16 Trader Joe's Teas, Ranked Worst To Best

Is there anything more comforting than a freshly brewed cup of tea? Whether you're feeling chilly, are under the weather, or just need a soothing, hot beverage, tea is arguably the ultimate go-to. Some might even prefer a strong cup of English breakfast in the morning over a mug of coffee, or perhaps choose among a variety of herbal teas at night instead of a decaffeinated cup of Joe.

Of all the places where one might purchase tea, shopping at Trader Joe's is a worthy option, where tea options are nearly as plentiful as the chain's assortment of snacks and frozen goods. Much like other products in the store, Trader Joe's also provides seasonal tea options, so just when your go-to cup of green tea starts to feel a little stale, there's a new variety available to keep things interesting.

Now, just because Trader Joe's offers an abundance of teas doesn't necessarily mean they're all worth your while. I've brewed up a wide range of Trader Joe's hot teas to determine which ones hit the spot on a chilly day, and which ones aren't worth precious space in your cart.

Among Trader Joe's vast selection of teas is an iced tea option, meant to be brewed in a similar fashion to hot tea, but in cold water. Indeed, Trader Joe's cold brew iced tea — which is black tea flavored with lemon — certainly offers up convenience for those who enjoy iced tea, but don't want to brew a whole batch or don't have the time. Ready to drink in about five minutes, if there's one perk I can think of for this iced tea, it's that it does yield a cup of cold tea very fast — but that's where the positives end.

The flavor of this tea is simply not good, and there's a clear culprit at hand: the lemon flavoring. I'm always wary of tea beverages that include lemon, because the citrus flavoring is almost never light and fresh, but instead tastes harsh, artificial, and overbearing — and this is definitely the case here. All I could really taste was overbearing lemon flavor, and the tea itself was virtually nowhere to be found, thus (unsurprisingly) making this tea the worst one in the TJ's lineup.

Much like how the lemon flavoring did no favors for Trader Joe's iced black tea, the blood orange flavor of the supermarket chain's rooibos herbal tea blend misses the mark. Unfortunately, the flavor of this tea isn't really all that citrusy, nor does the supposed blood orange essence taste much like blood orange. Instead, the flavor of this tea is a bit harsh and medicinal, with sharp and sometimes bitter "citrus" notes coming through in all the wrong ways.

Though I realize there's no way to incorporate fresh citrus flavor into tea without squeezing it in right before drinking, I still hoped for something a little tastier from this tea. The blood orange flavor isn't nearly as oppressive as the lemon flavor in our last-place tea, which is why this rooibos blend ranks a little higher, but it's still not very tasty regardless, and I certainly wouldn't see myself purchasing this tea again. 

As a lover of all things mint, it's not too often that I come across a minty beverage that doesn't tickle my fancy. Well, that all changed when I tried Trader Joe's Moroccan mint green tea, though perhaps not for the reasons that one might think. Let me first stress that there's nothing inherently bad about this tea — no overwhelming flavors, no artificial tastes, nothing like that. Instead, it's the lack of flavor that earned this tea such a low ranking, because I kept searching for hints of mint, but very few minty notes were to be found.

Since this particular blend does have green tea as its base, I of course expected some of those classic earthy flavors, but I also expected lots of mint, too. This tea really just tasted like green tea with the tiniest whisper of mint, and for some people, that might be a good thing. For me, however, I really needed stronger mint flavor for this to be a contender.

If there's one word that best describes Trader Joe's organic ginger turmeric herbal tea, it would be lackluster, or just lacking. When it comes to a plain tea, I'm not expecting it to be the most flavorful thing in the world, but when a tea boasts the inclusion of ginger, I certainly hope for a little spiciness to make things more interesting. Though I could taste some subtle spicy notes in this tea, it mostly lacked any real ginger depth, which made for a pretty disappointing experience.

As a perk, I did find this tea very comforting and fragrant, but the flavor was definitely inadequate. I've had ginger teas before that really play up the spice factor, so I know it's possible, but this Trader Joe's version just isn't a good example of that. If you're a big ginger-turmeric tea fan, you'd be best off opting for a different brand.

It's pretty hard to beat classic green tea — whether it's hot, iced, sweetened, or decaf, it's an undeniably tasty tea. Trader Joe's offers a few varieties of green tea, including a standard organic version, a decaf version, and this Darjeeling version. Though this green tea didn't taste drastically different from TJ's classic organic green tea, it did taste different enough to make me prefer the other one.

Typically, plain green tea has notes of subtle grassiness, but this Darjeeling tea leans heavily into those grassy notes, something that I found to be a bit overwhelming. Those who enjoy super-strong, earthy green tea will no doubt enjoy this version, but my taste buds were seeking out something a little more mellow. With that grassiness also came a bitter aftertaste, which is somewhat expected with any type of tea, but I found the overall flavors of this Darjeeling green tea to be a bit too harsh. 

If there's one type of tea out there that is nearly guaranteed to pack a spicy, flavorful punch, it's chai. The popular blend boasts black tea as a base and spices to enhance the flavor, with cinnamon, cardamom, and black pepper often being the most palpable notes. Needless to say, I'm a lifelong chai lover, whether it be in latte form or in a cup of hot, unsweetened chai. When I opened the box of Trader Joe's spiced chai, I was hit with a waft of warming spices, heavy on the cinnamon, so I felt it would be a tasty cup.

Much to my disappointment, Trader Joe's spiced chai left me wanting more. Despite being incredibly fragrant, the spices really didn't shine through much when I actually drank the tea, and the beverage also wasn't nearly as spicy as I was hoping. Good chai is complex, aromatic, and heavily spiced, but this Trader Joe's version was far too one-dimensional in flavor to impress me, or to earn a higher ranking on this list. 

I'm a big fan of black tea, and Trader Joe's Assam black tea definitely doesn't disappoint. It hits those flavor notes that one might expect from unsweetened black tea, tasting a little bit earthy, a little bit malty, and perhaps a little bit bitter, too. Ultimately, however, I found this one to be a little too forgettable to rank higher on the list, and I found that TJ's offers other varieties of black tea that are just a little bit more flavorful and a little more complex.

Though this Assam black tea didn't blow me away in the flavor department, that's not to say it's a bad tea. I did notice that there was some lingering bitterness that isn't unheard of for black tea, though I wish it mellowed out in flavor a little bit more. Big fans of black tea won't be disappointed with this blend, though I do think it's worth any shopper's while to experiment with different varieties of black tea — because if you go with this one, you are just settling. 

Perfectly pleasant, although not all that memorable, Trader Joe's organic Darjeeling white tea is one that I could see slip through the cracks of one's consideration when picking out a tea. Something I did appreciate about this was its light nature, and I did pick up on floral notes and perhaps those of honey, too.

Drinking this white tea was certainly not a bad experience, but I'm not much of a white tea drinker to begin with — and nor is most of the world, for that matter, with white herbal tea accounting for a pretty small margin of global tea consumption. That's not to say white tea is bad, or that it doesn't deserve its flowers, but this tea is a seasonal offering at Trader Joe's (meaning it won't be around forever), and I wouldn't exactly say that it's worth rushing to the store to stock up.

I didn't think there'd be much of a flavor difference between Trader Joe's Assam black tea and Assam golden black tea, and indeed they ultimately taste quite similar. That said, I found the golden version to be better than the plain version, as it offered up a little more complexity and flavor saturation.

By flavor saturation, I mean that those expected malty black-tea notes shone through really beautifully in this cup of tea, whereas they were just okay in the regular black tea. I found that this tea also had a certain mellowness to it that the plain one didn't quite accomplish, making it an enjoyable drink from start to finish. Like I said, this tea and the plain Assam black tea are very similar, but this one is a seasonal offering, so get your hands on it instead of the plain variety if you have the chance. 

Have you ever wondered about the differences between Irish breakfast tea and English breakfast tea? Well, so have I, especially after sampling both teas for the sake of this ranking. As it turns out, there's not a huge difference between them, with Irish breakfast having Assam black tea as the base (therefore being strong, malty, and robust), while English breakfast features a blend of black teas as opposed to highlighting any one strong frontrunner.

With this information in mind, I could only go off of taste when it came to ranking such similar teas, and I definitely found the Irish breakfast to be the weaker of these two similar options. Though malty black tea notes were present here, I was really expecting something to knock my socks off — but honestly, this tea was sort of mild in flavor. It's not a bad tea, but there are simply better ones in the TJ's repertoire. 

Trader Joe's organic green tea is reliable — I've purchased it on my own before, I was happy to purchase it for this review, and I'll gladly purchase it again. This tea is pretty much everything that you'd hope for from a good cup of green. It's light but not so light that it lacks flavor, it's earthy but not so earthy that it becomes too grassy, and it's perfectly pleasant for sipping nearly any time of day, whether in the morning or afternoon ... though the worst time to drink green tea is before going to bed.

Unlike other teas on this list that lack strong flavor or perhaps are a little too strong, this organic green tea succeeds in being perfectly mellow and balanced. You'll find all the flavor notes one might expect from green tea, and overall, there's really nothing bad to say about this one. Is this the most exciting or adventurous tea you could buy at Trader Joe's? No, and that's really the only reason this doesn't rank a little higher. 

Remember when Trader Joe's Moroccan mint tea left me disappointed due to a lack of mint flavor? Well, I'm pleased to say that the chain's peppermint herbal tea makes up for said lack, and then some. This tea is minty as can be, and that's most definitely a good thing. 

I should clarify what I mean when I say this tea is super minty. It's not so much cool minty like the feeling after you brush your teeth, but minty like you can taste the actual mint leaves, making for a beverage that is somehow simultaneously hot yet refreshing. Fans of mint tea simply won't be disappointed with this one. It's simple, yes, and a bit one-dimensional, since peppermint is the only real flavor note at play here. However, not every tea needs to have a bunch of flavor notes, so this peppermint tea is a great go-to when you have a sore throat, upset stomach, or just need something soothing. 

If you're the type of person who prefers tea over coffee in the morning, then Trader Joe's English breakfast tea just might be the blend for you. Though this tea does ultimately taste pretty similar to TJ's Irish breakfast tea, I found the English version to be a little less harsh and malty, and a little more mellow and balanced. That's not to say that you won't find malty flavors in this tea — it is black tea, after all — but such flavors are a little more subdued, which I found to be more pleasant.

Another aspect of this English breakfast tea that I particularly enjoyed is that it had more flavor when compared to the Irish breakfast or Assam black teas. That makes sense, seeing as English breakfast is typically comprised of a blend of teas, and I'd imagine that just about anyone who enjoys black tea — Brit or not — might enjoy waking up to a cup of this stuff every morning. 

There are few teas more mellow and comforting than chamomile, and the Trader Joe's version of this ever-popular herbal tea is no exception. With notes of honey and flowers, this tea is pure comfort in a cup, with absolutely no heavy or overbearing flavors weighing it down. Each sip goes down as easy as the one before, and by the time you finish a cup of TJ's chamomile tea, you can't help but feel more relaxed (the lack of caffeine certainly helps).

Something that I particularly like about Trader Joe's chamomile tea is how balanced it is. There's nothing going on here that you wouldn't expect from any other tea brand offering chamomile, so the TJ's version isn't reinventing the wheel, but it also doesn't need to do that. Calming, mellow, light, and floral without tasting like you're eating flowers, chamomile is a great option for those who enjoy drinking tea at night, or perhaps want something that tastes a little sweet without actually containing sugar. 

After sampling quite a few black teas from the Trader Joe's lineup, I've determined that the chain's Earl Grey tea is the best of the bunch. Enhanced by its addition of bergamot oil, this tea has distinct floral, citrus, and almost sweet notes that the other black teas on this list simply lack. The result is a seriously aromatic tea that delivers on flavor as much as it does on aromas, something that other Trader Joe's teas seem to struggle with.

This Earl Grey tea would be a great addition to a morning routine. It tastes considerably less harsh, malty, and bitter than most black teas out there, which is also a perk for those who enjoy subtle sweet notes in their beverages. There's nothing bad to say about this tea, and there's just one tea of TJ's that outshines it a little bit. 

Some tea drinkers seek it out for the caffeine, and others seek it out for the comfort factor. If you fall into the latter category, then Trader Joe's Well Rested Herbal Tea is just what you've been looking for. Unlike other herbal teas on this list, Well Rested is a blend that includes chamomile, spearmint, peppermint, blackberry leaves, and rosebuds, just to name some of the ingredients. These flavors could not work more harmoniously together, resulting in a simply delightful cup of herbal tea that goes down easy each and every time. 

Something that makes Well Rested stand out above the rest is how it's a blend, so there's quite a bit of complexity going on, but each herbal inclusion manages to shine in its own way. Will Trader Joe's Well Rested tea actually help you fall or stay asleep? The jury's out on that one, but it will most definitely make your bedtime routine worth looking forward to. 

In an effort to sample each tea in a similar fashion, I brewed them all for the same amount of time, which was roughly five minutes. I used one tea bag per cup to get a consistent picture of each tea's flavor, with the exception of the cold brew tea; for that variety I brewed two bags at once. 

When it came down to ranking the teas, I considered how well the respective flavors shone through, the complexity of the tea (for example, Well Rested earned the top spot partly due to its boasting an impressive blend of ingredients), and if there were any particularly harsh or unpalatable notes that made for a less-than-enjoyable drinking experience.