Darjeeling

Classical music playing, Panera muffin, and Bigelow tea…I am back at Duke Medical to get my stitches out! I almost reached for the same tea I had last time, English Tea Time by Bigelow, but I decided to be a little more adventurous. Yesterday’s review warned me away from I Love Lemon, so I went with Darjeeling.

This is pretty good! It is nice and earthy like the last Darjeeling I had, but not quite as earthy. It is smooth, not bitter, not astringent. I think if I ever need to provide tea to masses and have it be something very forgiving of temperature, conditions, and steep times, Bigelow would be the way to go.

I don’t remember ever having this before. Low expectations. Open the envelope and sniff. Hey! The bag smells fruity and of hay. I steeped two minutes per instructions and not the five minutes I would have used a few years ago. Fruity, earthy. Oh why couldn’t this be loose leaf so it would have the depth it deserves. This is really good. I am surprised. Not bitter. Lightly drying.

On the second day of the cruise (New Year’s Eve), the ship held afternoon tea around 3, so of course my wife and I attended with her mom, sister, and grandmother. Cucumber sandwiches and tasty desserts were had by all and they opened a grand tea chest that was unfortunately full of Bigelow teas. Still, I’d rather have Bigelow than Lipton or Red Rose, so I reached for this one and it hit just the right spot. It was perfect for what I was craving and while I would have preferred loose leaf, when it comes to bagged teas, Bigelow is my tea of choice.

Funny side story, in the first port, Saint Thomas, we found a pretty little display of tea in wooden boxes that my sister in law was trying so hard to convince me to buy for our tea collection. The brand of tea? Metropolitan Tea Company…one of the warehouses for which is literally around the corner from our house. >.< Needless to say, it stayed on the shelf XD.

I had Twinings Darjeeling a couple times yesterday, and having Bigelows otday, it seems somewhat harsh in comparison. The muscatel flavor is there, but the the natural sweetness of Darjeeling is not. Adding more sugar helps, both in bringing out the flavor and in reducing the harshness, but I prefer Twinings with less sugar.

When it comes to bagged Darjeeling, I pick Bigelow everytime. Nevermind that their samples never arrived to me this last Spring. The second flush shipment this year was quite nice. By the way, if you want to make sure to get your selected season of choice, buy directly from Bigelow and avoid second-hand retailers who tend to sit on their inventory. I prefer the maltiness of Ceylon teas most of the time, but an occasional Darjeeling really challenges your preferences.

Well, when I sniffed the dry tea bag it smelled exactly like the horse barn at the fair. That turned me off a little. I heated up the water anyway and steeped it for exactly 2 minutes, and added my usual 2 Splenda packets. With the sweetener it just tastes like mild, unobtrusive tea for me, a nice enough for evening tea if you feel lazy and want to use a tea bag. I wouldn’t drink it without the sweetener though.

While staying for a few days at my folks house I found myself rummaging though the cupboards looking for a tea and stumbled upon this. While I am actually a fan of Bigelow Earl Grey, I can’t say the same for most other mass market bagged tea. I was not surprised this didn’t break the mold for me the way their Earl Grey does. It was adequate and served to warm me sufficiently after lending my hand on the family farm on a particularly chilly September day. What more can I say?… It was warm and tasted of tea.

At first, I thought, “Seriously, Bigelow? 1-2 minutes for a black tea?”, but I went with it anyway. I see why they recommend that now. As others have said, this is a strangely harsh tea. I’ve not had much experience with darjeelings before, but the last I had did not have the sharp bitter aftertaste this does. The muscatel flavor is very accessible, which is another thing I like about it. But it dries my mouth out like no other.

But I like bitterness, so this is interesting to me. I’m glad I have another bag.

harsh, but the best of a bad choice among free tea at work.

Not bad for a bagged tea. I definitely think it has the basic Darjeeling taste down, but it’s not a homerun by any means. Good for work.