When I came back from Australia, I stopped by the store to pick some of this up. I still had most of a box left from Melbourne, but I didn’t want to run out and I felt like getting out of the house.
Unfortunately, there seems to be a big difference between the same tea as sold in Australia and what is available on store shelves in the United States. The latter is largely without flavor while the former is a perfect general tea in the English milk-and-sugar style. I’m not sure why this would be and I don’t know if others have had a similar experience, but I’ve tried it from several boxes and from different stores and continue to experience the same thing. I even did some cup after cup switching between the what I had left from Australia and what I got here at home. There is a clear difference.
It makes me a little hesitant to trust ratings too much on this one being that where they come from may affect the actual quality they are getting. All that said, my rating is for the Australian blend/variety/type of Twining’s English Breakfast Tea which is a solid all day cup. I have also ordered a box direct from the UK to see how the original stacks up.
