Awake

A breakfast tea to attempt to get me up and going this morning! We had an ice storm last night and I did not want to leave my cozy bed to go out in the yucky-ness. Unfortunately, I had to so here I am with a cup of tea in one hand and keyboard keys at the other. This is really very good. No astringency or bitterness in the base and a nice color. This could really lend itself to pretty much anything but then, I suppose that it the point of breakfast teas. This has done its job so I guess I ought to go do mine!

Not really my cup of tea. Good for when you need the extra caffeine . Tried another cup with vanilla and enjoyed it more. I’m not sure if I’d buy it again but it is okay.

Cold-brewed with a touch of Lindsay’s Bingo Bango Mango

REGENERATIVE ORGANIC AWAKE ENGLISH BREAKFAST is a reformulation of this blend. Guess Tazo rolled it out in 2022, but I only noticed because of the new packaging. I’m not sure how different it is from the original blend, I definitely have had this before the changed it as Tazo is common in many of the restaurants near me.
I’ve been drinking this for the past month and now matter how I steep it, it comes out too bitter so I generally do add some milk and sweetener to adjust. The malt is strong with this. I know it’s pretty caffeinated but I’ve never noticed my body reacting to caffeine. I’m going to try to pay attention this morning. But I have a feeling the sunshine might get me moving more than the tea.

Hot brown water – generic ctc black tea.

Those who are sensitive to caffeine, beware! A friend of mine gave me a sachet of this back in college when I was trying to pull and all-nighter. The taste was ok, but the caffeine content sent already stressed-out me into a 4-hour fit of tremors. Never again.

A smooth basic black tea with very little bitterness. It’s nothing that will get you jumping for joy but the flavours and aroma are rather enjoyable. I preferred a dash of milk with each cup.

This is my staple bagged black tea for travel or the office! It brews up strong and malty without no bitterness or astringency. I like it best with milk, but also enjoy it plain.

Backlog.

For curiousity’s sake, I probably should have tried this without adding things first, but I didn’t. I think it probably would have been too astringent though. Anyhow, it was tasty enough!

I’m always brewing this too long: 3 minutes, 2 minutes, 1.5 minutes. It’s all too long. Five minutes (as suggested) is ridiculous. My point here is, whatever I do this tastes oversteeped, full of astringency as if I’m sucking on a cold, used teabag. If brewing this for color, one would dunk it and be done. Perhaps this tea is designed to be steeped in a large mug (I use a 6 ounce teacup) with plenty of sweetener and cream. I’ll admit, it’s a different experience when handled like that, but you can make nearly any black tea work with enough milk and sugar.

I like strong teas, like Irish breakfast, but when tannins overpower I find it very difficult to pull out the complexity of flavor. And, with this tea, there is more complexity than one might expect from a bagged tea available in most grocery stores. There’s a slightly sour, almost citrus favor, some maltiness, and a pleasantly earthy base.