Boston (Tazo) Tea Party

The Starbucks tea tasting event was such a great time! I really enjoyed myself! I also got to meet a number of fellow Boston bloggers, including a few bloggers that you guys might already “know” through cyberspace: Elina, Bridget, and Shannon. It was especially wonderful chatting with these ladies and laughing about some of our funny food blogger commonalities, like being shy about taking photos of our food in front of people we don’t know and snapping pics even at fancy-schmancy dinners! I’m sure quite a few of you know what I mean!

At the tasting, we tried five different tea beverages, each paired with a “healthy” and “indulgent” pastry option. The pastries were HOLY YUM, especially when paired with a specific kind of tea. I tried every single pastry, but mostly stuck to one or two bites of each. Somehow, though, I left the event feeling totally stuffed!

With a bold, invigorating aroma, black tea has hints of dark caramel, malt, and black cherries. When combined with milk, it borders on magical. 

The Black Tea Latte was my favorite beverage of the day! It was creamy and subtly sweet. I will definitely order this beverage at Starbucks in the near future. I loved it! 

Important to note: Just like Starbucks’ coffee drinks, all of the tea beverages are customizable. For instance, the Black Tea Latte is made with a simple syrup, but you can request it without and/or made with non-fat or soy milk. Personally, I think I will order my Black Tea Latte sans simple syrup, but with soy milk, which is actually vanilla-flavored and adds just a touch of sweetness.  

The Black Tea Latte was paired with an Apple Bran Muffin and a piece of delectable Lemon Loaf. 

A delicate, floral blend of fragrant black tea leaves is flavored with the citrusy essence of Italian bergamot and a hint of lavender. Sweetened to perfection with vanilla syrup and topped with steamed milk, London Fog Tea Latte is an Earl Grey lover’s dream. 

Again, this drink is customizable; you can ask for it made with sugar-free vanilla syrup, for example. However, I wasn’t a fan of this Tea Latte at all. It reminded me of a spa– fresh and floral, but as a beverage, it just didn’t jive with my taste preferences. 

The London Fog Tea Latte was paired with a Vanilla Bean Scone and a Raspberry Scone. The Vanilla Bean Scone was the “healthy” option due to its small portion size.

A distinct, naturally caffeine-free blend of the legendary red bush (”rooibos”) tea of South Africa, fragrant Tahitian vanilla and sweet spices is steamed with milk for a soothing and delicious experience. 

Before the tasting event today, I had previously sampled the Vanilla Rooibos Tea Latte, and enjoyed it quite a lot. I liked it again today, but the Black Tea Latte knocked it out of first place! This beverage has a interesting taste with its intriguing and exotic flavor notes. The honey flavor that I mentioned in my first review actually comes from the combining of the vanilla tea and spices. 

The Vanilla Rooibos (pronounced “roy bus”) Tea Latte was paired with an amazing Red Velvet Cupcake. YUM!

I took one of these lovelies to go!

Delightfully handcrafted with a blend of berry juices, Berry Chai Tea Infusion artfully combines steamed juice with black tea and exotic, sweet spices. 

The Berry Chai Tea Infusion is made with Starbucks chai tea concentrate infused with berry currant juice. On the positive side, this beverage was smooth, full-bodied, and includes lots of healthy antioxidants. On the negative side, however, the Berry Chai Tea Infusion, as Mal described it, was “a lot of berry.” It was just too sweet for me– it sort of reminded me of a berry-flavored Fruit Roll-Up. 

The Berry Chai Tea Infusion was paired with a piece of Low-Fat Blueberry Loaf. 

Infused with the nostalgic taste of crisp apples, Apple Chai Tea Infusion blends black tea and exotic spices with sweet apple juice. It’s the perfect accompaniment for a relaxing afternoon stroll. 

Apparently, I didn’t snap a photo of the last tasting. The Apple Chai Infusion was very much like a hot apple cider, but with a spicy, long-lasting kick. It sort of reminded me of a piece of cinnamon-spice apple pie. It was pretty sweet– the perfect treat for autumn.  

My blogger tools for the tasting event… 

And, as if treating us to a morning of delicious treats wasn’t enough, the nice Starbucks people sent each of us home with a goodie bag full of Tazo Tea samples and a Starbucks gift card!

The blogger tea tasting event was so fun! I tried some wonderful teas and pastries, met great food bloggers, and left feeling like a Starbucks tea expert! What a way to spend a Saturday morning!