PG Tips

Even though I am not from the UK, I drink my tea as a lot do there-cream and sugar. Since drinking this tea 5 years ago or so, it has won my heart. It is my stable go to basic black tea bag tea. When I want a no frills blend, this is it. It is very comforting to me and I reach for it when I am being nostalgic. Yes, I do agree it does steep fast and can be bitter BUT, it is never too bad that cream and sugar do not save it. I am not a purest of black tea (thus yet), but I think even if I was, my love of cream and sugar will always draw me home to this because I think that is how this was meant to be drunk:)

We had an English pub open up right down the street from us less than a month ago. I stopped by there this evening after dropping the husband off at the airport. We’ve been there twice before and I have been pleased to see that their hot tea offering is PG Tips (noted on the menu by name) and offered in a teapot, not just a cup.

Yeah…it’s like the English version of Lipton but better, and by better I mean stronger. :) It also seems to be more forgiving of water temperatures that are likely far too cool to steep a lot of teas satisfactorily. The first two times it was a pyramid bag. Tonight it was a bag like Celestial Seasonings – flat, square, meshy/papery. I wonder if they had run out or something, because it wasn’t as hefty as before either. Or maybe it was a flat bagged version of PG Tips rather than the pyramids.

At any rate, while nothing I want to keep around, it’s a very passable restaurant tea. :) I do wish I could find PG Tips Strong in a store around here to try out…

PGTips has to be the most all-round well-made, durable tea of all time. it puts up with whatever you throw at it (although i prefer to stop steeping around 3-4 minutes) and keeps on going. even iced, this tea is just the nummiest. add a TON of sugar and you’ve got sweet tea that would make a southern belle smile! now, pardon me while i go have me a cuppa…

This tea is really nothing fancy but it is delicious all the same. I like it steeped for about a minute and a half. Two minutes is fine too, but any longer than that and the tannins take over. I then sweeten it with a 1/4 tsp of sugar and a splash of whole milk.

Currently my favorite black tea. I like to let it steep for a little while because I like my tea kind of strong. Also good with milk and sugar, but I prefer it straight.

Dumbest idea ever to make a 3-cup mug of this at 1:15 in the morning, but we’ve been up late unexpectedly chatting with a pal about movie directors and video games and whatever else and I don’t know, I always crave bold stuff during those late night conversations. Rereading Harney copy about the divide between more refined, modern day sweet and delicate Chinese tea preference and that old school Indian brisk black tea world reminded me how no matter how far I come along with tea exposure, my heart’s with those legacy teas due to nostalgia.

Probably be mad at myself tomorrow morning when I don’t sleep tonight, but right now I’m enjoying the heck out of this with lots of milk and way more sugar than I normally take.

1 bag for 300mL water @100C, steeped 3 minutes.

I found a box of these in the English imports section of my supermarket. The PG Tips normally sold here in Canada is a flat and dull Ceylon blend. This blend, while not quite what I remember from my last UK box — damn it, I was SURE there was Keemun in this once — is decent. Lots of heft from Assams and Kenyans, with an astringency I don’t normally seek out in tea but don’t really mind — the Kenyan tea, I think, that dry pucker. I’m sick as a poisoned dog here this morning, and a cup of tea like this is absolutely medicinal.

1 bag for 300mL water @100C, steeped four minutes.

A huge box of these teabags came to me from a friend in England. In North America, PG Tips is a pleasant, if dull, supermarket black tea, mostly Ceylon, I think. The English version is quite different.

The liquor is almost red, like a decent Keemun. I wonder of there’s some Keemun in the blend, as there’s a faint – very faint- smokiness and bitterness. Some Assam, I think, giving heft, and something lighter, giving some astringency to the finish. Delicious and full, without coating the mouth as some Assams and Kenyans might. A very pleasant surprise. It reminds me of how Twinings English Breakfast used to taste, many years ago, only much better.

Haven’t had time for tea the last couple days. Did manage to get this one in. I thought I would try something different when brewing. I heated the water to just below boiling and only steeped about one minute. Big bold black teas can attack my stomach in a hurry. This, short steeped was much more to my liking, and it didn’t hurt. I think this takes me down to only 118 teas (mostly samples) but fortunately I have maybe 7 on the way. Not bad for a guy with no job.

I have been drinking tea for 40 years. This is the first time I have sipped PG Tips! How is that even possible? This is what English Breakfast tea is supposed to taste like in my mind. Instant eye opener. O.O Stout enough to kick the butt of even the manliest of teas in your collection. The inside of my cheeks are still tingling. I now understand why people add milk and sugar. I never add milk. I almost did this time. taste mellows a bit as the cup cooled. Love the intense aftertaste.

One of my favorites when I lived in Edinburgh! Great color, great smell and incredibly fast and easy to make. I always drank mine black, because I’m a strange American, but this tea can hold its own with sugar and a splash of milk.

Breakfast for dinner – English muffin sandwich with smoked gouda, fried egg and ham and PG Tips decaf.

I’m really glad I picked up a box of these when I did – mostly for when I want a plain black decaf, but also now that I know the store I frequent no longer sells this (or any PG Tips for that matter – humph!)!

I really love this for the ease factor too! Two bags, 12 oz. boiling water, half-and-half, with enough sugar to lure an ant colony. Simple comfort in a cup with less caffeine!

This is one of my first teas. It’s the closest thing to what I remember tasting when I was having breakfast in England and first became addicted to tea. It has a very strong, stimulating taste and I used to wake up to it every morning before I realized the dark color will probably stain my teeth and I cut back a lot. That and the palpitations have me inclined to save it for more slow-to-start days.

Tips: I always added creamer/milk and sugar and it becomes a good substitute for coffee. Not for the faint of heart.

Steeped 1 teabag in 9 oz boiling water for 1 min; added 2 tsp white sugar and one tsp evaporated milk. Strong, drinkable, slightly astringent but not to the point of being bitter. I’m VERY glad I read the notes first before steeping, as my typical 4-5 min black tea steeping would have rendered this undrinkable. Even after 30 seconds it looked dark enough by my normal standards.

I surely didn’t need to buy this tea, but I’ve been curious about it, and it was BOGO at Harris Teeter, and therefore half price for one 40ct box. $2.50 seem like an irresistible price based on the prices I’ve seen elsewhere for one box ($5-8, I think?). It will probably be a good base for cold brewed iced tea too if I can get the steeping time/# of bags right. (Actually that will be a project for DH as he’s the sweet tea maker of the household.)