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Last month, I posted half of the results of a Blind Taste Test I conducted with my roommates MOA & Yuri along with MOA’s friend David. The first half of Part 1 covered Kellogg’s Pop-Tarts vs. Trader Joe’s Toaster Pastries along with Pirate Brands’s Pirate Booty vs. Trader Joe’s Corn Puffs. A correction must be made about the last post – I was incorrect about Pirate Booty not being available in other flavors because they also come in barbeque, sour cream & onion, & veggie. I’m human, I make mistakes, y’all!
So how did our taste testers fair with Tea Chai Te’s loose leaf tea vs. Tea Forté’s pyramid infuser & Trader Joe’s Organic Ketchup vs. Heinz’s Ketchup? Find out after the jump!
Tea Chai Te’s Loose Leaf Tea vs. Tea Forté’s Pyramid Infuser
When I moved into our apartment, I brought a box of tea & spices that MOA found herself enjoying regularly. During heavy exam weeks or study sessions with classmates, we’d present our guests the finest tea our cupboard had to offer & continued to make more tea throughout the school year. After a trip to Oregon, I gifted MOA & Yuri with tea from Tea Chai Te. MOA was in love with the Earl Grey loose leaf tea I got her & finished it within a few months & she began drinking more loose leaf tea when I got her an adorable frog infuser.
Loose leaf tea can be very expensive depending on the quality of the tea, so I decided to Blind Taste Test (BTT & yes, I’m using it as a verb) MOA to see–see what I did there? haahhh–if she could differentiate between loose leaf tea & packaged tea.
David was exposed to loose leaf tea for the first time at our apartment, so in this round, MOA is the tea veteran. I had the two of them differentiate between Tea Chai Te’s Immunity Blend vs. Tea Forté’s Moroccan Mint. Neither have had either tea before.
Immunity Blend » MOA correctly identified the tea & said it felt like she was standing in the middle of a rainforest after it had just rained. She praised it multiple times & said she felt as though it tasted like “fresh rain water” with mint. David thought the tea was the satchel tea, but identified that it was very minty. The two could not identify the citrus notes in the tea, but MOA said this tea had floral notes to it, hence why she felt like she was in the rainforest.
Moroccan Mint » MOA correctly identified the tea, while David believed this to be the loose leaf tea. David said he felt there were floral notes in this tea, while MOA tried to sip more of the Immunity Blend.
Best Mint Flavors
When asked which tea tasted more like floss, both answered that the Immunity Blend had a very strong mint flavor.
Best Tea Overall
MOA found love in the rainforest tea, but David preferred the Moroccan Mint.
MOA tested Yuri & me with two different Earl Grey satchel teas, one being more expensive than the other.
Stash’s Earl Grey » Yuri felt that both teas tasted the same so she couldn’t differentiate between the two. I changed my answer & decided that this tea was the cheaper of the two & was correct.
Expensive Brand Named Earl Grey » Yuri said they both tasted the same, while I said that this tea had a second dimension to it while the cheaper one was a bit flat.
Preference
Yuri & I both are tea veterans, but she couldn’t tell the difference. They were very similar in flavor, but there was a second dimension to the more expensive tea. I felt that both teas were fine, but leaned toward the tea with the second dimension.
Conclusion
MOA hasn’t been a loose leaf tea drinker for very long, but she could still taste the difference between loose leaf tea & satchel tea. She could sense other dimensions & notes within the tea that she could not taste with the packaged tea. Although Tea Forté is known for their quality teas & plethora of flavors, loose leaf tea dominates the tea world in quality & taste. Loose leaf tea makes for a fantastic gift too, so check out Tea Chai Te for other wonderful flavors they carry.
As for the expensive tea satchels, it’s probably best to just go with the cheaper products because to most people, they won’t be able to tell the difference.
Trader Joe’s Organic Ketchup vs. Heinz’s Ketchup
Long story short: Heinz wins, hands down. While both ketchups taste pretty good straight, Heinz actually tastes more natural, has a stronger flavor, & when it came down to which ketchup would better complement hash browns, all four of us agreed that Heinz complemented the hash browns significantly better than its opponent. Some of us mistook Heinz for the organic ketchup because its flavors were so fresh.
Conclusion
Heinz wins & for all of your organic lovers out there, Heinz also produces organic ketchup. There is a difference you can definitely taste. Don’t sell your guests & yourself short with store brand ketchup. If you don’t believe me, see for yourself!
I like to try different things and compare them with what I have eaten before. I greatly enjoy the Almond Breeze Soy Milk compared to the regular Whole Milk and 2 Percent milk that I used to buy. Unfortunately, my stomach can’t handle the regular or 2 percent milk anymore – so my boyfriend has been getting me the Almond Milk which is awesome!
Anyway, I wanted to let you know that I nominated you for the Liebster Award. Please let me know if you decide to accept this or not :).
I rarely drink milk from cows anymore, so my home is stocked with Almond milk, soy milk, & coconut milk. I prefer them in my cereal–they really complement the cereal you’re eating–& they’re great as creamers in tea. Humans are mostly lactose intolerant anyway, so making the switch is better for your GI tract!
Thanks for nominating me for the Liebster Award, Jamie! I’m honored! I’ve already been nominated before though so I can’t accept it twice as the rules state. Thanks again though. 🙂
I never branch out with tea so maybe I’ll check out your suggestion. The ketchup was not surprising — Heinz always wins. I’m bad at tasting differences. I can smell really well but my taste all blends. I mean, if something is straight up gross, I can tell the difference between something good and bad, but two ‘good’ things being compared — I’d be the worst, hah.
Loose leaf tea is the way to go! 🙂
Hmm that’s very interesting because normally your olfactory senses & your gustatory perception are very close so if you can smell roses, you’d know what they’d taste like if you ever ate them haha. I think you’d surprise yourself on how you can really differentiate between things. I thought that I wouldn’t really be able to tell the difference between the ketchup, but I was proven wrong!
Your conclusion is so very right about the teas. I really can’t taste much a different between different packaged teas, but loose leaf tea is definitely richer in quality.
I’m surprised about the ketchup, though! I always thought most ketchup tasted the same, haha. I’ll def pay a little more attention to it now 🙂
Me too! The ketchup trial was probably the most surprising to me & the poptarts one (I thought the Trader Joe’s one was the Kellogg’s one). Heinz is the best for a reason!
Ohhh yum, tea! I’ve never been much of a tea person, except for the free samples when I pass Teavana. I figured a coffee AND tea addiction would be a little too much caffeine, so I try to stay away haha. I love teapots and all the fun accessories, so my wallet wouldn’t be happy, either. But I guess when I inevitably start, I’ll try loose leaf!
Anddd I don’t like ketchup, so I wouldn’t know the difference, haha. I dunno, something about tomato paste – I just can’t. Blehhh.
Tea is kind of a love/hate relationship. I mean, you’re either crazy about it or you just don’t care for it. I love both coffee & tea, but I do prefer tea because it’s healthier & ummmm i LOVE TEA. I just need to get me some boba & I’ll have some milk tea boba in the comfort of my jammies in no time!
I think you’d be able to tell, you just wouldn’t like either ketchup! ahaha
Haha this blind test sounds fun c:
I love Moroccan tea as well! And
wow I can’t believe Heinz wins 😛
Not that I dislike Heinz because
I like Heinz as well! Xx