Twinings of London

This is one of my favourite Twinings teas. It has a stronger flavour than the Twinings English Breakfast. It’s great hot, but it’s also very good iced.

Intense busy day at work, after sleeping only 4 hrs. Anyway after downing a much needed energy drink earlier today (don’t judge!) I wanted something…calming…relaxing in the last hour or so before leaving work and this was perfect – no cleanup being in a teabag and in the mood for something on the sweet side. I don’t know if one rooibos is really that different from another, but this seemed great to me especially for a bagged tea – slightly sweet with woody, warm, honey apple flavour, something I would repurchase. Rooibos also doesn’t seem to oversteep, left it in the cup for a good while, and I also took the bag with me in my travel mug for a 3rd infusion all the way home and it was just fine.

As it cools, the pine notes come out. When it’s warm, there’s smoke and campfires. Astringency, yes, and sugar isn’t helping. I can’t sweeten the smoky aroma. There’s nothing wrong with it. It’s a mild tea with a heavy dose of smoke that doesn’t balance the intensity of the smokiness.

The 4/10 is for the fact that the smoke seeped out of the package and made my entire tin of mixed teabags smell of smoke. I’m airing out the tin so I can re-close it.

A hearty go-to breakfast tea.

Mild, smokey tea that has a hint of malt to it. I found this bagged in a Cost Plus World Market in Pentagon City, and haven’t seen it anywhere else I’ve looked (not in London, Brighton, Boston, SF Bay Area or NYC). It was the first time I’ve encountered this tea, and I enjoyed how it doesn’t become bitter with a longer steep. It is likely going to become a favorite of mine. I plan to get the loose leaf, if I can get ahold of it. I’ve only had it black, which was delicious, but will be back to add more to this review once I have it with milk, iced, or sweetened.

This is a lovely everyday tea for my morning commute. I purchased the loose leaf tin at my grocery store and served the tea hot with a splash of milk.

After a 5 minute steep, this tea was very dark in colour and some particles had escaped my tea strainer (which is unusual). I enjoyed 2 cups nonetheless.

Good. Wanted to like it more than I did, but it served well as a plain, uneventful black tea to spend the day with.

Oh wow, here’s a black tea I could drink every day. I bought this as a gift for a friend in London but didn’t buy any myself as bergamot has never really been my thing; I went over to their place this evening, tried a cup, and fell in love. This is wonderfully light. Very heavy on the citrus—I noticed the lemon peel first, then the orange. The bergamot and black tea in this are more in the background, but still nicely present. I just realized the dry leaf does kind of smell like Froot Loops though. I think this would be wonderful hot or iced. If I get the chance I will certainly pick up some of this.

Twinings generously sent out 3 samples of my choice (selected last fall, arrived a couple weeks ago) and this was the one I most looked forward to trying, so I’ve saved it for last.

I brewed to their suggestion of 3 minutes with recently boiled water. The liquor is a lovely, deep color – so dark you can’t see through it even an inch. The aroma is a warm, dark caramel. Almost malty.

The flavor is much milder than I anticipated, especially with a full 3 minute infusion and the dark color of the liquor. It’s so mild, I find it hard to pinpoint what flavors I’m picking up… rich, loamy earth… dry, but full of life.

Overall, I think this might become one of the rare teabags I start to keep in my cupboard. It will be an excellent option to bring along while travelling and, based on some of the reviews, I’d like to try it iced over the summer as well!

I’ve been on a bit of an earl grey kick this week, so I decided to give this one a try at work. It was pretty much your generic grocery store earl grey: mild black base and weak bergamot flavor. On the plus side, I’m not noticing any bitterness or astringency. This is drinkable, but not something I’d reach for again. I definitely prefer Twinings’ Lady Grey.

Used 1 tea bag

Not too bitter. Good mix of flavour. Slightly milky mouthfeel.

Thanks to MissB for sharing with me

I’ve been battling an exceptionally dry throat for the last four days, with my voice cutting out on me and going gravelly, so last night I decided that instead of wasting the good stuff, I’d pop in a cheapo bag of something or other. I even went all cavalier with the brewing method and brewed it in the mug, in the microwave, as the water heated.

(I know! SACRILEGE!)

But you know what? It turned out to be a rather splendid mug of tea, even after all the rule-breaking. I rather appreciate that Twinings Irish Breakfast is pretty forgiving. It’s not overly malty or astringent, and it doesn’t go bitter as easily as the English and Irish imports do (Here’s looking at you, Yorkshire Gold!).

I simply love this tea. I typically drink it first thing in the morning when I need a solid caffeine punch, and it’s very satisfying due to the savory, malty taste. Best enjoyed black and steeped for a full 3-4 minutes, in my opinion – though I’ll admit to often leaving the bag in until I’m finished, and even then I don’t detect any real astringency.

Irish Breakfast tea makes me think of cozy woolen socks, gray cloudy mornings, and crackling fires. It’s the coffee of teas.

There is absolutely zip about this tea that is memorable, interesting, or unique. The name perhaps? I grabbed it somewhere along my travels, just one bag… so that’s another off my list to try. It’s really just a super mild, straight black.

How i got it: Bought it (Twinings’ Classics Collection Pack)

Experience: In the aroma side, Prince of Wales has a spiced-nutty smell that reminds me to a Yunnan tea, but without the smokey notes. Could it be that actually this is the typical aroma of Chinese teas like Keemun? On the other hand, its flavor is light and slightly nutty, similar to Twinings’ Russian Caravan, but a little more sweeter and herbal. I miss a little bit more of duration in its taste, but anyway, very good tea.

Would i buy it again?: Has good possibilities

How i got it: Bought it (Twinings’ Classics Collection Pack)

Experience: After all that Basilur, let’s begin now with a new pack of Twinings teas. This English Breakfast smells very similar to a Ceylon, but without its typical fruity/crisp notes, somehow going more to the Kenyan side. It has a smoother taste than other Breakfast blends I’ve tried, too, and doesn’t show the soft-bitter notes i usually notice in them, but keeps the character and the body. As in the aroma, its flavor is very similar to a Kenyan tea. Mild intensity. I can sense some caramel/nutty-like notes too. Not a very complex tea, but a nice one however. Quite good.

Would i buy it again?: It has some possibilities. (Maybe I’ll get the whole pack again, hehe)

I’m surprised by how low this tea is rated on here. Of course it’s not the best tea in the world, but, in my opinion, it’s a nice basic black tea. I enjoy drinking this in the late afternoon…it doesn’t have the strength of the morning Irish or English Breakfast Tea, but it’s pretty smooth for an inexpensive bagged tea. To be honest, I’ve never tasted a Ceylon I didn’t like, and this one is no exception.

Re-review of this tea.

Decent herbal blend that tastes mainly of mint with floral accents in the background (chamomile I presume). Nice; I`ll use it up with no trouble.

Overall, this is a nice cup of tea. I don’t know if I’ve just become used to strong Assams, but the strength was a little lighter than I expected…strong enough for the morning, but maybe not for the first cup. However, it is very smooth, and, as with other Twinings products, great for the price that you pay.

This could definitely be added to the regular rotation as a nice afternoon black tea. It has the Yunnan flavor, but a little lighter than I expected…so it’s not one I’d grab in the morning when I’m looking for a stronger black tea. It’s really smooth, which also adds to the enjoyment. You can’t go wrong with Twinings for quality inexpensive teas. :)

Much better left to steep quite some time than just steep and drink it. I find this quite mild with both the ginger and the lemon, although it’s still nice… it’s a “nice” ginger and lemon, not a “no-holds-prisoners” kinda ginger and lemon, which I much prefer.

It’s alright, but I wish the flavour was a bit stronger. As usual, I add raspberry syrup or honey (depending on my mood).