Mother Parkers

Three cups of this one to start my day. The first one, I was overcome by a spirit of stupid or something. I added cream and honey. OMGosh that’s just gross. I emptied the cup in a hurry so I could drink it dark and strong. So much beter. A good basic bagged black. Sometimes that’s what it takes to get the day moving.

Grabbed a sausage biscuit and a couple cups of this (after the Fig Newtons). This tea is so much smoother than any of the other orange pekoe teas I have had in a bag. I have no idea what type tea these fannings are supposed to be but it wouldn’t surprise me if there was a large proportion of china black in here. Not even a little bitter. I liked their Darjeeling better but I never tire of this one.

I met up with a fellow former co-worker at Denny’s for breakfast and conversation this morning. We sat and talked over 2 hours. He has been unemployed 3 1/2 months now and says when his tax check comes in he will actually have more money in the bank than before he was let go (fired is what he called it). He added, tell me I’m not blessed. To which I add amen.

So I took this one with me and asked for hot water. The waitress looked at me questioningly. I told her I brought my own because, no offense, but your tea is really bad. She giggled a little and brought my water. As it turns out their tea is bad because its Lipton and it makes horrible hot tea, but the biggest problem is their water. My tea that I normally really enjoy, tasted of fish. Had this been the tea Denny’s carries I would have rated it 12. What a difference the water makes. Glad now I didn’t waste some loose leaf.

I had two cups of this bagged tea with my scrambled egg, sausage gravy & biscuit at Steak N Shake. I deeply love and appreciate beautifully complex teas. That said, I have a soft spot for the inexpensive basic comfort tea. This one does a great job in that regard. Today it had a light amount of malt and maybe it was the food combination but I swear I was getting hints of smoke. This has become like family so I’m upping the rating.

The world did not end yesterday but apparently the stars and planets did align today. This pleasant but average bag offering was exceptional this morning. It had actual depth and substance. I had a buttered and jellied biscuit with it. Maybe that brought out the flavors. Who knows but I will try the biscuit thing again.

CHAroma said this rates between Lipton and Twinings. That pretty much nails it. It is a nice slightly fruity enjoyable cup. Not bitter. No astringency. Not a bad bagged tea really, in fact I rather liked it.

Bagged teas like this keep me centered. Good enough to really enjoy, but not so good as too loose appreciation for great tea. The waitress at Steak ’N Shake was busy today so I only had one cup. Rather than wait I just wanted out of there.

Welcome to my day of Cheapster Steepster tea!

Got to Steak N Shake for breakfast this morning and ordered my usual hot tea. When the little metal pitcher of water and the cup with the bag on the saucer arrived, I frowned.
“They quit ordering the Darjeeeling?”
“We aren’t sure if it was discontinued or someone just hit the wrong button when ordering”

sigh…

“The Darjeeling is pretty good… I guess I’ll have to write corporate! (joking – sort of)”

So I put the bag in the cup and pour the water. The whole time I am thinking, I really don’t like hot Lipton tea. That is what I imagined this was going to be. But it is not.

This is dust in a paper bag, sure, but it is a good one. It is not bitter or astringent. It makes a strong enough cup to make me happy. It is a nice, sort of a sweet, mellow cup of tea.

While I was drinking this, Andy (our server) found the last remaining bag of Darjeeling in the back and brought it to me. So of course I had to have it as well. It is better than the OP because it has more depth and is fruity. However, the OP is really not bad at all. Best of all it does not taste like hot Lipton. Joy!

I’ll have my Lipton strong and iced tonight and Mom and Dad’s. I like it iced – its like drinking memories. It’s like going home. Oh wait, that’s exactly what I am doing. ha.

Been a while since I’ve logged this. With all the amazing loose leaf teas I get to review each day, you would think I would get tired of this one… but I am not. It is a simple bagged tea with a pleasant taste. It goes well with the breakfast. Today I got a waitress that brought me two bags because she gets it. Coffee and iced tea drinkers can get free refills all day but order hot tea and most of the waiters will only bring you more hot water. Yes, she got a nice tip.

Its Saturday. That means Mother Parkers :)

2 cups of my favorite fannings in a paper bag. I know, it sounds so appetizing when you say it that way. lol But it is a nice wake me up on a RAINY! Saturday morning. Ok, its really a drizzle but it has been so long I had almost forgotten what it felt like to stand out in it.

Had this for my morning cup so it must be Saturday ;)

Edit – while sipping this I was watching a gramma with her two grandsons. They had an I-pad or something similar they were tinkering with. They were all giggling and enjoying sharing with each other. I was really neat. I though of Bonnie and her wonderful stories of family.

Started the day at the Farmer’s market. Bought some purple bell peppers and 4 zucchini. The zucchini is for bread – anyone know a fool proof recipe? Afterwards we hit Steak and Shake for breakfast. I had sausage egg taco,a bean taco, and this tea.

It’s Saturday and that means multiple cups with breakfast. Simple but not too simple and delicious.

Yep, I was correct. This blows the doors off the Twinings loose darjeeling and this one is bagged. I upped its rating and lowered the Twinings. I have never tried a quality leaf loose version – so I am sure this pails in comparison. Still it is pretty tasty.

Had this with breakfast as usual on a Saturday. This time, and as far as I recall the first time ever with any tea, I added half and half. I really liked it this way. I felt very British, like I needed God Save the Queen playing in the background. Pretty sure the other patrons in the restuarant would have objected to the Sex Pistols though. There’s no accounting for taste.

Today is our anniversary – 31 years! Took the day off. Started with breakfast at Steak N Shake and this tea. They said they were out of the little metal pitchers so they brought the water in a Styrofoam cup. This actually made this far more aromatic. If you have to have bagged restaurant tea it might as well be one you enjoy.

Afterwards we went to an outlet mall south of Indianapolis. About 10 minutes south of the mall is Empire Tea Services. I picked up 4 teas I will be reviewing soon. They told me their peach apricot green tea that I bought last year was their most popular tea. It is sooo good.

Anyway, we have these high quality teas in the car and I order an iced tea at McDonalds. It is supposed to be unsweet, cause that’s how I roll with iced tea. Unfortunately, some one goofed and put sweet tea in the unsweet canister. How does any one drink this stuff? I tried but just couldn’t do it. First thing I did when we got home was to grab some iced tea out of the fridge. Good day.

Here’s to the next 31.

A while back there was a discussion board thread on ordering hot tea in fast food joints. I couldn’t relate at the time. Until last week, during my usual Saturday breakfast outing at Steak N Shake. It started out great. A young lady who usually does not serve us actually brought it to the table before I even ordered. Wow! and yeah, I go there a lot. When I asked for a second cup I was brought another little pot of water but I had to reuse the bag. What? My wife never has to reuse the grounds for her coffee. Because she was so on the ball up front and pretty busy I didn’t say anything. This week, we got our usual waitress. She brought out two bags in anticipation of my second cup. I love that, and I really like this bagged tea.

2 cups. Good as always even for a bagged.

My standard Saturday morning cup at Steak and Shake. If I ever find the bottom of my tea drawer I have got to get a small tin of some cheap Darjeeling I can find locally. I love the Ahmad version. Any other suggestions?

Breakfast at Steak N Shake, so you know I got to have me some Mother Parker’s Darjeeling. Biscuits and gravy weren’t bad either.

Angels unaware! Went to pay for breakfast at Steak N Shake this morning. Was told our bill had already been paid. Never saw a soul in there I recognized. Sweet way to start the day! The tea was once again very pleasant. Feel like breaking into a rousing chorus of O Happy Day! O wait, I am doing that one tomorrow at church on guitar.

This is the bagged tea they bring you at the local Steak and Shake. I usually don’t order hot tea in a restaurant because I know I will be dissapointed. This is a pleasant surprise. Yeah, its bagged and the water in the tiny metal pitcher is not boiling but still this is a pleasant tea. It has a nice Dajeeling bite without being bitter. For what it is, it is very nice. I would (and will) order it again.

This is the bagged tea I get when I ask for a cup of complimentary hot tea on a Southwest Airlines flight. I don’t know what temperature the water is or how long the bag has been steeping by the time it gets to me. Despite this, the cup of tea is remarkably consistent flight after flight. This tastes like black tea. The tastes of “tea,” sweet, bitter, and astringency are all mild and in balance. It is hard to pull any other flavors out. It is better than having no cup of tea on the airplane.