Twinings of London

I could say this tea is malty, nutty, chocolatey, rich, and vaguely fruity (maybe plums or raisins) because all these things are true, but this tea’s appeal lies in its simplicity. It is simply tasty. Not so brisk or bold as my equally beloved Irish Breakfast, but still invigorating just the same. It’s not a contemplative cup, but a comforting one, like the Lipton I grew up with, but worlds tastier.

Note: This is the bagged version of this tea steeped with boiling water for three minutes, taken without milk or sugar.

In London now, while a friend has moved into my apartment to take care of my cat, my plants and tea collection during my absence :)
I use teabags when I travel, and I really needed this cup of TEA.EARL GREY. HOT. I had a morning flight, so my head is aching pretty badly due to sleep depravation. This tea has a calming effect on me, probably because it always conjures up the image of Captain Picard.
Find comfort in the little things.

Still a go-to tea. I have laryngitis…been sick for a few days, and the hot water feels better than cold water. Had myself a bag of this, and helped my throat immensely! Now, if I could only get my voice back…

I accidentally let it steep for too long (5 minutes!), and I think it still tastes fine. I like the bold ‘pick-me-up’, and I just sweeten it (like I do all my teas). I didn’t think it was too bitter…just stronger. I do use my bigger mug now, so there’s more water.

I bought this tea at World Market yesterday. Just imagine, there I am in front of the teas there, looking at Steepster on my phone, trying to find the ratings for the teas I’m looking for.

I was looking for a ‘breakfast blend’…something to wake up to. I read (on Steepster, of course), that Irish Breakfast Blends were stronger than English, so I decided to buy this tea (it also had fairly good ratings here, which helped).

I enjoyed this tea this morning. I can definitely taste the malt. It did provide that jolt I needed, and I thought it was a good tea, bagged or otherwise. I don’t know if a loose leaf variety would have been different, but I got 2 steeps out of the bag, with the 2nd steep being weaker. I would drink this again.

This is my favorite Earl Grey at present. It is also the finest Earl Grey I am able to buy over the counter in this small town, so I am assuming that I may yet find Earl Greys I enjoy more than this one.

This tea has a very nice aroma, and the black tea to bergamot ratio is right on the money. I know they use bergamot flavoring rather than actual bergamot oil, but I have to remind myself that this is a mass market tea which I buy for $3 a box. This is about as good as you can do in that price range.

I drink this tea straight, hot, and strong. It hasn’t disappointed yet, so I think regardless of how many fancy tins of loose leaf Earl Grey I acquire in the future, this one will always be the baseline. It’s a nice comfortable cup that I can always come back to.

I picked up a box of this while on vacation a couple of weeks ago, and am just now getting around to trying it. I think it’s gross. It’s bland, and has a weird medicinal aftertaste from the Rooibos. Celestial Seasoning’s Mandarin Orange Spice has a much better flavor. I’ll stick with that in the future.

I was in Indiana this past weekend visiting some friends and I knew I wasn’t in DC anymore, Toto, when I walked into the supermarket and asked a clerk where the tea was.

He looked at me. “What kind of tea?”
I’m sure I gave him a “are you stupid or just sh*tting me” look in return.
“Do you mean the kind in bags that goes in hot water?” he clarified, complete with hand motions miming lifting a tea bag in and out of a mug of water.
After he directed me to the tea aisle, I realized he was differentiating between tea and iced tea – the kind you make with a powder and was nowhere to be found near the bagged teas.

My mind. It is boggled.

Anyway, among the boxes of bagged tea, there were a few lone tins of loose tea by Twinings. I was thrilled to find them, even though quality-wise, I knew they weren’t that great. I needed caffeine. So I snagged a tin of the Ceylon Orange Pekoe, which was what got me through several semesters of 8 AM classes in college, albeit in bagged form.

Ceylon Orange Pekoe is nothing special. It’s just a plain black tea. There is no subtlety to the flavor, and no fruit taste I can discern. But it was tea. And it was caffeinated. And it helped me get through the hours in Indiana with my friend’s crazy family until it was socially acceptable to move to alcohol.

Just this morning I brewed a pot for an impromptu tea party with my sister who is ordinarily a coffee drinker. She loved it! It’s deep and malty with an unmistakeable nutty flavor that totally satisfies every time. Twinings English Breakfast Tea is like a dependable old friend that you can trust and confidently introduce to others.

Had this at work today. Not the greatest but still pleasant.

I started drinking this tea when I felt that all too familiar pain in my throat and to my amazement I found that it stopped me from developing a full blown cold! Amazing. It tastes pretty good too. It’s the perfect drink for when your under the weather as it warms you right through.

One of my favorite teas. I drink it after every workout and whenever I am sick. There are a lot of other Lemon & Ginger teas, but for me, this one just works. It hits my taste buds just right.

I drink this before bed every night. A nice herbal mix that is calming and I love the minty taste. Usually nighttime teas have a very strong chamomile taste to them, but this one is really nice. I love the way the tea smells when it is steeping.

My go-to morning tea before I started to get fancy. I will always come back to it!

This is perfect for my office workday daily cuppa.
No fuss, no muss, tastes fine with the not-quite boiling water from the coffee maker’s “hot water” tap, doesn’t need milk or sugar. I always keep it stocked in my desk drawer.

So this is a Keurig K CUP version of this tea. This is one of the first Chai teas that I ever had when I first started drinking tea (the bagged kind) and so I have a respect for this tea, and the tea company.

The thing is, it just doesn’t have a ton of spice or flavour to me, and it always tastes a little watered down? I don’t mind the tea, at all, and it’s not BAD, but it’s not my favourite Chai. I did mix it with an iced Chai drink that had soy in it, and so it gave it a milky, extra spicy taste. That made it 10x better.

Not a bad tea, but not my favourite.

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

Experience: Maybe the first Earl Grey I tasted, I think I can appreciate it better after some years, hehe. It has a well-balanced aroma, to the point that the tea is equally present than (and not overriden by) the bergamot scent. However, its smell isn’t very intense or vibrant. I can sense some orange-candy hints too. In the flavor side, this tea has very evident, mild-intensity lemon notes, although you still can taste the base tea. I’d liked a bit more of duration. Very good tea, but needs a bit more to be among the greatest.

Would i buy it again?: There are better options out there, but this is still a valid one.

All and all, this is a very consistent tasting Earl Grey. It’s not the best, but I know what I’m getting from it, and it always delivers. It’s fairly tolerant to me screwing up the brewing too by walking away and letting it steep too long.

This isn’t my favorite Earl Grey, but it’s a bit cheaper than the others I drink, I can find it at a Mariano’s close to home, and I can re-use the tins of the loose leaf version for my other teas that don’t come in tins.

This tea is perfectly adequate given that nothing else is available. Slightly fruity and floral. Becomes astringent easily. I’ve had worse tea, but. I’ve also had better.