The Tea Scoop

Celestial Seasonings Reborn?

I have always been rather skeptical towards Celestial Seasonings. I have written poor reviews of their packaging that leaves tea stale by the time it is taken home from grocery store shelves, and the artificial taste of many of their blends.

However, it appears that Celestial Seasonings is turning over a new tea leaf. The company has in recent years expanded from their herbal tisane roots and sprouted a few traditional teas as well. Now Celestial Seasonings is catching onto the popularity of whole leaf teas, and is releasing a line of whole leaf teas in pyramid shaped bags called Saphara. There will also be a new line of wellness teas, and even the Sleepytime bear is having an overhaul.

Although the company claims that customer feedback has been positive on the whole leaf teas, I think that tasting is believing, and I remain skeptical. However, as soon as I get a chance, I plan to sample these with an open mind, as Celestial Seasonings is a very accessible brand for the new tea drinker. I would love to see an improvement in their quality. And, I have to admit, I do like looking at the artwork on some of their boxes.

The Latest from Adagio

Adagio's latest addition of the TeaMuse is out, providing advice on iced tea and avoiding scum in your tea.

Adagio is now allowing customers to create their own blends, and features customer blends on their website. Try your hand at becoming a Tea Master!

One of the things I love about Adagio is that they really create a site that's much more than an online tea emporium. It's a community to share about tea (TeaChat), find a tearoom (TeaMap), get recipes (TeaChef) or learn more about our favorite beverage (TeaMuse). It's a beautiful, clean website, and they give great service. I can't emphasize enough how much I love Adagio other than by sharing that there are at least a dozen Adagio sample tins in my kitchen drawer.

The News Bulletin

There is quite a lot going on in the world of tea lately, according to my World Tea News e-newsletter.

McDonald's has decided to serve more socially conscious tea, and is pairing with PG Tips to serve environmentally friendly tea in the UK. I'm hoping this is an idea that will cross the pond and raise the quality of the tea in U.S. McDonald's as well.

Honest Tea has changed their label and introduced several new bottled teas, now with an EGCG rating on the label. They are also attempting to go green with their new Citrus Green Energy Tea. Honest Tea buys renewable energy credits to make up for the energy used along the entire production chain for this flavor. Another benefit is that this is an energy drink without all the added caffeine of other energy drinks.

Science Daily released an article today telling us that green tea may hep combat super bugs.  All the more reason to drink as much as possible!