Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

First let me say I've been drinking the chai spice Stash tea since Spring 2010. I drink it almost every day, so I know the differences. This is NOT genuine Stash Tea! First let me say this. The tea isn't by any means nasty. It tastes ALMOST as good as the original. If you buy a package from the store and taste them side by side you'll notice that the store-bought version has a bit more of a "kick". We steep the black tea for 6 minutes and after my first taste I said to my wife, "This tastes like water... hot water." I assumed she didn't steep it long enough. The first thing we noticed another than the taste (which again, is STILL GOOD, just steep it longer.) was the fact that the string was short. You can usually wrap the string around the spoon to lightly squeeze the tea bag, two times. This is only long enough for one wrap. "No biggie" we thought. "Maybe they're cutting costs, good idea to start with shorter string." Right before buying this box I bought two boxes from Wal-Mart as these things sell out quick! Lastnight my wife decides to use a pack form Wal-Mart and one from Amazon and THEN we noticed all of the major differences listed here in addition to the taste and shorter string: - Thicker string - Sloppier closure of tea bag - Bag was stapled closed instead of knitted closed - Stash tags at end of the strings are totally different. The original has eight sides but is more of a square shape and is knitted to the string. While the tea from Amazon is just a white slit of folded paper that's stapled to the string. - The red packaging has smoother grooves while the original has defined grooves - The red packaging's tear slit is on the right while the original is located to the left - On the back of the packaging the ingredients list as "cardamom oil" on the original it says "and cardamom oil" - On the bottom it has an expiration date whereas the original has no expiration date on the package - Finally on the packages form Amazon there's some black and white box on the top of the back of the packaging and on the original that doesn't exist. Usually I don't get bent out of shape about packaging, or even the short string. But the staple and the sloppy closure job... not to mention these just come in a brown box not the original Stash packaging makes me wonder what the heck is even in this tea considering no Food Administration checks it and regulates it. Better safe than sorry, I'd stay away and just pay more for the real stuff from the store. Check the pictures.