Twinings of London

Big bold black tea.

Is nice, but prefer the English Breakfast Tea. Nice change from my fave Lipton

I’m celebrating ninety days of not drinking beverages other than tea. What better way than to reward myself with a cup of some high quality, custom blended…but what’s this? A stray bag of POW in the cupboard? I can’t recall ever drinking this before (I likely did without taking notice) so I buzz up the kettle.

As the bag steeped, I read some Armenian poetry (in English) and reflected on my life of loss and love. Damn, I’ve forgotten my tea! Although it was brewed a bit too long it was still an enjoyable cup. To my palate it is sweet, like candy. I wouldn’t enjoy it so much without tea biscuits or other food. It’s actually quite smooth (considering I drowned that bag for way too long) and had a slight dusty aftertaste, not to be unexpected with bagged tea.

I liked it and could see buying it to take on camping trips to enjoy with s’mores.

Water: 8oz

Leaves: tea bag

Measuring Spoon: no

Steep: 4m

Aroma: Peppery,Sweet/floral?

Color: Deep reddish brown

Clarity: a faint cloudiness

Taste: This was my first Earl Grey experience, pouring the water over the tea bag i notices a slight peppery aroma. After steeping the aroma had changed to a more Sweet/floral one, it’s quite interesting since i don’t think I’ve come across a tea like this scent wise. The color was a deep reddish brown with a bit of cloudiness but i could still see threw my cup. As for taste i found it to be a bit bitter as for the overall flavor profile it was tough to pinpoint exactly & leaves a dry mouth feel. Overall not the worst or best tea I’ve tried, it’s just okay.

A good basic black.

This is the first chai tea I ever tasted and when I realized that I love chai tea. For the price of this tea you really can’t go wrong and this little tea bag sure does brew a punch! The cardamon and clove are predominant in this tea followed by the cinnamon. I like to drink this one black with 1 teaspoon of sugar.

This is perfect for when you have a sore throat and you’re not feeling very well. To be quite honest with you yes its a bagged but it really does the trick. One box will last you awhile.

This is one tea that I have been meaning to review for some time. I ended up with a ton of it several months ago and have been working on polishing it off ever since. In a way it is kind of a difficult tea to evaluate fairly. Compared to most gunpowder green teas it is very simple and light in terms of aroma and flavor, yet it is also attractively full-bodied with a comparatively thick texture in the mouth. It isn’t the highest quality leaf in the world, yet one must also understand that the quantity and quality relative to price are both more than fair. Overall, you sort of get what you pay for with this tea, but for what you’re paying you could do worse.

I prepared this tea using the two step Western infusion process I tend to favor for many Chinese green teas. I started off by steeping one teaspoon of loose tea leaves in 8 ounces of 175 F water for 2 minutes. I then followed this infusion with a 3 minute infusion at the same temperature.

Prior to infusion, the dry tea leaves emitted light scents of char, hay, and grass. After infusion, the aromas of char, hay, and grass remained and were joined by aromas of roasted vegetables and lemon. In the mouth, I detected mostly muted notes of lemon, roasted Brussels sprouts, hay, grass, and char. The second infusion was somewhat milder than the first. The lemon and char aromas and flavors were slightly more pronounced and there was a very subtle mineral presence on the finish.

I’m not certain that I can justify a high score for this tea, but I will say that I think this is a good tea for when one is looking for something simple and straight-forward. Since it lacks complex aroma and flavor profiles that change significantly over the course of multiple infusions, I would also expect it to pair well with a range of dishes. It has its uses and it is somewhat appealing in certain ways, but it is also not the sort of tea about which I can get excited. Still, I would encourage anyone interested to try it if and when you are looking for something affordable, basic, and filling.

Not an exciting chai, but It’s warm and comforting with milk and sugar. I’ll make room for it in my tea drawer at work.

One of the teas from the variety pack.

When it comes to lemon and ginger teas I prefer lemongrass + ginger. This tea however has citric acid in it instead. It gives the taste of real lemon+ a balanced amount of ginger, but unfortunately the acidity gives me heartburn. Nice taste but the remaining bags are going to the husband.

Taking a break from GCTTB teas this morning, as my boss has asked me to taste test two earl grey teas he recently purchased to see which one I like better/deem higher quality. I was flattered that I am seen as the tea expert in the office, but I have so many other teas to taste in a limited time that it couldn’t have been worse timing! But, I am intrigued with the challenge, so here it goes.

I had this one when I came into work this morning. I must say, I really like the design of the box. It’s really quite lovely and definitely a different standard than the regular Twinings packages. I assume this one is the more expensive tea I am comparing (the other will be Tazo Earl Grey). A past reviewer mentioned that the flavour profile is something in between Twinings Lady Earl Grey and regular Earl Grey, which is a pretty accurate description. Although, I would say that in addition to that, the black tea base definitely has more body and flavour to it, with a hint of smokiness that almost makes me think they used keemun in this blend, though a mild variety. The tea was definitely taking cues from Lady Grey with its citrusy lemon notes, and only a mild aroma of bergamont. Overall I quite enjoyed it, I was just a little put off by the strong black tea base which I wasn’t expecting.

This tea gives off a wonderful scent of the farm. Tan in color. The tea dries out my mouth just a little after sipping, but despite that it’s a comforting flavor.

I wonder if I should steep it in slightly cooler water (I let the kettle sit a minute after boil with about 24 oz in the kettle). Also I let it sit for 4 minutes after steeping to cool down a bit.

My go-to tea for every sleepy morning :)

Currently got this on the go whilst eating strawberry jam and softs goats cheese

Found this tea at a local store. It is strong with a malty and a fruity note. It is strong enough to stand up to my adding honey and it still tastes like tea, not like honey. This is definitely one of the strongest teas I have had.

I brewed this once in a 16oz Teavana Glass Perfect Tea Maker/Gravity Steeper with 3 tsp leaf and 200 degree water for 3 minutes.