own the tea does not taste especially like coconut. Even so, with its intriguing aroma, yummy taste and the fruity taste it takes on with sugar, I am able to overlook what it is supposed to taste like and enjoy what flavors it does have.

Basics

Coconut Mango Oolong is a tea from Stash. It is a tea that has caffeine and a fairly strong tea, not fruit, flavor. Coconut Mango Oolong comes in Stash's standard individually-wrapped tea bags, so that each tea bag has a wax papery envelope it is sealed in for freshness. Each tea bag has a five-inch string with a little paper tab at the end, which is more waste than I like from a tea bag. When I make pots of tea, I tend to use two bags and making a steeping pot of Coconut Mango Oolong reminds me of why I like the easy environmentalism of Celestial Seasonings' stringless bags. A box of Coconut Mango Oolong comes with 18 individually-wrapped tea bags, as this is one of their premium teas.

Coconut Mango Oolong is marketed as a fruit-flavored tea and it lives up to that with sugar, though on its own it is more intriguing than flavor-exact.

Ease of Preparation

Coconut Mango Oolong is a true tea (with tea leaves), which means preparation is as easy as boiling a pot of water! Coconut Mango Oolong tea, as the directions state, requires water that is boiling. A single tea bag will make the standard 8 oz. coffee mug worth of tea, though reusing the tea bags yields a mug full which is about 5/8 strength. It was only when reusing the teabag (or when the tea was cold) I found the tea to have a dry aftertaste.

To prepare Coconut Mango Oolong, simply boil up some water, and pour it over the tea bags in a cup, mug or steeping pot. This tea is recommended to take three to five minutes to steep and with boiling water, the tea was ready at the four minute mark and letting it steep longer does not truly change the results. Letting the tea steep more than five minutes does not net any additional flavor, nor does it denature the flavor of the tea. However, after brewing for five minutes, trying to reuse the teabag is likely to net the consumer a very weak second cup or pot.

Taste

Smelling the fresh-brewed tea, Coconut Mango Oolong has a delicious and potent scent that is best described as "floral." This smells like lilies in a pond and very strongly of the lilies! There is not a hint of the fruit taste in the aroma.

Appropriately, there is not truly a fruit taste in the tea when one first tastes it either. Instead, the floral bouquet makes the Coconut Mango Oolong taste like it was brewed with rosewater and the taste is slightly dry, slightly sweet and very much a light tea flavor. In fact, this tea tastes like someone spiced up tea from a traditional Chinese tea. In other words, Stash makes it taste like they took a bland thing and made it interesting.

With a teaspoon of sugar, Coconut Mango Oolong tea tastes like the mango it is supposed to and has a slightly dry aftertaste of coconut. With sugar it perfectly embodies all of the flavors it promises to and it does so quite well.

Cold, Coconut Mango Oolong is dry and loses some of the flavor, so this is definitely a tea that is better piping hot!

Nutrition

That Stash’s Coconut Mango Oolong is flavorful is somewhat surprising considering that the ingredients are: Wuyi oolong tea, orange peel, and natural flavors (pineapple, mango, coconut). Coconut Mango Oolong tea is all natural, Kosher, and does contain caffeine, though how much is unclear from the packaging. I tend to feel perked up just by the smell of this tea, so it would not surprise me if it had a decent kick of caffeine.

Were it not for the sugar I add whenever I make Coconut Mango Oolong, this tea would be devoid of any nutritional value. It contains no calories, fat, sodium, carbohydrates or protein.

Storage/Clean-up

Stash's Coconut Mango Oolong is a fairly light tea. As a result, cleanup is rather simple, save on fabrics. The mugs and steeping pot easily rinse out. This tea will stain if it is left on fabrics, so simply do not let the tea cups or mugs linger on light colored materials that might stain!

Coconut Mango Oolong is easy to clean up after - the tea bags may be disposed in the garbage, or composted if you have a good garden and/or compost pile. One of the nice things about this tea - like most - is that so long as it is kept cool and dry, it can last for a long time and it is easy to clean up. However, like all Stash teas, there is extra waste from the strings, paper tabs and individual wrappings around each bag.

Overall

Stash Coconut Mango Oolong is flavorful and one of the best teas I have had from that company - and tea companies in general. Were it not for the fact that it takes a little embellishment from sugar to truly make it taste like what it claims (and the environmental irresponsibility of Stash) this would be a perfect tea.

For other beverage reviews, please check out my reviews of:
Celestial Seasonings Zingers To Go Peach Delight
Duff Energy Drink
Republic Of Tea Orange Ginger Mint

8/10

For other drink reviews, please check out my index page!

© 2010 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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