Twinings

best black tea ive met

Assam-me baby! 2nd tasting note for this tea. It’s Friday afternoon, and I’m looking for a malty lover. Some sultry robust-y full bodied malsculine bravado to carry me into the evening. Yes bagged, yes very close to fannings. I actually think I could have used three bags for 1 and half cups of tea, yet I only used two. Does my desire for macho tea with a beard and mustache make me more English or Irish? Not sure. However my European ancestors would sure be proud. ;)

This is my 2nd round caffeine lift of the morning before lunch time sets in. I unfortunately got distracted and left the bag in for 10 minutes! A total black tea faux pas, unless that’s what you’re going for. I’m recommending a 5 minute steeping time because that’s my gold standard for robust black teas. It surprisingly didn’t turn the tea bitter, or perhaps what bitter there was smoothed out with the milk and sugar I added. Twinings Irish Breakfast is indeed nice and malty (more like pulling a nice malt blanket over your shoulders for comfort and care). A deceptive note in that I was expecting a bigger robust flavor to go with the divine caffeine kick. But you know what? The buttery smooth maltiness will suffice as I am officially in full blissful caffeine swoon! Oh Assam, our relationship continues to grow and deepen. My malty faith in you has grown. :)

This my favorite “grocery store” Earl Grey. What can I say? It is a solid, proven tea. Good taste, bold, and with a strong bergamot flavor.

Weird. Kind of made me even more thirsty after drinking.

Very light and smooth. Little to no scent. Relaxing, however.

Ugh. Rough day, lots still to do. The answer – Lapsang Souchong, or “Warrior’s Tea”. I used to drink this while playing arena, hence the nickname.

Hmm… I’d say it was fairly neutral in flavour, but there’s a hint of a malty aroma, and somehow a piping hot cup of this seems to focus everything a bit more. Great for getting on with things, I hope ;-)

It’s unexceptional, but really pleasant to drink. Probably the best tea I’ve tried from Twinings, definitely better than the English Breakfast.

It’s also the only loose leaf tea available in my nearest shop, so works well as a standby when I haven’t bought anything else.

there’s no messing with the classic. Simple, down-to-earth, honest to goodness sippin’ tea.

I love this tea, it’s one of the few that I can count on enjoying all the time, even when I’m sick and my taste buds are uncooperative.

Earl Grey. This is strongly associated with high tea for me, for historical reasons. But here I am, drinking it for lunch, with cheese and bread. Heresy.

Still, it’s a nice cup drunk black, and the astringency (heh) tackles the rather cloying cheese I’m eating quite nicely. 3/5 chainsaws indeed. :-)

Morning cup of tea, inadequately steeped due to impatience. Drunk with milk.

The funny thing about English Breakfast is that there’s a taste in it (woody? maybe it’s just tannins) that I don’t remember from drinking tea for breakfast in England. I’d prefer that it wasn’t there, but nevertheless, a decently strong, milky tea is required as the first tea of the day, and this does the job.

when in doubt and i don’t have time to brew this one does the trick

As a longtime fan of Lapsang Souchong, I know that people either love it or hate it. For those who’ve never had it before and are interested in trying it, Twinings provides a budget-friendly Lapsang that showcases its essential flavours — the distinctive smoky scent and the earthy taste (like a single-malt whiskey). A suitable introduction to this unique tea.

Found this tea horrible. The scent is filled with coconut, but the taste… ew. Very synthetic. Stay away.

Pretty standard bagged chai, so I like it well enough.

This is one of my go to teas. It’s definitely strong enough to stand up to milk/sugar. I really enjoy the flavor of this tea with just sugar in it as well.

Fruity and sweet. Great on those grumpy mornings.

My morning staple junior year of high school! Fond memories, indeed. Robust flavor that holds it own against milk, cream, or sugar.

And, when you’re as confounded as I tend to be when I wake up, measuring out one teaspoonful of this beats grinding coffee beans and counting out enough scoops for me and my bean-addled housemates any day.

I don’t know about the others, but I think this is a decent tea. Just had it last night after a big party, and it definitely hit the spot. Prepared with a bit of milk and honey. Tasted good. Slight herbal accents which I enjoyed.

I think it’s a really nice and relaxing tea, if you drink it with milk. It’s OK without milk,too, but then you’ll have to leave it in until you’re finished drinking.

Bleagh! Ugh! YUCK!

I don’t know what I did wrong but this is just nasty. Blackcurrant Tea smells about right – fruity and rich – but it tastes AWFUL. I can’t even describe the yuck, except that I don’t want any more of it.

I can’t believe I’m taking another sip, but I’m trying to figure out why I think it’s so nasty. It just tastes bad. Almost sour and earthy. It honestly makes me think of vomit. Maybe that’s just my body telling me what it wants to do if I don’t stop drinking it.

At any rate, ugh. I don’t like this tea at all!

For a bagged supermarket tea this is not bad. It has a strong peach scent when brewing. The drink itself is mild. I’d compare it to a bottled Snapple Peach Tea. The black tea element is there, neutralizing what would otherwise be a heavy, syrup-like sweetness, but it is not the dominant flavor.

I’m drinking this hot, but I think it would work better as an iced tea. It’s nice.

To borrow some phrasing from my work, if this tea were a gift it would not be a “WOW AMAZING I’LL REMEMBER THIS FOREVER” gift, but it would be a “nice gesture.”

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Edit to add: As this tea is cooling down, it’s getting a rather dusty note in the aftertaste. It’s weird and kinda gross. D: Knockin’ that rating waaaaaaay down!

I’m not that big of a fan of fruit infusion herbal tea, but I am a fan of this one. This is a nice balance of spice, orange and hibiscus. The bag looks red when when and the tea itself looks a deep red, but it doesn’t taste berry-like or Hibiscus To Death. Nice alternative to caffienated black tea chai when you need to settle down before sleep. Goes really great with cookies.