Orange Pekoe

Bagged teas like this keep me centered. Good enough to really enjoy, but not so good as too loose appreciation for great tea. The waitress at Steak ’N Shake was busy today so I only had one cup. Rather than wait I just wanted out of there.

I met up with a fellow former co-worker at Denny’s for breakfast and conversation this morning. We sat and talked over 2 hours. He has been unemployed 3 1/2 months now and says when his tax check comes in he will actually have more money in the bank than before he was let go (fired is what he called it). He added, tell me I’m not blessed. To which I add amen.

So I took this one with me and asked for hot water. The waitress looked at me questioningly. I told her I brought my own because, no offense, but your tea is really bad. She giggled a little and brought my water. As it turns out their tea is bad because its Lipton and it makes horrible hot tea, but the biggest problem is their water. My tea that I normally really enjoy, tasted of fish. Had this been the tea Denny’s carries I would have rated it 12. What a difference the water makes. Glad now I didn’t waste some loose leaf.

The world did not end yesterday but apparently the stars and planets did align today. This pleasant but average bag offering was exceptional this morning. It had actual depth and substance. I had a buttered and jellied biscuit with it. Maybe that brought out the flavors. Who knows but I will try the biscuit thing again.

Grabbed a sausage biscuit and a couple cups of this (after the Fig Newtons). This tea is so much smoother than any of the other orange pekoe teas I have had in a bag. I have no idea what type tea these fannings are supposed to be but it wouldn’t surprise me if there was a large proportion of china black in here. Not even a little bitter. I liked their Darjeeling better but I never tire of this one.

I had two cups of this bagged tea with my scrambled egg, sausage gravy & biscuit at Steak N Shake. I deeply love and appreciate beautifully complex teas. That said, I have a soft spot for the inexpensive basic comfort tea. This one does a great job in that regard. Today it had a light amount of malt and maybe it was the food combination but I swear I was getting hints of smoke. This has become like family so I’m upping the rating.

CHAroma said this rates between Lipton and Twinings. That pretty much nails it. It is a nice slightly fruity enjoyable cup. Not bitter. No astringency. Not a bad bagged tea really, in fact I rather liked it.

Well look at me having three cups of tea already and its not even noon. Yeah, this is cheap bagged stuff but its pretty tasty.

Three cups of this one to start my day. The first one, I was overcome by a spirit of stupid or something. I added cream and honey. OMGosh that’s just gross. I emptied the cup in a hurry so I could drink it dark and strong. So much beter. A good basic bagged black. Sometimes that’s what it takes to get the day moving.