Twinings

Got this one for my boyfriend, who likes earl grey tea (only) but likes to drink it at night, when the caffeine is not helpful. I figured that since Twinings is a decent grocery tea, I would give the decaf earl grey a try. I had a cup with my boyfriend while we were watching out nightly tv show. I have to say, it’s nice to finally share a tea with him. He won’t drink it otherwise!

Even as I opened the box, I was surprised at how lemony the tea smells. I was expecting the bergamot aroma to be strong, since it’s just regular earl grey. But actually the lemon is very strong both in the aroma and the flavour. It’s not necessarily bad, but both me and my boyfriend were a little surprised. Thankfully, he still likes the taste of it, and likes it better than the generic brand I started him on. I enjoyed my cup as well, I guess it just wasn’t what I was expecting.

That being said, this would make a great iced tea.

This one sounds amazing, and I really, really hoped that it would taste equally wonderful. It…kind of does, and kind of doesn’t. I think green tea is an odd choice for the base here. It’s faintly grassy and vegetal, and it just doesn’t work all that well with fudge as a flavour. A black base would have been eminently more sensible, surely? Then there’s the fudge. This one smells a little artificial when it’s brewing, but it tastes better than that would suggest. It’s very heavy on the vanilla, which is all I can taste to begin with, and then there’s an almost thick-tasting butteriness that is kind of reminiscent of fudge (particularly with the vanilla…) It’s all just a little sweet and sickly, a bit overpowering, and sadly not really my thing. I’d so hoped it would be, but it’s just not quite right.

I always thought I did not like green tea because of teas like this one. As it turns out, I do not enjoy many bagged plain green teas. There are many delicious green teas out there, however I would not say this is one of them. I had it again today because I grabbed it from a hotel I stayed at however this is not something I would buy.

I am on a personal mission to find the best Earl Grey, my favorite tea. This brand is one of the cheapest and available in most store as loose-leaf, but the bergamot and other flavors are too weak for it to truly stand on its own. This is a tea that I drink with a heavy meal; its flavors can accentuate other delicacies, but are not unique enough to worry about being overpowered. I recommend it as a back-up or mealtime tea, particularly if no day is complete without a cup of Earl Grey.

Very dilute flavour. It may be because this is a rather old tea bag. I will give this tea a try again in the future if I have the chance.

I have a friend who really loves strong black teas. I’ve seen her steep black teas known to be tannic for more than 5 minutes. I’m going to recommend this tea to her because it steeps fast and strong.

I accidentally left the teabag in for about 5 minutes in warm (but not hot) water, however I found the brew much to strong and had to dilute it to half water/half tea. I recommend steeping for 2 minutes and then accessing the strength before continuing to steep. This is a flavourful and tannic blend that I found astringent but fairly pleasant. I think this would make a very nice latte because it would be strong enough to taste good through the milk.

Liquid gingerbread man! I’m actually quite surprised by how enjoyable these Twinings “Indulgence” blends are. I’m not usually a fan of their bagged green tea, but it seems sweet and buttery here, and the flavouring is impeccable. This isn’t the spiciest gingerbread tea I’ve ever tried, but it does have a very prominent biscuit-like flavour, with the ginger second and a touch of vanilla in the background. Pretty delicious, for a fuss-free cup!

1 bag, 175 degrees, 2 minutes. No additions.

Finally got around to trying this one at work today. I let the water cool to around 175 degrees before I added the bag, because it’s a green tea and Twinings’ bagged greens in particular seem very prone to scorching. I gave it approximately 2 minutes, after which the liquor is a medium green-brown.

I expected a degree of bitterness, and so I was pleasantly surprised to find none. There’s a sweet candy cherry flavour that’s maybe a touch reminiscent of cough medicine, rescued by a background note of almond/frangipane that makes this much more reminiscent of a dessert. There’s even a butteriness to the green tea that suggests pastry. The best thing by far, though, is the distinctive flavour of glace icing. Combined with the cherry, almond and pastry notes, it makes for a pretty delicious cup! I rarely commend bagged teas, but this one’s worth the hype. I’d repurchase this for fuss-free spring/summer drinking. It’s a sweet, desserty treat.

Oh, this tea. Everything about this tea is pure love.
The chamomile and the spearmint are so well combined and balanced, with just a tiny hint of lemongrass. This one is tea you can serve to one of those “I hate tea, I only drink coffee” people and they WILL like it.

Got myself the Brazilian version of this one.
This tea had basically everything to woo me and make me fall head over heels for it. Turns out, black tea and four red fruits don’t really cut it for me. It smells delicious and the color is amazing (artificial, I imagine, which I don’t really like). I only tasted this one twice. So many people like this one! I want to like it too. Maybe I’ll try it again later this week.

An instante favorite. I’m a sucker for any spearmint/peppermint/mint flavored foods, and this was not exception. Very smooth, fragrant, fresh and delightful.

Pretty common, off-the-market-shelf tea. Lovely scented, cute packaging. Tastes quite a bit like actual ginger tea, but the lemon is a bit too bitter depending on the steeping time. If you’ve got a sore throat, mix this baby up with honey and you’re well on your way to getting your voice back.