Is Tazo Green Tea High in Quality?

I am a purist. I like loose leaf and I generally ditch the bag. I preach on about how tea needs to be hand picked and organic. I stand stand for quality and I wouldn’t steer you wrong!  A big challenge for me is I can’t always find quality in a grocery store for a decent price. That, and I’m picky which is why I get my teas online.

That being said, I often get asked about typical off the shelf/tea shop brands like Tazo for example. What if you’re in a bind and need to grab something quickly? Well, the good news is, some shelf brands aren’t half bad and in Tazo’s case, you can definitely do worse in the grocery store. Here is what I think of Tazo specifically…

Quality in a Teacup: Tazo Green Tea

Tazo tea is not my grandmother’s cup of tea. It is on a different shelf than her tea bags were. Tea drinkers today desire a higher quality of tea, a more refined character and even social responsibility in their tea. Tazo Tea brings that to the party and much more to stir the proverbial pot.

Now owned by Starbucks Corporation, the company prides itself on the quality of its tea—all of its tea, including Tazo Green Tea. According to Tazo Tea, the company listens to the leaves. Once the tea leaves are plucked and processed, the company ensures that all teas and ingredients used in tea blends are correctly handled and stored. This procedure preserves the freshness and quality of all teas, including the very popular Tazo Green Tea. Only teas from the current or most recent growing season are sold to the consumer.

“I am a purist.  I preach on about how tea needs to be hand picked and organic” 

Tazo’s green tea is sold in a plain variety as well as those infused with an assortment of flavors. The green tea is one of Tazo’s three major tea product lines. According to the tea company, it uses “rare” leaves derived from plants sourced in the Himalayas, Kenya and Sri Lanka. Green tea is the only one of the three tea varieties that is not fermented upon harvesting. Black and oolong tea varieties are fermented. The green tea leaves are steamed or pan-fired in order to prevent the need for fermentation. One big thing they mention is that their leaves are harvested by hand. That is a definite plus for them.  You should note that Tazo does mention that the majority of the world’s green tea comes from China and Japan, and they do offer China green tea but…you really have to check the labels to see which country they are sourced from. Once you’ve done that, check out my Japanese Vs. Chinese green tea article and see where you stand. Another big win for Tazo is that they offer organic green tea.

To preserve standards of quality, each tea produced by Tazo is tasted up to seven times prior to consumer purchase. The tea is tasted at offer, before shipment, upon arrival, during formulation, numerous times during the blending process and after the tea has been packed. Tazo Tea stipulates that while over 150 teas are likely to be tasted during one day, the selections are narrowed to only a handful of teas that will be chosen to grace a Tazo tea product. These persnickety pickers are one of the main reasons that a Tazo tea tastes the way discriminating tea palates prefer. The quality and character come out in the flavor the tea drinker savors in each cup as well as in bestowing many health and beauty benefits.

Tazo’s Got Your Teeth Covered

Wanting my teeth to look as white as Taylor Swift’s pretty pearls or Kim Kardashian’s scintillating smile, I take note that health experts find green tea such as Tazo’s to be high in natural fluoride. By drinking green tea from Tazo, I receive 0.4 milligrams of fluoride according to the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University. This tea derived fluoride is just as good to keep teeth healthy, bright and cavity free as other types of administered fluoride that the dentist may prescribe.

Tazo Reinforces the Green Tea Benefits

For hundreds of years, green tea varieties were used in a number of ways as a health aid. People drank green tea for use as a stimulant, a diuretic and a tonic for a healthy heart. Now green tea is drunk by the potful globally because it has been shown to provide many potential health benefits. For example, a primary benefit is likely the reduction in risk for many cancers, including skin cancer due to the abundance of potent protective compounds. There is also evidence that consuming green tea is likely to reduce blood cholesterol levels, aid in weight loss and shield the skin from damage caused by ultraviolet light.

Specifically, green tea has been found to contain the greatest amounts of polyphenols—potent disease-fighting antioxidants. The potentially bitter flavor found in green tea by some drinkers is from a specific type of polyphenols called catechins. A bit of lemon added to the tea aids in reducing the bitterness and enhances the enjoyment of the tea. The primary vitamins derived from green tea are vitamin C which is an infection fighter, the B vitamins which boost energy, vitamin E known for its antioxidant properties and the fluoride that promotes strong bones and teeth.

An abundance of studies have been published suggesting that green tea is likely to be a factor in reducing heart disease risks. One 2006 study published in the “Journal of the American Medical Association” concluded that people who drank green tea over a course of 11 years had a reduced likelihood of having a stroke. Scientific studies have also suggested improved cognitive function for older people.

A cup of quality green tea contains compounds called alkaloids including caffeine that produce a stimulant effect in the tea drinker and may help increase the rate of metabolism in the body. It is only a small increase, yet many studies link green tea to the loss of about one to five pounds of weight.

Green tea in moderation is healthy for most people, but like all things ingested in the body, the delicious beverage may have contraindications with some medications. It is always prudent to consult one’s physician when taking any medications. Knowing the excellent quality of Tazo Tea’s green tea and other varieties ensures that each cup will be delectable and free of extraneous additives. Tazo tea drinkers never find a “tempest” in their teapots.

What do you think of Tazo? Let us know in the comment section below!