Tired of Coffee? Tazo Focus Tea Energizes You and Tastes Great

Every now and then, I find myself sick of coffee but still in need of something to get me through the morning. Or afternoon. Or evening. I saw a box of my sister’s Tazo Focus tea on a shelf in my mom’s kitchen the last time I visited and she was kind enough to share with me. She gave me two bags, and after the first cup, I was on the hunt for a box of my own.

I don’t normally like black teas unless they’re iced and sweetened; I’m normally a caffeine-free, herbal tea kind of girl. I’ve been known to brew some green tea to drink in place of my morning coffee, but aside from the occasional chai, hot black tea’s just not usually my thing.

This one is a mix of black tea, yerba mate, cocoa peel, and orange essence. Honestly, they had me at cocoa.

The description on the box calls it “invigorating,” and I have to agree. It perks you up without the jitters coffee can give you. The caffeine level is 46-60 mg. It tastes amazing with raw honey in it; to me, the addition of honey brings out all the flavors in the tea, but it’s good without anything added to it, too.

The only thing I dislike about this tea is something I hate about all teas. It’s not as quick as making coffee in the Keurig or pouring a second cup out of a coffee pot. It has to steep for five minutes (longer than some other teas), and you have to boil water first, so it’s not exactly quick.

I guess if you wanted to, you could brew a big pot of it (I usually only do one cup at a time) and it’d be no different than having a second up of coffee from the coffee pot, especially if you use a French press for coffee and have to wait for the water to boil anyway.

Anyway, I find this tea a delicious change for those times when I need a pick-me-up but don’t want coffee. It’s around $4.00 for a box of 16 bags.

Photo credit: Vitacost