Awake English Breakfast

Well, My order from staples arrived today. If you are wondering why I ordered from Staples of all places, it’s because I wanted to place a tea order to try some new Earl Greys, however, my cash wallet was empty for the month. I’ll leave it up to you to figure out how this got paid for.

Anway, box arrived while I was sleeping, and when I woke up, it was waiting for me on my kitchen chair. I love my mom. However, being that I just woke up, and would like to get some stuff done, it was time to try the “Awake English Breakfast” from the Tazo variety pack

Enough about me, ON TO THE TEA.

Now, I should probably begin by saying that I tried to be as scientific about this as possible, regarding the brewing instructions on the package. I wanted to try it their way first. So water was from Keurig (somewhere around 210F), 5min/8oz/one bag.

I want to begin, while it’s cooling, to say that it was very odd that this didn’t seem to want to steep right? I stuck the bag in the tea… and nothing happened. Nothing happened for three minutes; the water remained clear. I then dunked the teabag a bit, and POOF the tea appeared. Not sure if this is a common trait among this type of tea or this brand of tea, but I wanted to include it here.

The flavor is… not bad. Actually, not bad at all. Not good mind you, this will never beat anything loose-leaf, and especially not my tippy Yunnans. But for a CTC black, it’s decent. I’ve had worse. I’m getting strong tannins, and a large hit of astringency. There are also notes of wet leaves, leather, and possibly raisin? It’s that same bitey/sharp note I always have trouble identifying in tea. It is a little bitter, but as an English breakfast, I think that’s to be expected. However, you guys all know my sweet-tooth, and I didn’t require sweetener.

All and all, what do I think? Well, as I said. It ain’t great. But it’s decent. Actually, I’d put this slightly above average, when in comparison to other bagged English Breakfast teas. Not that I’ve had a bunch, but it’s better than the others I’ve tried. Never gonna beat a loose-leaf, but if you need something quick and easy, give it a shot.

C- overall, B for it’s kind.

Awake saved my butt on the Great Southern Road Trip. Roadside motels don’t offer tea so I kept a gallon of ambient-brew in the backseat ice chest. Bless you, Awake. You made a great cold companion from Miami to the Everglades to Gainesville and all the beautiful places in between. Fresh, strong flavor with depth.

I’m almost finished with all the teabags in my stash! The boxes take up a lot of space, so it feels good to get them out. Anyway, this tea is more pleasant than its rating would lead you to believe. It’s essentially what you’d think of when you think English breakfast tea. It’s malty and lighter than some (though I also brewed it at a low temperature for a short amount of time). I wouldn’t seek this out, but it’s not a bad time.

I nipped this from the hotel room I stayed in last weekend, since I actually haven’t tried this one before (and left the chamomile for Todd, since I knew I wouldn’t like that, heh… he at least appreciates chamomile!) I’m not sure how long I steeped this since I just let my teabag steep while I was making some PB & honey toast for breakfast… I normally let CTC black teas go about two minutes but this may have gone a little longer and thus be a little stronger than my preferences. We’ll see.

The cup is dark with a malty aroma, with a slight burnt sugar aroma. The flavor is definitely on the stronger side of English Breakfast blends I’ve tried, and again, I’m not sure if that’s due to a longer steep or the particular blend of mystery “black teas” they are using. There is at least some medium astringency after the sip, but it isn’t too biting… or maybe my palate is just starting to adapt to these sorts of black blends more. I get a strong malty note, with a more subtle presense of leather, autumn leaves, and just a hint of citrus left on the back of my tongue in the aftertaste.

It’s not a bad EB, but not one of the favorites I’ve tried; if I had to hazard a guess, I’d say there is either no Chinese blacks in this blend, or a very low ratio, and most of the ones that end up being my preference have a good showing of Chinese black tea leaf in the blend. They just appeal to my palate more. This is just a bit more sharp/astringent than is my typical preference. But I am drinking it with some sickeningly-sweet peanut butter-honey toast, so it at least accompanies my breakfast choice well.

It’s robust, which I like in a black tea. Not super complex, but good flavor.

I’ll admit I’m sort of new to teas, but this wasn’t too bad. There isn’t much to go on; it’s not particularly bitter but it isn’t particularly flavorful either as it’s a blend of teas. It’s pretty good with half-and-half and a little sugar, but then so are most things. When I tasted it without anything in it I thought “yep, it’s tea.” Nothing special, but again not bad either. A little malty.

The tea that got me started on black tea. On the search for a better version.

A nice, bold breakfast tea. Nothing to complain about, while also nothing special.

I had this as after a night away from the kids. My in-laws spent the night with our kids and we spent the night at a mineral spa. This tea was delicious, but only because I got to drink it while it was hot, and didn’t have to get up or stop a fight even once!
In reality, it was just ok. A little bitter and tannic (if that is the correct word). I guess it’s alright for a bagged tea.

This is a definitely a better black tea than their earl grey. A very good breakfast tea with somewhat of an aftertaste but still nice to drink.