Lately I have been drinking a lot of black and green tea variations and was craving something herbal and caffeine free. I had heard about Teavana’s Passion Tango tea and thought it would be right up my alley.
I was looking for a refreshing change from the usual caffeinated teas I had been drinking.
Passion Tango seemed like a good choice: it was herbal, had dried fruit pieces along with lemongrass and blackberry leaves (which are a few of my favorite ingredients I like in flavored tea blends).
Below is a review on Teavana’s Passion Tango where I’ll go into detail and share my thoughts on the tea.
What is Teavana Passion Tango Tea?
Passion Tango tea is a refreshing and fruity herbal blend. It’s a popular tea that can be enjoyed three different ways: hot, iced, or lemonade.
In a nutshell it is:
- Loose leaf tea
- A herbal blend
- Caffeine free
“Fall in love with this tropical sensation. The harmonious pairing of juicy mango and papaya cascades into a wonderland of sweet hibiscus, lemongrass, apple and warm cinnamon. Calling forth visions of French Polynesia, one sip of this naturally caffeine-free tea leads to bliss.”– Teavana
Teavana Passion Tango Review
In this review we’ll go over how to make Passion Tango, the ingredients, tasting notes, and other uses of the tea. The below links in this review will take you to Teavana or Amazon for more information.
Passion Tango Tea Ingredients
- Hibiscus flowers
- Cinnamon
- Apple pieces
- Candied papaya pieces (papaya, sugar)
- Rose hip
- Natural flavor
- Blackberry leaves
- Lemongrass
- Candied mango pieces (mango, sugar)
- Rose petals
The Aroma
This tea smells fruity and sweet with a lemongrass zest to it. Although it has fruit and candy pieces, it does not have that artificially strong aroma that some flavored teas tend to have with similar ingredients.
Leaf Details
Looking at the pieces individually, I could see just about everything that was listed in the ingredients. There were pieces of lemongrass, dried rose petals, candy pieces, dried fruit pieces, hibiscus, some blackberry leaves, and cinnamon pieces.
Preparation
Below are the recommended guidelines when brewing a cup of Teavana Passion Tango tea:
- Use between 1.5 to 2 teaspoon of tea leaves (or one scoop using the Perfect Tea Spoon)
- Use 8 fl oz of water, preferably filtered water, and heat to 205°F/ 96°C
- Steep for 5 to 6 minutes
Tea Tip #1: If you’re unsure of how much 8 fl oz of water is, it generally is about the size of an average tea cup.
Tea Tip #2: Since this is an herbal tea and not a traditional tea made up of the camellia sinensis plant, you will not be able to re-steep the leaves from this tea. If you do it will result in a very weak and watery tasting tea. You will have to use a fresh scoop of loose leaf tea for each time you brew a new cup.
Friendly reminder:
Steeping for too long will cause the tea to taste bitter. The recommended steep time for Passion Tango tea is between 5 to 6 minutes. If you would like a stronger flavor, try adding more than the recommended 1.5 to 2 teaspoon of tea leaves.
Tea Tasting
While I was waiting for the tea to steep I couldn’t help but admire the lovely dark red liquor that was starting to form. It reminded me of the color of red wine.
I was also curios as to how it would taste. Normally teas that contain hibiscus taste tart. This, also paired with cinnamon, makes it feel like a winter tea (hibiscus and cinnamon can be found in many winter tea blends). Yet the impression you get with Passion Tango is that it is fruity and tropical.
When I took the first few sips there were several notes I could detect:
- Tart: as expected due to the hibiscus it does taste tart. Hibiscus is also listed as the first ingredient, so naturally there is a fair amount of this in here. I also did not add any type of sweetener to loosen up the flavor but the next time I brew this I will
- Fruity: I could also taste small hints of fruit as well. This contrast surprisingly paired very nicely with the hibiscus flavor, as it gives it a slightly sweet, fruity, aftertaste
- Lemongrass: I could also detect the delicious zesty aroma and taste of lemongrass. The taste was more noticeable when combined with the hibiscus tart flavor
Overall I thought Passion Tango tasted tangy with a fruity aftertaste. Keep in mind that this is with zero type of sweetener added. Had I added in some honey or rock sugar, the tart flavor would be much less noticeable. Also this tea lists cinnamon as an ingredient but thankfully the cinnamon was not dominating. To be honest I could not really taste it at all.
I also noticed that as the tea was cooling down I liked it more than when it was hot. I liked it because the hibiscus flavor was not as strong. This led me to believe it may taste better as an iced tea or lemonade. I will have to brew more of this in order to find out.
I was pleased with Teavana’s Passion Tango and would have it again. It contains no caffeine which makes it excellent to have in the evening or as a dessert tea.
Check to see the price of Passion Tango.
Other Uses
One thing I like about good products is when you can get several different uses out of the same item.
For tea this generally happens in the form of hot tea and iced tea beverages. Majority of teas can be enjoyed either as a hot beverage or a cold beverage over ice.
Some teas are more enjoyable as hot, while others are more enjoyable as an iced tea.
What I really like about Passion Tango is that it can be enjoyed three different ways. You can drink it as a hot tea, iced tea, or as a lemonade. I’m looking forward to brewing this tea again in order to taste it as an iced tea as well as a lemonade.
Have you had Passion Tango as an iced tea or lemonade? Did you like it and how did it taste? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below.
Final Thoughts
Overall I was impressed with Teavana’s Passion Tango. It’s a light tea that’s refreshing and delicious, and is a nice change from all the caffeine based teas I have been drinking lately.
I also love that I can get great value out of this tea. The fact that Passion Tango can be enjoyed as a hot tea, iced tea, or a lemonade, is great bang for your buck. This allows you to enjoy this tea all year round despite the season, and helps to keep things interesting.
Passion Tango can be purchased at Teavana (free shipping on orders over $50) or at Amazon, where no minimum purchase amount is required.
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