Twinings

Feeling really lazy this morning, so I did the standard bagged tea. I know, shame on me, but I still have some of it and I need to drink it before it gets more stale-tasting than it already does.

So it was Twinings Lady Grey this morning, and I have to say, it still sort of holds its own against the loose leaf I’ve tasted. It’s still probably the best Earl Grey I’ve had so far (and I’ve really hated quite a few), and it has a somewhat smooth but floral and citrus flavor. I was somewhat on autopilot this morning, drinking without thinking. So is it a complete knock-out? No. But I wouldn’t be disappointed if someone served me a steaming hot cup of this.

Mmm. After a really disappointing string of Bigelow teas that made me very, very sad, it’s nice to try something good from Twinings! This was the perfect cup to start off my morning. When I opened the little packet, the smell made me smile. It’s a really perky blend of citrus, and it smelled absolutely delicious!

The tea brews up fairly dark, and I have to say, the taste is superior to Twinings’ regular Earl Grey. It’s still got a floral edge to it, but the citrus flavors are more pronounced and a bit more complex. The combination is the perfect blend of soothing and eye-opening. It doesn’t jolt you awake; it coaxes you.

This is the last of the blends in my Twinings variety pack to taste, and I must say, I pretty much enjoyed every flavor in here. I’m looking forward to finishing up the rest of the bags. If loose leaf tea tastes a lot better than this, then I can’t wait!

It’s Twinings, you can buy it everywhere and it doesn’t taste bad at all, but isn’t going to set the world on fire.

ARR MATEY.

So, if you read my logs on a regular basis, you’ll remember that I compared the Twinings’ Irish Breakfast blend to pirates’ brew. I’m revisiting those thoughts as I’m drinking a cup of this, re-tasting some of my previous bagged favorites to see how they stand up to loose leaf.

And I can definitely say that I could completely see pirates replacing their grog with this in the morning. Extremely malty, overwhelmingly assertive, masculine with a solid growl at the end of each sip. Rough and tumble drinking when you’re barely awake. This one will shake you by the lapels and scream in your face, drill sergeant-style.

On another note, ninjas would not drink this. I’d imagine them drinking something finicky and Japanese green, like Sencha, complete with tea ceremony and gaiwans.

ANYWAY, I find that I’m still enjoying this one, even though it’s a bit maltier and aggressive than I even remember. The first sip took me by surprise. As ridiculous as this sounds, it’s almost horrible tasting in an awesome way. Compulsively drinkable. Challenging you every step of the way. It tastes like something you need in the morning after a heavy night of drinking. Or after a night of barely any sleep (my problem’s the latter today). So yes, I’ve knocked the rating down a few notches, because loose leaf tastes better. It’s true. Adagio’s Irish Breakfast isn’t better, but I’m pretty sure there’s an excellent loose leaf blend out there that’ll find the happy medium between these two puppies.

And in the pirates vs. ninjas debate, I’m pretty sure the ninjas would win.

Boy is this tea a kick in the pants! This is my first Irish Breakfast, so I’m not going to pretend I know what I’m talking about. But this is a lot stronger and heartier than the English variety. This one brews up dark and rich. It’s not a taste that’s subtle. It’s pure tea flavor, punching through your tastebuds and into your nose, clearing out those sinuses.

The flavor almost has a spiciness and a bitterness. It’s a bit astringent too. I’m drinking it neat, without any sugar and milk, because that’s how I roll (and I’m lactose intolerant). I don’t think I could have tolerated this one when I first started drinking tea. It’s a very aggressive blend. But now? I’m really enjoying it. I don’t know if I could drink it every single day, but I could see this coming in handy, especially as it gets colder outside.

My second real attempt with Earl Grey after a horrific Tazo cup a few months back.

Since my Tazo hot cup was so bitter and oversteeped when I followed the instructions on the packaging, I might have understeeped this cup. The teabag smelled very fragrant and quite delicious, with the bergamot a subtly sweetening the blend.

The bergamot in this isn’t the strongest, which is what I like. However, the taste was overwhelmingly floral, which was quite odd. Almost potpourri-like. There isn’t a real strong taste of bergamot; it’s more of an aftertaste that lingers on the tongue and in the back of the throat after each sip. A pleasant aftertaste that was altogether welcome. But the black tea itself didn’t have any real presence at all, which surprised me. I wanted it to be a better balance of the two, and I didn’t expect the bergamot to taste so cloying and floral.

I’m going to try to brew my second cup a bit stronger next time, in hopes that the black tea taste will rise to match the flavoring in this package. It was a very drinkable cup, with no bitterness whatsoever, but I’m not sure if this is going to be the perfect blend of Earl Grey for me yet. More tinkering needed!

I figured I’d go back and try a bagged tea after all of the loose leaf I’ve had, and see how differently it tastes. That project flew out the window, though, because I think I overstepped this puppy. I was in the midst of a highly entertaining e-mail conversation and let the teabag float there for too long. As a result, this one isn’t tasting as good this morning.

The tea juice is a lot darker than I remember. It’s probably because loose leaf is much less murky and dark. Loose leaf is also a lot less bitter. That might be from the oversteep, because I really don’t remember my cup of English Breakfast looking this dark, but it was still surprisingly bitter compared to what I’ve been drinking the past few days. The nice flavor profiles are still there, but I find myself not wanting to pick up the cup as often. I think that bags might be even more finicky than loose leaf (or at least some bags, for that matter), since you’re releasing so much dust/tannins into the water at such an accelerated rate. If you don’t watch, it’s bitter.

This is probably the true beginning of my tea education.

Before I move on to loose leaf tea, I wanted to try some of the best, traditionally bagged variety. My friends kept bringing up Twinings, and I bought myself the black tea variety pack.

This is my first English Breakfast, and I have to say, I really enjoyed it. I probably could have steeped this a bit longer, but the taste of this is what I think of when I think of the word “tea.” I knew I was missing something with all of those Lipton-dishwasher-hot-water tasting teas I disliked as a child. A basic black, smooth with a very slight, bitter aftertaste.

I really liked the strength of this just plain, without any added milk and sugar. I’m a purist, what can I say. I can’t wait to try even higher quality loose leaf English Breakfast blends, because I feel like this could be a favorite morning drink.

This tea was smooth and not bitter, but on the weak side. We left this one brewing longer than most teas in the hopes it would toughen up. Over 5 minutes in one case. Two tea bags in a mug helped but it was still a little light.

A big leaf oolong is going to give more flavor since this is really only tea dust, but it works in a pinch but only if you like your teas on the light side. Strong tea fans not recommended. Herbal tea drinkers might like this one.

The second green tea I ever had. It is no longer up in the top 5, but I like it enough to use for sentiment sake.

I really like this tea. I always make it very strong and hot. it is the standard against which I compare all other POWs. Most put too much black currant in it and it smells like a cat sprayed it -eeeeouuuw

Wimpy and basically tasteles, so it goes well with food. Also helps with menstrual cramps and digestive upsets. The teabags can be used for a variety of purposes like soothing sore eyes or a patch of itchy skin. They also make a nice SPLAT when you hurl them against a wall or at someone you particularly dislike.

Twinings manages to blend quality teas for the huddlin’ masses. For this I tip my hat. English Breakfast is my go to for a very wakeful day.

Teabag black tea with vanilla. This smells like black tea and vanilla. It brewed up light brown.
This is pretty good a nice black tea with a medium vanilla taste. I do not reccomend using alot of sugar in this one.

I’m a big fan of oolongs. Nice from a bag, easy to prepare in the morning before heading out the door.

Did I somehow get a bad box? It tastes like hot water, even steeped for 4 -5 minutes. Definately nowhere near a “champagne of teas”. What a dissapointment! However, other family members and friends like it, which is why I gave it as high a rating as I did.

An old favourite. Good fall back tea when you have no loose left.

Lovely and refreshing tea. Yes I know its in the name but it is a quite sweet tea. Not too harsh though.