The nostalgia… it’s unbearable.
So it began around age fourteen. I had this obsession for tea in a house full of coffee lovers. I was still unable to purchase things online for myself (and even then, I had no knowledge of what tea retailers were sought after), so I fueled my love and desire with grocery store bought Twinings and Tazo.
This became a favorite in its bagged incarnation alongside Twinings Earl Grey and Prince of Wales.
The last time I tried this tea was a good four or five years ago when stopped keeping up with my tea rituals, until it was at a Teavana in Chicago where my passion for tea was reignited.
Oh. Yes, this is about the tea. Right.
I realized I had two bags of this left in the back of my cupboard and I thought, “I’m feeling adventurous. Why not?”
So I steeped this in my glass teapot. I watched it turn a gloriously deep red color… which surprised me (mostly because I’d never seen it directly through glass before).
The smell was just as malty and deep as I remember it.
And… there it is. That hint of astringency and the ever present malty flavor. I just wish it wasn’t as flat as it is. Why doesn’t it taste as deep as it smells?
I’m thinking that perhaps the loose version is a better incarnation of this tea. Sadly I suppose I don’t like it as much as I used to, now that I’m comparing it to other teas.
Bagged Irish Breakfast, we had happy memories.
