Twinings

I only brewed for 5 minutes this time. I much prefer it at 10, but wanted something soothing and fast (no chamomile left at my office right now). Must replenish the office stash…and really wish we could have multiple stashes for different locations.

It’s 5:30 on a Sunday morning, and I’ve been awake for nearly 3 hours. Sleep fail. Am at parents’ place, where the house is sorta an open-air layout. Moved my electric kettle into the laundry room to make some tea. Hopefully something warm and soothing will slow my mind down and let me drift off to sleep.

This is lightly citrusy and sweet (brewed for 10 minutes). And this one cup is going way too fast…time to brew more.

I love this tea. The bergamot is just fabulous, and it lasts a great many brews (at least for me).

Another one that I’m now out of. I definitely highly recommend. It’s a very, very nice decaf tea!

I’ve had two or three cups of this this afternoon…trying to stay calm in spite of all that is going on around me. This tea is perfect for that, though my day is still throwing things at me left and right. Is it naptime yet?

Sticking with decaf until I’ve decided if I’m really awake for the day or not.

Every time I drink this tea, I’m reminded of my friend Mindy, who bought it for me. It’s a very light and floral version of Earl Grey, which I find both refreshing and soothing. It’s a great after-work, sip-away-your-cares cup.

I had high hopes for this cold brewed iced tea, since I’ve enjoyed brewing Lady Grey hot and drinking it cold in the past. Alas, in this case, Twinings has made bergamot into a bat and then beaten my tongue into quivering submission.

I don’t think I’ll even drink the rest of the box in my cupboard unless I somehow forget this terrible iced tea experience.

Today is cold and rainy here at the coast in Maine. Its a great day for hot tea. This is a nice tea (bag) from Twinings. I always seem to like their teas. This one is brisk, robust, no bitterness, and just a little astringency. A nice tea to wake up to.

Woke up in a terrible mood, hiding at my desk at work and keeping calm with this lovely lady. She’s the only thing keeping me from irritably snapping at boring co-workers, so she gets an extra-high rating this morning.

This is supposedly the perfect foundation for a good punch – just brew long and dark, and add your alcohol of choice (sweet Rum is the obvious choice).
As it is, it is a good, aromatic brew – with two spoon-fulls of brown sugar it is perfect as a late night cup.
Without sugar, might work well with spiced meats and saffron-flavored dishes in particular.

A year ago I would have rated this a lot higher than I will today, partly because I hadn’t tasted many black teas back then, and more to the point because I hadn’t tasted the lovely Lady Grey back then .. To be fair though, I do find this to be a nice cup of tea, with or without milk & sugar – but I’ve decided not to replace it when the current box runs out ..

One other note is that I’ve found some non-flavoured tea drinkers (my parents in particular) complain about the strong floral aroma of the Earl .. They’ve even asked me to not make ‘that perfumed tea’ while on vacation together, which of course I did, but went outside to drink it ..

The Earls ‘better half’ indeed, and oh my she’s as pretty as she tastes ..

I enjoy a Lady Grey any time of the day or night, with or without milk & sugar .. Even my non-tea drinking friends like it’s light floral notes, and I personally amp up the citrus by adding a few drops of Sweet Orange Essential Oil to the tin = Yummy!

OK, this tea just saved me. Was on a cruise around the Greek islands, and I totally forgot from earlier experience that while the food on the ship was plentiful, varied, and delicious, the only tea was horrible generic dust in anonymous tea bags. (I understood from the coffee drinkers around me that the coffee served was just as bad…I wonder why that is??) I suffered it until thankfully, I found a little supermarket in the town of Oia on the island of Santorini that carried Twinings tea, and I bought a box of this. Ah, finally a decent cuppa in the mornings! Basic, sweet and with milk, my morning (and evening) tea became a pleasure to be savoured on deck in the sea air. Mm.