Trader Joe's

Well, this is one of the last bags of tea in the box, definitely getting a thinner flavor. Having it with a drop of whole milk (all that we had at the time, and I had to cool it down and fast). Still a good groggy tea for when I have to get some in the body quickly, especially when I haven’t taken the time to clean my french press (oops!)

Okay, so sometimes you can’t take the time to brew tea. Sometimes you can’t get out to your favorite tea store of choice. It happens. Sometimes the bills come in and you can’t justify spending $15 or even $8 on your standard favorites. Sometimes you want to give tea to someone who refuses to drink loose tea.

Trader Joe’s Irish Breakfast Tea is a solid well balanced tea that is a little on the bitter side. It tolerates a wide range of brewing times (from 1 – 4 minutes or so) and tolerates very warm to boiling water.

This tea lacks the bright floral notes of, say a Lipton, but compared to other bagged teas the flavor is rich, having earthy and woody tones. Buy a box, throw it in your cupboard, and keep it around for emergencies. It also has a maltiness to it, as described by GREEN TEA TV here on Steepster.

I tend to drink this tea without adornment, but it can be enhanced with a small amount of sweetener and even a small splash of low fat milk. I don’t usually recommend low fat milk specifically, but anything more rich that 2% quickly overwhelms the tea.

Before drinking this tea, I wasn’t a tea drinker. After having one sip of this delightful brew, I was immediately hooked. It is so smooth and soothing, with a pleasant cooling sensation soon after sipping. I recommend TJ’s candy cane tea to anybody looking for a gentle, cozy hug of a tea.

This is a nice tea for its price tag ($1.99/20 ct). The list of ingredients is quite long (peppermint, vanilla, orange peel, cinnamon, milk thistle, chicory, carob, blackberry leaves…) but what you’re basically getting is a vanilla tea with just a hint of cool peppermint. I’m a little weird about vanilla in tea as it tends to overwhelm everything else, which is indeed the case here. Still, this makes a perfect stocking stuffer. The box art is adorable (be-sweatered polar bear and narwhal with ornaments hanging from its horn) and it won’t break the bank.

Girlfriend loves it, I’m not partial.

Very smooth! The actual mango taste is not too subtle nor too pronounced, and it melts softly into the taste of the black tea. I drank it without sweetener or milk as usual, but adding those (especially the former) would probably heighten the experience by bringing out the sweetness of the mango…otherwise, the flavor might just be a bit too weak.

I’ve tasted a lot of Irish Breakfast teas; this is not my favorite.

Used as a base for some of the strongest bulk peppermint leaves I think I’ve ever tasted. Wow (mint fumes making eyes water)! I’m awake now, anyway…

Some mornings - like the mornings it takes three times as long to get your eyes open and twice to get dressed because nothing feels cozy enough - you just need to grab the first bag that doesn’t require anything but hot water. This fit on a bad clothes day when nothing else did (beverage or apparel, either one.)

Still a good morning tea, but NOT in a travel mug. As a matter of fact, I have yet to find a tea I like from a travel mug. All I can taste is plastic lid.

Nice and stout. Bought it on the road and it was enjoyable even with yucky hotel water.

Awesome, has great malty notes

This is a good basic breakfast tea that holds up quite well to the milk-dousing that I put most of my tea through. I like it! And you can’t beat the price.

Seems to brew up bitter.

Very sweet with a strong citrus taste without being bitter. Agave brings out the flavor.

I enjoyed my tea. Relaxing after my long day yesterday.

I enjoyed this tea, though the flavor was a bit weak… I probably could’ve steeped it for longer and been fine.

A grim, joyless slog born more of a sense of duty to sunken costs than any desire.

Warm, bitter, and familiar.