Editorial Product Review:

Item Description:
Tazo® Calm is made with pollen from Egyptian chamomile blossoms blended with fragrant lemon balm leaf from Eastern Europe. Pink rose petals from Morocco impart a light spicy taste, and a touch of natural fruit flavoring enhances the light apple-like taste of chamomile. Some people swear by it for falling asleep. Calm Tea is a soothing infusion of Blackberry leaves, Chamomile Flowers, Hibiscus Flowers, Spearmint, Lemongrass, Rose Petals, Safflowers, Peppermint, Sarsaparilla, Lemon Balm, and Licor

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Customer Rating: - Nice Chamomile Tea
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Tazo's Calm Herbal Infusion is a nice chamomile tea. I taste the chamomile and some flavorings, and they are not unpleasant, just hard to pin down as to what they are besides the chamomile. In general I'm not a big fan of tea with flavorings added, preferring the subtleness and authentic taste of the real thing.

The ingredients in Calm are: chamomile flowers, hibiscus flowers, spearmint, lemongrass, rose petals, blackberry leaves, safflowers, peppermint, sarsaparilla, lemon balm, licorice and natural flavors. It is caffeine-free!

Tazo is an interesting company that makes only super premium teas. They are socially responsible, based in Portland, and have the motto, "The Reincarnation of Tea". Tazo is owned by Starbucks. Their web site is fun and quirky, with a Zen-type focus, definitely worth checking out. It is unclear, though, from their web site, how many of their ingredients are organic or kosher, and they do use some "natural flavors" in their teas--this wording seems a little vague for a super premium tea.

On the package, Tazo writes, "a soothing blend of chamomile blossoms and other relaxing herbs." On their web site, Tazo describes the flavor profile of Calm as "creamy, floral, minty, toasty, sweet, honey-like. As the name gently implies, Tazo Calm has a lovely floral bouquet with an apple-like flavor and distinct toasty notes. Naturally sweet in a nice light way, with a smooth finish". Tazo describes the aroma as "minty, hay like, rose". I don't taste all of these various flavors, but I do taste the chamomile, and it is fine, not overwhelming or as artificial tasting as several of the other Tazo teas I've sampled.

I would rate this tea, and Tazo in general, as good---better than premium teas like Stash or Celestial Seasonings---but not as good as Numi. I'm soooooo spoiled by Numi teas, which is why Tazo Calm gets only four stars.
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