Twinings of London

I’m pretty sure I’m coming down with a cold or something. I’m achy and just have this general feeling of malaise about me. Lately, it seems like I’m always just on the verge of getting sick. I think it must be the building I work in. Everyone just passes these things around. But today I feel like there is no fighting it off. It’s settled into my body and is starting to make itself comfortable. Tea usually helps me to feel better, even if sometimes it’s only the comfort factor of holding a warm cup in my hands. I’m running low on cream so I added a spoonful of melted vanilla bean ice cream in it’s place. Wonderful.

I don’t smell the bergamot in the dry tea for this cup either. It may be time to finish these and get a fresh box. I can definitely smell the bergamot in the steeped tea though and I can taste it. I may drop this down to 5 minutes next time because it’s just the tiniest bit bitter, but it’s still good.

This is one of my favorites but I haven’t had it in a while. The dry teabag doesn’t smell like bergamot (only tea) so hopefully this isn’t starting to lose its flavor. I want a good, strong cup today so I’m steeping this in a smaller six ounce mug as opposed to my usual eight ounce. As it’s steeping, I can definitely pick up on the bergamot and citrus. The liquid is dark and full-bodied. I added honey and half-and-half so now it’s a sweet, creamy, strong cup of good tea. I may have added a bit too much honey but we’ll just call it dessert and leave it at that.

I’m having this favorite again today. It never gets old. It’s the perfect milky color, like a coffee heavy on the cream. It’s a forgiving tea, one that’s hard to mess up really.

Second Steep
8 ounces water + 200 degrees + 10 minutes

I’m attempting a re-steep of this one today just to see if it can be done. I’m guessing with a teabag it may not be successful since the pieces are just so small. After steeping for close to ten minutes, the color is very light. It’s nearly as dark and deep as the first cup. It barely even smells like tea really, more like a mug of hot water. I’m kind of tasting the tea the more I drink, but it’s still not worth the re-steep in my opinion.

Having a cup of this with cream and honey this morning for breakfast. This is one of my all-time favorites, really the first tea I started buying and drinking on my own. The bergamot is there, both in the taste and in the aroma, but it isn’t overpowering at all. It flavors the tea nicely. I kind of wish I had brought another bag of this to work with me.

Warm and cozy, perfect for a subzero day… I love Earl Grey for its classic taste. It is what I think of when I think of tea. Earl Grey from Twinings is my absolute favorite tea. What more can I say?

Overboard TTB

This smells amazing but has a medicinal flavor that I don’t enjoy. The orange and cinnamon seem fairly well balanced. I really wish that medicine-y taste wasn’t there. I think I’d like this herbal a lot without it.

I use the teabag form – gasp!

I drank again at work today. There’s just something about their chai. It’s slightly flat, but I really love the combination of flavors. In fact, surprisingly, I still haven’t found another chai – loose leaf included that quite rivals it. On the search, because I know it’s out there. And, ya know, being a chai fan, I really MUST have a divine loose leaf chai.

Wasn’t terribly sure about this one, so I only grabbed one bag for myself at the Twinings store in London. (How I wish every tea company offered the same!) Sadly, this means I don’t have an ingredient list, although there are no strawberries in it… this I checked.

Regardless. Wasn’t a fan at all of this hot. The dragon fruit flavor was surprisingly strong, and while I don’t mind it, I prefer raspberries. Cold however, this tisane sung, and I could have easily had a liter of it. Tart yet sweet, very authentically raspberry with the dragon fruit only coming in a bit at the end. I could see making this iced all summer, if I had easy access to this tea.

This tea has a unique taste, and it’s not too citrusy to be overpowering. Just a little touch. I steep this longer than most of my other teas because it has a tendency to taste watery. It’s not my favorite tea, but I have a cup on occasion.

A nice rooibos, not too much earthy taste. Scent is light and lovely. I would definitely steep at least 4-5 minutes next time.

I have been having an absolutely horrible time lately. Between the cold and the snow and the car not starting, my mood is beyond glum. I long to go to bed for a week. I am coming out of it slightly now. The fact that it was 20 degrees today and the snow was the light fluffy kind with no wind probably helped.

Anyway, my new co-worker is apparently a tea aficionado. She came in this morning and began setting up her desk. One of the things she brought was a small wooden box with tea bags. She told me she drinks loose leaf tea at home, but for the office she uses bagged tea for convenience. A woman after my own heart! She had a couple of varieties of black teas and offered me one of these. I like Prince of Wales. Nothing fancy or expensive, but a straight black tea of decent quality is always welcome. I told her about Steepster and we might see a new member soon.

So… It’s been a month since surgery and I’m still stuffy and have no sense of smell. I’m very disappointed. Not giving up hope yet, but by now I should have been smelling. On the bright side, I haven’t been breathing through my mouth while I’m trying to sleep. So surgery has at least opened me up enough for that. I hated waking up every morning with my mouth dry and my pillow wet. So, yay for that at least!

Since I still cannot taste or smell I’m sticking with plain old reliable teas. It’s been cold and rainy for about a week, so this tea was nice this morning. Nothing fancy, just a good, mild tea with peanut butter crackers.

It’s been quite a while since I had this tea. This morning I wanted something easy and reliable, and since I can’t taste yet anyway, I didn’t want to waste my nummiest teas. I think I gave it a 97 rating because it’s easy and reliable. I’m not sure that it really deserves it, so I’m lowering it to 90. Which is still darned high, but this tea really IS easy and reliable. There’s a reason this is one of my favorite bagged teas. Smooth, mild and comfortable. No surprises. No bitterness.

Brewed a pot of this to start my morning. This used to be my #1 favorite black tea. I still like it. It’s smooth and mellow, but I wonder if I’m getting spoiled by the more expensive loose leaf teas? None the less, 20 bags for $4.00 is a darned good price for a good tea.

I’m not experienced with tea. I have no sense of smell so the subtle flavors of tea go right by me. I can taste sweet, sour, bitter and salty. That means if there’s a bitter after taste, that is ALL I taste. I like this one. It has a smooth flavor, no biting after taste. It’s a good one to start the day out with.

Just an okay Earl Grey. I bought the sample pack out of curiosity and my curiosity is satisfied. It wasn’t horrible and I am not scarred for life or anything, but it was just tea, nothing special. I have purchased these while on vacation with minimal teaware and it sufficed, but Twinings has much better tea available than this one and I take loose leaf with me and find a way to make it work now! Their Blossom Earl Grey is preferable to this one for me.

On another subject, Steepster seems to be glitching horribly. I went to several friends pages and there are dozens, if not hundreds, or reviews that I have “liked” that no longer show it! Seriously, I am reading your notes and liking them, but for some reason it gets removed! I comment now and again, but I don’t know if those are being erased or not. :(

I’ve tried a lot of teas for doing the Fridge Brew for iced tea, and this is one of the best!

Perfect classic English Breakfast

Hm, not too crazy about this one.
To me, it just kinda tastes like a glass of hot, old oranges.

To be fair, my roommate seemed to like it – and she’s a good deal more fond of fruity/herbal teas than I am. So, ymmv.

I love this tea. I mix 1 tsp of Twingings English Breakfast with 1 tsp lemon grass. I make 2 eight oz steeps into a 1 liter bottle and drink on my morning commute. My favorite daily tea.

I like this one. It really is calming for some reason, and the smell is nice. Very minty.