Knowledge Base
Coffee & Tea Guides
Brew better and explore more — buying guides, how-tos, and explainers for every coffee and tea ritual.
Buying Guide
Tassimo Coffee Machine Buying Guide: Models and Features
A Tassimo coffee machine uses a barcode on each Bosch T-Disc to brew coffee, milk drinks and hot chocolate automatically. Here's how the system works, the Vivy, Happy and My Way models compared, and what to check before you choose.
Explainer
Taro Milk Tea: What Taro Tastes Like and Why It's Purple
Taro milk tea is a creamy, nutty-sweet bubble tea made from taro root. Here's what taro tastes like, why the drink is purple, and the two very different ways it's made.
Buying Guide
Sunbeam Coffee Machines: A Buyer's Guide
A plain-English guide to Sunbeam coffee machines, from the Cafe Series pump espresso makers to drip filters, grinders and frothers, plus what to check before you choose.
Explainer
Sugar-Free and Lactose-Free Coffee Creamers, Explained
Sugar-free coffee creamer skips added sugar; lactose-free removes the milk sugar. Here is how the two differ, which creamers do both, and how to read the label to match the carton to your need.
Explainer
Starbucks Tea Drinks, Explained: The Teavana Menu
Starbucks tea is the chain's Teavana line — hot teas, iced teas, and tea lattes. Here's every drink from the Chai Tea Latte and London Fog to the Honey Citrus Mint "Medicine Ball," plus how to make them at home.
Explainer
Starbucks Syrups and Creamers Explained: The Flavor Guide
A plain-English guide to the Starbucks flavor system: the everyday syrups and their flavors, the mocha and caramel sauces, the at-home creamer line, and how pumps scale with cup size so you can customize any order.
Explainer
Starbucks Seasonal Drinks Through the Year, Explained
Starbucks seasonal drinks rotate through the year — spring florals, summer Refreshers, the fall pumpkin wave, and winter holiday favorites. Here is how the calendar and the limited-time cadence work, and how to catch a drink before it goes.
Explainer
Starbucks Refreshers, the Pink Drink and Fruit Drinks, Explained
Starbucks Refreshers are fruit-forward, lightly caffeinated iced drinks. Here is how the fruit base, coconutmilk and green coffee extract build the Pink Drink, Dragon Drink and Paradise Drink — plus how to customize your own.
Explainer
Starbucks Hot Drinks Beyond Coffee: Cocoa, Steamers, and Teas
Starbucks is a coffee company, but its warm menu runs much deeper: hot chocolate, white hot chocolate, Steamers, the Caramel Apple Spice, Steamed Apple Juice, and hot teas. Here are the caffeine-free (and nearly caffeine-free) Starbucks hot drinks to order beyond coffee, and how to make each one your own.
Explainer
The Starbucks Horchata Drink, Explained
The Starbucks horchata is the Horchata Almondmilk Shaken Espresso — a cold, cinnamon-sweetened almondmilk coffee drink inspired by the classic rice-and-cinnamon agua fresca. Here's what's in it, how it tastes, and how to order it.
Buying Guide
Starbucks Cups, Tumblers, Mugs, and Merch: A Collector's Guide
From viral reusable cold cups to city-series ceramic mugs, holiday red cups, and buzzy collabs, here's the full world of Starbucks drinkware and merch — plus what to look for whether you're buying to use or to collect.
Buying Guide
Starbucks Coffee Pods, K-Cups, and Capsules Explained
Starbucks sells its coffee for home pod machines in a few non-interchangeable formats — K-Cups for Keurig and Starbucks by Nespresso capsules for Original and Vertuo machines. Here's how to match the pod to your machine and pick the right roast.
Explainer
Starbucks Bottled Coffee and Ready-to-Drink Range, Explained
Starbucks bottled coffee is the brand's chilled, ready-to-drink range — the glass-bottle Frappuccino, the Doubleshot and Tripleshot, and bottled Cold Brew. Here's what's in the lineup, who actually makes it, and how a shelf bottle differs from the barista cup.
Buying Guide
Stainless Steel Electric Kettles: How to Choose One
A stainless steel electric kettle wins on durability, clean taste and looks — but only if the interior is truly steel. Here is how to check the water path and pick the features that matter for tea and coffee.
Buying Guide
Stainless Steel Coffee Mugs and Tumblers: What to Know
A plain-English buying guide to stainless steel coffee mugs and tumblers: why vacuum-insulated steel keeps coffee hot for hours, how a mug differs from a tumbler and a travel mug, what specs to check, and the trade-offs worth knowing.
How-To
Sparkling Tea: What It Is and How to Make It
Sparkling tea is simply tea made fizzy — in two forms. Learn the difference between an easy homemade brewed-tea-plus-soda cooler and craft bottled sparkling tea, plus a foolproof method for making bright, fizzy tea at home.
Explainer
Society Tea Range and Prices: What to Buy, What to Skip
Society Tea's leaf, dust, premium and masala packs priced per 100 g from the brand's own store (August 2026), what actually separates the grades, and whether a Mumbai blender still beats Tata Tea Premium or Wagh Bakri.
Explainer
Sleepytime Tea and Bedtime Teas: What to Know Before Bed
Sleepytime is Celestial Seasonings' caffeine-free, chamomile-led bedtime tea. Here's what's in it, how the Extra and melatonin versions differ, how to brew a good cup, and how to enjoy it sensibly.
Buying Guide
Single-Dose Coffee Grinders, Explained
A single-dose coffee grinder weighs each dose fresh instead of storing beans in a hopper, so you waste almost nothing and can switch coffees freely. Here is how low-retention grinders like the Niche Zero work and what to look for.
Buying Guide
Siemens Coffee Machines: A Buyer's Guide
Siemens coffee machines are fully automatic bean-to-cup espresso machines — the EQ series — that grind fresh and brew espresso and one-touch milk drinks at a button. This guide maps the EQ.3 to EQ.9 and EQ.500/EQ.700 range, decodes Siemens features like the ceramic grinder and iAroma, and lays out what to look for before you choose.
Explainer
Self-Stirring Mugs, Explained: Do They Actually Work?
A self-stirring mug is a battery-powered cup with a propeller in its base that mixes your drink at the press of a button. Here is how they work, what they dissolve well, and whether they are actually worth it.
Explainer
Sage Tea: What It Is, Flavor, and How to Brew It
Sage tea is a savoury, caffeine-free infusion of common sage leaves. Here is what it is, what it tastes like, and how to brew it hot or iced at home.
Explainer
Rose Tea: Benefits, Flavor, and How to Make It
Rose tea is a fragrant, caffeine-free infusion of edible rose petals or buds. Here's what it tastes like, the gentle benefits, and how to make rose tea at home.
Explainer
Rooibos Tea Benefits: Why People Drink Red Bush Tea
Rooibos tea benefits, explained without the hype: why this caffeine-free, low-tannin South African red bush tea is prized for antioxidants like aspalathin, and what the early evidence really shows.