Brynn Naomi

Very nice. Another from the sample pack from my Hunny’s father. I tried it without milk at first, as I usually drink Chinese tea sans dairy. However, in this case, I wasn’t impressed. I added a splash of milk, and things got a whole lot better! I found it to be similar to my Scottish Breakfast Tea (weird), but certainly not exactly the same. I didn’t even think of it at the time, but in hind sight, I make that connection… Hm… Whatever. It’s a nice tea.

I’m a big Earl Grey fan, and this is no exception. One of the better ones I’ve tried, actually. And it’s all thanks to my Hunny’s father for sending me a Numi sample pack of tea for the holiday! More free tea. Sweet!

At any rate, I prepped this cuppa the same way I do any other Earl Grey. Sweetened with sugar and a splash of milk. Very nice.

The first thing I think of when I pull this tea bag out of the wrapper is pomanders, which is certainly not a bad thing. Because it is a black tea with the many spices, which remind me both of Chai and Earl Grey teas, I felt the need to add milk as well as the usual sugar sweetener. This tea is rather good. Of course, I managed to get my hands on some because we’ve had a few bags wrapped up in a Ziploc (with a few other kinds of tea) in the cupboard for a few years now. I’ll be anxious to see the difference between these older tea bags and a fresh box, as I do plan on purchasing some when my supply of free, aged Constant Comment tea bags runs out. (And because it’s free, I don’t care how “aged” it might be. It’s still good.)

Up date (1/17/2011): So I picked up a fresh box aver the weekend, as I had finished off our “aged” bags of Constant Comment. Wow! The citrus flavor was even more apparent, and that wonderful clove aroma was even stronger! Fantastic!

This one, like the Green Chai, confused me a bit. The spices are reminiscent of a Chai tea, but I have never added milk to a White tea before. The brewing suggestions on the back don’t even hint at how it would be best. It just tells you how long to steep the tea for. So I tried it with just sugar at first, which I did like. It was very spicy indeed! However, about half way through the cup, I decided it was too strong, and said “what the heck,” and added some milk. This was a good call! The milk took the spiciness and toned it right down to a nice, sweet, creamy flavor with just enough bite. No longer overwhelmingly spicy, I enjoyed the rest of the cup even more! It kind of made me think of the Ultra Spice Chai by Twinings (my favorite!), but lighter. I may have to keep my eye out for this one!

Side note: This tea bag was acquired for free from the cafe at my college when I was charged for the bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich I ordered, and then it was discovered that they had no bacon, which meant I had been over charged for an egg and cheese sandwich instead. So, 60c overcharge for a sandwich = free tea bag with my meal. WIN!

Not bad at all! Quite nice, actually! I’m always wary about teas with vanilla in them, because they always smell a bit off to me while brewing. But the flavor is nice, not too strong. Just a nice, mild sweetness. I may have to invest in some of this at some point (Huzzah for free samples accompanying the catalog!), but I’m not sure I want a whole 30 tea bags. It is very seasonal, and I’m afraid it would loose it’s quality if I only have a few cups a year.

Wow! Went random tea shopping with my sister today, and this was my never-tried-before tea choice. This is delicious! I love the color. It’s fantastic with milk and sugar. It has sort of a creamy sweetness to it. So nice. I’m so glad I picked this tea!

P.S. I’ve now tried English, Irish, and Scottish Breakfast tea. Is there a Welsh Breakfast tea?

A friend at college gave me a bag to try. It’s not bad, but it’s not my beloved Ultra Spice Chai. I’ve always liked vanilla, but it doesn’t need to be in chai tea. That said, I did enjoy it, though, probably not enough to go out of my way to purchase a box of it for myself.

I got this as a free sample with the Republic of Tea cataloge. At least it was free. It was way too sweet for my taste, and I ended up dumping the 2/3 of the cup that I just couldn’t finish when the voices in my head went from saying “too sweet” to “asinign.” Too bad. It smelled pretty when I opened the packet, and it sure looked pretty, but I’m not a fan of this one at all.

I’d never tried Darjeeling tea before, but I’ve wanted to for a while, so when I saw this on the shelf at the grocery, I had to pick it up. I figured that I could count on Twinings for my first Darjeeling experience, as this company has never let me down before. I found it a little bitter with just sweetener, but I really enjoyed it once I’d added a bit of milk. I’m so glad I picked this one up!

I just got this tea the other day. Tonight I tried it, first the way the packaging recommends you have it (steeped with almost boiling water for 30-60) seconds. Nice, but seemed like a waste of a perfectly good tea bag, so I popped it into the other mug of already steeping ginger peach. That puppy sat for a good 15 minutes or more, and it was SO tasty. I guess the suggested prep method is just a guideline after all, but I had to try it that way at least once. I may have a new favorite. We’ll see tomorrow when I make myself a cup with one tea bag and steep it for my normal 5 minutes. ;)

Oh yeah. That’s a good one brewed the same way I brew the black Ginger Peach. Awesome! Next time I think I’ll order the red Ginger Peach!

So my sister works at Barnes & Noble, and I saw this on the shelf one day. I asked her colleague behind the counter at the cafe if they had any of the small sample size tins. They did not, but he was nice enought to hand me a single tea bag from their open cafe stock to try, free of charge. No sweet of him! Anyway, because these tea bags are so big, and good for 2 cups, I dropped it into my 2 cup tea pot the next day to give it a whorl. SO tastey! Definately a green tea, but the coconut and ginger where there too, so it wasn’t just ANY cup of green tea. As soon as I have some money (stupid college), I’m going to have to pick up a tin of this tea.

I found this one at the grocery store complete with an “infusing kit” for the loose leaves. in other words, it had the cute little infuser on the top that you hang in the rim of the cup, scoop in the tea, and pour the water riht through it. I particularly like this tea, Earl Grey being one of my favorites anyway. It didn’t seem to taste all that different from the bagged tea, but I still enjoyed it with my usual sugar and milk additives. The infuser is a bit of a pain to deal with, but I don’t really mind for a tea that I find to be worth the effort. Besides, now I have an infuser for those loose leaf teas that don’t come with one.

One of my girlfriends at work gave me a bag of this to try once. I’ll admit that I was at a bit of a loss when it came time to add things. Sugar is one thing, but I’d never drank Green tea with milk, and I’d never had Chai without it.. In the end, I did go for the milk, and it was a good thing. I’ll have to grab a box of this when I see it.

I really like this Oolong. Believe it or not, I actually found it in the Eastern Arts store at the local mall. All I add to it is a little bit of sugar and it’s perfect. And it smells delightful. Almost every time I walk by the box I have to take a whiff. Is that wierd? Any-hoo, I hope the claim about dissolving fat is true, ‘cause I’m hoping to lose at least 15 pounds before bathing suit weather hits.

The smell of this tea makes me think of Christmas time. So much so that I tend not to drink it much when it’s not the holiday season. It just doesn’t feel right to drink my “Christmas tea” when it’s not Christmas time. That said, when I am drinking this tea, I love it! Raw sugar and heavy on the milk. Perfect.

It wasn’t bad. Kind of middle of the road for me. I did the usual milk and sugar prep that I tend to apply to black tea, and there really is a nice Vanilla flavor. Just very light. I tried it iced once as well. I won’t do that again, although my boyfriend loved it. It’s also been a while since I’ve bought any because I can’t seem to find it in any of the groceries any more. I’ll check Shop Rite when it opens up, if nothing else, so I can make my Hunny his Vanilla iced tea. The Bigelow version just didn’t cut it for him.

This one was nice, but I wasn’t overly impressed with it. I guess I just prefer the stronger flavor of the Earl Grey teas. I did the milk and sugar thing, but it was a bit too mild for my liking. Maybe I’ll give it another shot before I give up on it completely. I did get it in a sample package of Twinings teas, so I only have 4 bags left.

I like this tea when I have a cold, sweetened with either sugar or honey, but I especially like it iced! I put 5 lumps of white sugar in a 1 pt. mason jar with 2 bags, pour over the boiling water, close the jar, and let it sit in the sun for the rest of the afternoon. At the end of the day, I remove the tea bags and add 2 teaspoons of lemon juice. Some of the best sun tea I’ve ever made! Therefore, I’ve listed my prep. details to reflect my iced tea preparation method.

Definately a nice light tea, and awesome when you’re looking for a boost of anti-oxidants, which white teas are said to be full of. The brewing instructions tell you to let the water come to a boil and then cool for 5-7 minutes before pouring the water over the bag, and then only advise steeping for 1-2 minutes. I tried it this way the first time around, but then decided that the way I normally fix a cup of white would be sufficient. What can I say? I like a good strong flavor, even in my lighter brews.

So nice and light for a Chai. It tastes more autumny to me than Christmasy, like most Chai teas. I do my standard Chai preparation with milk and sugar. And because the Rooibos is naturally decaffienated, it’s great when you need a cuppa Chai late at night.

I got a free sample of this tea with a Republic of Tea catalog (Yay!). It smells nice in the package, stinks to heck while steeping, but tastes lovely when you add milk and sweetener. I like it.

I actually bought my first box of this tea while I was in Florida in the World Showcase at Epcot. It’s been a while sice I’ve had it (can’t seem to find it around here), but I remeber it being very nice and light.

This is a nice one. I especially like to sweeten it with raw sugar instead of white, as I do with many teas to which I don’t add milk.

A friend of mine recieved a box of this tea as a Valentine’s Day gift, and she gave me a couple of bags to try it. It’s very nice. not really strong in the flavor department, but still tasty. I added milk and sugar, and it turned out nice and creamy. I’ll have to find myself a box.