bryghtbeverages

My brother gets involved in many business opportunities. Lately it’s been Organo Gold Coffees and Teas. Technically, they only offer the Organic Green Tea label and the rest is coffee. Check this out: it cost $32.00 for 25 sachet bags of this garbage. I admit some of their coffees are pretty tasty and I employ two different blends at my shoppe but their green tea is terrible. Have you ever tripped and landed face-first into your backyard lawn and received a mouthful of crabgrass? That is similar to the aftertaste of this tea sans the dog sh*t. It seems this company just offers this one tea as a token of solidarity. I am unimpressed.

First of all, I live in Canada. I appreciate the nationalist pride here as well as the locals’ capacity of making everything with Canadian products. But, this is taking things too far. Without an ounce of sugar and/or sweetener, this infusion is nothing but hot mouthwash. The peppermint is slightly overpowering, making the berry and apple into a sour mush. Yucky.

Another in a long line of cheapster-style teas which I often grab blindly off the dusty shelves of private food stores or at small grocers in my continued attempt to support “the little guys” and to expand my tea palate. I steeped four bags in one-minute intervals (one bag for one minute, one bag for two minutes, etc.) and none of them were consumable. In fact, the leaf fannings were so dry that they appeared more like tobacco than tea. This one tasted so stale that I would wager that the expiration date was near the end of the Korean War.

My wife saw this at a local grocery outlet today and brought it home for me. I immediately brewed two cups (one at three minutes and one at five). Seriously, this tea tastes like it was bagged with nothing but fanning from the dirty floors of a tea processing factory (much like Lipton). To be fair, this may have been on the shelf awhile as it was fairly stale. Poor taste, poor aroma, poor finish…you get the picture.

’Tis the season, as they say. But why should bad, seasonal herbal infusions have to dominate the shelves thusly? This is yet another poorly fathomed attempt by Celestial Seasonings to pervade a wide-open Christmas tea market. Any black tea, even filtered through a dirty sock, would taste better in comparison. Fail.

Ewwww. That’s the most proper thing that I can say as a gentleman when it comes to this herbal nightmare. Sickly, sour and flat. Tried it twice to make sure I wasn’t steeping incorrectly. I wish I’d only tasted once. There is nothing at all redeeming about this product. Ewwww.

This is my favourite bagged Oolong brand. I have a leg up at the distributor, so I get bulk prices by the case. I supply it to a local Chinese restaurant as well and we advertise each other. Prince of Peace has a lovely aroma and beautiful colour. I drink it before and after tai chi or yoga. Sometimes, I blend it with Bigelow Organic Green to really give it a spark.

I douse myself in Constant Comment on a daily basis; I consume the regular during working hours and decaf in the evenings. There is little difference between the two that I can gather. It’s excellent for blending when you want a touch of spice to bring an earthy, darker tea to a brighter existence. I buy two boxes a week for home use.

Damned good tea. I really have to get more of this stuff. If it was less expensive, I’d replace Tetley with it altogether. I feel that the best blended black teas in the world are comprised of Assam and Ceylon and Twinings does a remarkable job of bringing the two together in spectacular fashion. It’s very dark and powerful so a dash of milk and sugar might take the edge off the bite.

White tea is often too delicate for my tastes, having grown up on full-bodied black teas. But, I love to use this tea for blending with others to add character. Since it’s naturally decaffinated, I enjoy the opportunity to blend it freely and without reservation. By itself, this tea is a little sweet and lacking any true substance.

Green Island teas are nearly impossible to obtain unless you do so online. I’ve tried several, but their best tea is the Ceylon Blend. It’s absolutely fantastic. I pay more to import this tea than any other tea in my arsenal. The same blend (from the same producer in Sri Lanka) is also offered by a distribution company called NaturDays but I can’t find it anymore. I enjoy it on weekends only in the mornings. Too expensive for everyday use.

My second-favourite bagged black tea brand in the world thusfar. If I went a morning without it, I’d probably struggle the whole day. I also enjoy the decaf version every evening and often use it as a base for blending.

I just got this last evening and I have to say that although it’s not as good as Tetley, it’s still rather nice. A smooth and strong blend, perfect for morning. The Assam is very apparent in this tea. I recommend it if you’ve no Tetley around.

Not my favourite Oolong brand, but it’s always fresh and has a buttery flavour which is appealing to me. The problem is that if you over-steep it, it tastes like a mouthful of dirty grass mingled with an odour of cat pee. A quick 2-minute splash and it’s ready to go!

I oversteep this tea or use two bags in order to get a decent flavour out of it. It’s pleasant and very smooth. If I feel frisky, I’ll grab a bag of Oolong and steep them together for five minutes in an 8-ounce cup and add a drop or two of clover honey. I believe that honey and tea are God’s two greatest edible gifts and I rarely have one without the other.

This is my daily go-to tea. I probably drink 3 bags a day, some of it being decaf. I even use it to blend with other teas. One of my favourite blends is a bag of Oolong, a Tetley British Blend pouch along with a Constant Comment in a 10-ounce mug steeped to about four minutes (but remove the Oolong bag after two minutes or it will dominate the blend). Absolute heaven!