Twinings of London

A review of China Oolong Tea by Twinnings

Company: Twinnings
Tea Name: China Oolong
Tea Type/Varietal: Oolong
Region: China
Steeping Vessel/Amt Leaf:
Liquor Color: reddish
Leaf Characteristic:

1st Steeping:
Water Temp: 200
Time: 4 minutes
I take one of the individually wrapped tea bags and opened it, putting the tea bag in my cup, I than pour in the boiled water and leave it to steep for several minutes.

Tea’s aroma is slightly smoky and the tea’s color is reddish amber like. When I sip of the tea it is the aroma that is tantalizing my palette at first; smoky, woodsy like with a roasted flavoring in the cup. I take sip after sip of the tea, enjoying its smoky flavor.

2nd Steeping:
Water Temp: 190
Time: 5 minutes

This steep water is not as hotly, and steep is longer because I want more of the tea’s smoky flavor to come through and it does that nicely with 2nd steep. This cup of tea is more robust and the tea’s color is a darker reddish color.

I like this second steep best because the flavor comes through and through reminding me of other oolong teas that I have enjoyed.

Overall tasting notes: This oolong is lovely robust and smoky cup of oolong. Nicely oxidized and tea does not need anything added to it.

Classification: Year, and region of production; Product of China

Cup’s characteristic: oolong tea with a smoky aroma distinguishing it as oolong tea.

Liquor color: reddish

Taste: smoky and robust cup with the 2nd steep being the better.

Tea. Earl Grey. Hot.

Can you tell I come from a family of Star Trek fans? We always had this on had growing up and I drank it every day through college. While it is no longer my favorite Earl Grey I do still keep some on hand for when I don’t feel like dragging out my tea pot or I toss some in my travel bag for when I just can’t get good tea where I’m at [most hotels serve truly appalling tea].

This is the tea I grew up on and keep on hand for guests. It is one I find that most people like, it comes bagged so it is convenient, and I can pick it up on sale for $2/box. The price itself insured this is what I drank all though college. It is also the first tea I introduced to my husband when we got married so I could stop buying the cheap Lipton tea that I hate drinking.

It’s probably the most common Earl Grey tea to see in the supermarkets and such, but man does it have an addicting flavor! It was my first venture into Earl Grey and it did not disappoint. I was sort of skeptical about British tea before (more of an Asian tea purist) but Twinings was a wonderful first time for me. Nowadays, it’s a staple part of my casual drinking habits.

I haven’t really tried a wide variety of Earl Grey so far, but compared to the ones I actually did try, this one was definitely the most flavorful.

This is one of my favorite teas to have at breakfast although the flavor could be stronger. Milk and two sugars please

This tea feels like making a cup of coffee to me. Very traditional feel and taste to it. If you do not like grainy tea you should pass on this one. Nice tea tin and presentation. It would make a nice gift.

A very basic breakfast blend. The flavor is smooth and sweet; there’s no smokiness or complexity. I like my black teas stronger, but this tea is pretty good for what it is.

Tea of the morning here; nothing stellar aside from the fact that it’s free at the office. I do prefer my black teas to have a bit more oompf and this seems a bit wimpy. Added some soymilk. Now I’m off to go make something better…

Twinings English Breakfast tea with water heated up in a microwave, my only choice this morning, I guess it’s better than nothing…

I seem to always have some of this around. I drink bagged teas at work because loose leaf is too fussy. This tea is ok. It tastes like it has always tasted, and I’ve drunk a lot of it over the years. Compared to the new loose leaf english breakfasts I’ve tried, it’s a little less bright and a little less deep, but it is by no means unpalatable.

I’m a newbie and this was one of the first loose leaves I was able to get my hands into. By itself it’s a bit blah, but I usually add 5 drops of homemade vanilla extract (couple of vanilla pods in a small jar, fill with vodka, wait for 6 months shaking each month) makes it lovely.

Today I tried rinsing the leaves for a couple of seconds and it helped lower the astringency and took care of some sediment.

It’s palatable enough. It has a pleasant smell when brewed…a little medicinal. Initially it tastes hay like but I’m getting a definite undertone of something medicinal. Something like cough syrup…underneath and definitely as an end note. I wanted to get the pure herb/plant by itself before I began acquiring other flavored rooibos teas so I knew what to expect from the rooibos. I wanted to get a couple more caffeine free teas that weren’t just for bedtime. Oh! I also drank this straight up…no sugars…I don’t like to add stuff to my tea to make it taste better.

This tin seems to be the new north american standard of being basically just fannings this has made the tea more bitter than it used to be and has diminished the sweetness.

forefront and the bitterness receeds and a fruity citrus note appears. There is a bit of astringency but it is not overwhelming just enough to make the tea feel lively in the mouth. The tea does pack a good caffeine punch.

I decided to try again and reduced the steeping time to 1 minute and reduced the amount of leaf. The tea smells of biscuit, lemon and stonefruit. The bitter taste is now reduced to a pleasant level and the tea is smoother. The top note is a slight bittersweet flavour and slightly floral(rose) with fruity notes of lemon. This is underlayed by stonefruit, malt and biscuit. this was much better.

The tea is still decent but the local stores have been increasing the cost of the tin by $2-3 lately and I can get much better full leaf teas and bops for just a little more money than the cost of this tin and I will probably purchase them over this in the future.

Ehrm, I’m sorry but this is not my kind of tea. Too weak for me ;) I love stronger teas. Anyway I’m glad to have tasted it because I was quite curious, and I bought the Twinings classics collection, so I have to give away three bags only. Odds: a little aftertaste of…fish? Is it possible? :O

This is how we see who’s paying attention to my tasting notes.

IF you are someone who has read my tasting notes and in the past we’ve discussed doing a swap and you’d like to get that organised, please send me a PM. When i get home i’m going to get organized to get some tea out to folks. Off the top of my head I know i need to touch base with Ysaurella; Lala; tattoed_tea; Schezerade and “the sisters”. If there’s anyone else that i’ve missed please please please please harass me now. I want to make sure that I don’t miss anyone that i’ve promised to send tea out to.

That being said, if there are new folks out there who want to swap with me for something, by all means send me a message as well and I’ll do my best to get organized enough to also figure those ones out.

now on with the tea. lol I had a pot of this this morning since apparently they decided i wasn’t allowed to have anymore green tea. I’m not typically a fan of english breakfast teas but this one wasn’t too bad all things considered.

What I heave learned about china/beijing today:

Take advantage of uber nice hotels since what’s outside the hotel is pretty gross.
And secondly….as a white foreigner in said hotel, when you ask for tea with breakfast you won’t get a choice…they will bring you English breakfast twinnings….even if they have gaiwans and three different (at least) kinds of tea on their tea bar lol

So I had this. Wheee!

I really enjoy this tea with honey, milk, and a touch of vanilla. There’s a certain, subtle softness to the edge … no bitterness. Love the aroma. Pure, sweet comfort. It’s my go-to tea when I just want … a cup of tea! :-)