French Vanilla

My grandma brought me a sampler set of Bigelow teas for my birthday two months ago. Four boxes, each with three different teas in it. Plain black assortment, flavored black assortment, chais, and vanillas.

After the 52teas’ Milk & Cookies black tea yesterday morning, I felt like I needed one more cup of black tea for the caffeine to get going. I wanted something quick and easy and that I wasn’t going to feel obliged to resteep. So I perused these boxes and selected this one. It had the same vanilla taste as the decaff version, however I could taste the black tea in the background too. Strong faux dessert like vanilla was still the dominate taste but overall it was a decent cup.

I’m rating this one a 52 (low nice bagged tea range). It’s easily drinkable but not amazing. Has the potential to bump up a few points with repeated drinking.

-Standard teabag.
-Teabag smells of very sweet vanilla. Tea liquor smells of malty vanilla.
-Tea liquor is a medium amber color.
-Artificial and bitter flavor with a slight vanilla finish.
-Best with milk and sweetener.
-Poor tea. Very bitter. Milk and sweetener diminish the bitterness, but does little to bring out the vanilla flavor.

A review of French Vanilla Tea by Bigelow Tea

Date: 12/27/2012
Company: Bigelow Tea
Tea Name: French Vanilla
Tea Type/Varietal: Black
Region:
Steeping Vessel/Amt. Leaf: Cup/ tea bag
Plucking Season:
Liquor Color: dark amber
Leaf Characteristics: tea bag smells of vanilla

1. Steepings

1st Steeping:
Water temperature: 190 Fahrenheit
Time: 4 minutes

Note: I am having this tea as an afternoon cup of tea. It is part of my in-laws stock of tea, they seem to favor this Bigelow brand for the pricing 2 for $5.00.

Anyhow, I take one tea bag and put this in my cup and I add the boiling water into the cup leaving it to steep for four minutes. When I retrieve the tea, the aroma is that of vanilla, not over powering but nicely done. The tea’s color is dark amber, not bright.

When I take sip after sip of this tea it is always the vanilla essence and the smooth, creamy taste. I came in and wanted a cup of tea and I reached for this Vanilla Tea and it is quite nice.

This is my favorite Bigelow tea!!! The French Vanilla is smooth, and good. I found it in the assortment pack, and can’t wait to find it separately.

Wow, that was really good! Being a frilly coffee lover too, this very well may be my sugar free-ish alternative! two thumb up

Without reading the packaging I mistook this tea as the much better Bigelow Vanilla Caramel and didn’t realize it until I took my first sip and almost freaked out thinking my tea had been poisoned or something. It’s drinkable, but barely. It’s essentially more artificial vanilla flavoring than it is tea. Do not recommend.

One of my favorite black teas. Don’t drink it often but has a nice flavor. The vanilla comes through nice with a bit of amber agave nectar. Slow on the nectar though.

Nice vanilla flavor, and delicious with milk.

UPDATE Jan-2012: I’ve stopped drinking this tea for a while because I thought it was sweet to the point of being cloying, but then I looked at my own tasting note and realize that in order to enjoy it, I have to add milk. Dairy or non-dairy (almond, soy), it doesn’t matter.

The only thing that would make this better is if the vanilla was actually slightly less strong. I enjoy it, steeped extra long / hot so it’s very strong, and adding milk/cream and sugar – but it’s almost too sweet, even if I add less sugar, because it’s a sweet flavor, not the actual sweetness. Still, very fantastic.

…fun tip: brew this half-and-half with Bigelow’s raspberry black tea. It tastes like gloriousness in a cup.

My first experience with this tea was the day I went over a good friend’s house. She felt like tea, so we decided that THIS tea (out of the many others she owned) would be what we would have. We steeped it for a good 5 minutes. The first sip wasn’t stunning, it was plain and missing something, so I had to add some sugar, and poured in some milk (vanilla soymilk, to be exact). It was delicious with the milk and sugar. This being said, I had to go home pronto and buy myself a box of this stuff. A few boxes later and I enjoy it occasionally, but have leaned more towards herbal teas. Overall, a pretty good tea.

my first Tea Review, I’ve always drank tea but I’ve never really paid much mind to what I was drinking, I know I like green tea,herbal teas, and such. but I want to get into black tea. I’ve been drinking Bigelow French Vanilla, and I think it’s a nice black tea with LOTS of Vanilla. I add a LITTLE sugar and milk to it, drinking it tonight while doing christmas stuff to my room.

I really like this tea, particularly with a simple snack, like cinnamon graham crackers spread with a bit of Nutella. I usually add a little sugar and cream, and it’s delicious.

Oh my god, I hate this tea!

This has to be one of my favorite teas. I love to drink this as a substitute for dessert.

This is one of my favorite teas. It has a lovely vanilla flavor that is sweet and rich but not overpowering. It is a very comforting tea.

This is one of my favorite flavored teas. It’s great with lots of milk and a bit of sugar. It has a strong vanilla flavor that isn’t too bitter or artificial-tasting, but also has a warm black tea body. I’ve found it difficult to oversteep (if it tastes bitter, add more milk!), but it can be kind of wimpy if you understeep it. It’s a great tea to put into a thermos for a picnic or to take to work, and it also makes a good iced tea.

This is nice with sugar and milk.