Prince of Wales

Thank you to Twinings for sending three teas of our choice to try! This is the sample I most wanted, based on reviews I have read here on Steepster. I was especially interested in whether this one would resteep.

I was a little surprised when I just read that this is a blend of Chinese teas because I could have sworn I tasted some Indian leaf in this. Then I read that it is Yunnan and southern province teas and it made sense, because there is a lot of assamica varietal in yunnan plus they tend to have a slight maltiness.

This is good. It is smooth. I took it without milk and sugar and it was not harsh. There was a hint of tingling or peppery flavor from the yunnan. It is not premium loose leaf tea but is very drinkable and easy to carry and make, so I think it qualifies as a Cheapster Steepster because….I like the resteep even better than the first steep! It is not strong, no, indeed. But it is now ever so lightly smoky and is even smoother.

This is nothing like the PG Tips or Yorkshire Gold that makes me hide under the bed until it has been tamed with milk and sugar. It is more delicate, but not frail. I doubt it would wake up an Assam lover but it is good mid-morning tea for me!

This was the best I could find at the suburban grocery store, and indeed, it is a teabag. In spite of that I am enjoying it. Maybe because I just finished reading “My Man Jeeves” by P.G. Wodehouse, I can imagine Jeeves giving Wooster a cup of tea like this in bed along with a morning cigarette.

It is supposedly a blend of chinese black tea, I believe I can taste some yunnan in here along with something else. A keemun, perhaps? But it is not smoky, just very smooth and rich, nice and mild. I could imagine buying this in the loose leaf tin and keeping it around the house for a day when I just want to wake up and have a nice black tea of goodness. It is very delicious with some soymilk. Good for you, Twinings, you’ve managed to turn a suburban teabag into something quite drinkable… :)

Day # 5 of 24, and tea of so late in the day I think it will probably keep me up……….

This one comes to me from teawing. Thank you! I have to admit, the more teas I try from Twinings, the more I realize I dismissed bagged tea way too soon. It turns out, I never had the steeping right and always used too much water. This time I was sure to use between 6 and 8 oz of water rather than the 12 or more I used to use in my pre-loose leaf days.

I am drinking this one straight up. I like the mellow taste of this. It is not as full tasting as the Keemuns I usually drink for breakfast tea. However, this one is smooth and light enough to drink on its own. I wish I had more to say about it, but alas, it is gone…… I will definitely look for Twinings when out and not able to get my usual loose leaf. They seem to be pretty reliable for good tea.

8 oz water freshly boiled, one teabag, 4 minutes. Straight up.

This is my last sample from the great Twinings sample giveaway.
I have heard good things about this tea, so I have looked forward to giving it a try.
Odor of the tea is softly malty and a bit fruity.
Taste is not real strong and I can taste a little bit of the paper bag.
Not a terrible a cup of tea,just a little light on taste for me.

I think I’ve either finally been spoiled by loose leaf, or this box of tea was stale. I’ve tried a couple of cups now and it tastes like dust and paper. Or maybe I’m just working in the library too much…

TTB Tea #16:

I’m not a black tea person- especially bagged… but I know black tea is part of the tea culture in the UK and since this is named for one of the royal family, why not? I’m a sucker for novelty teas.

The liquor is a dull brown color… CRAP! forgot to weigh this. Sigh… Oh well… Slightly sweet smooth flavor. Quite pleasing for even the not black lover like myself. Paired nicely w/ lunch- chicken parmesean. Not sure I’d drink it not paired w/ some sort of food though.

A relatively mild, pleasant breakfast tea. I bought this at the Twinings store in the UK section of Epcot, because my boyfriend and I woke up one morning in our Disney hotel and realized that Mickey doesn’t provide teabags for his guests. How lame is that? The hotel had a hot water heater and plenty of coffee, but not a single tea offering!

Anyway. So this is a great morning tea when you don’t want the forcefulness of English Breakfast or Earl Grey, but still want a properly ‘English’ sort of tea. Tastes very good with milk and sugar. I had the bagged version and it was lovely; I bet the loose tea is even better.

Wow can i say best tea i have ever had! since reading fifty shades of Gray i have been exsploring more of the twinings blends and this blend is at this point my favoret! where i am not Ana and cant just dip my teabag in for a seconds and be ok i did leave it in for about 2 minuts and it was Not bitter at all.. I seam to over brew my black teas alot and im so glad i did not do that with this one!
thanks to Fifty shades I am now an avide drinker of Twinings Prince of wales tea!

This is very british, but in a very delicate way. It is much lighter and delicate than most breakfast mixes. The official blurb compares its taste to roasted chestnuts – I would never have gotten there myself, but now I read it, it is a very good comparison. I had some teabags from a mixed Twinings box and this is the last, I am going to look for it, bagged (I am heretical, I do not mind that much, depending of course on age and circumstances) or loose.

I usually do not put sugar or milk (or anything dairy) on tea, but this is absolutely delicious with milk.

I forget what was going on but I had some sort of a tea crisis and needed some stat and picked this up at the grocery. It’s a decent cup! It’s not something that I’m going to work to make sure I keep on hand, but it’s not something I’d avoid either.

Stole teabag samplers from a hotel. Shhhhh ;)
This is a very gentle black tea. Quite subtle and tastes really good. Twinings does really good bagged black tea (i love english breakfast and am quite fond of their earl gray). This one is like a really gentle version of English breakfast. It’s even lighter colored. I’d say a perfect afternoon black tea. Would buy it…

Looks like I have been registering my version as loose leaf but I have bagged in stock…regardless I am drinking it and enjoying it!

Quite pleasantly surprised. I like it a lot! Not nearly as strong as what I usually like for breakfast, but it holds up just fine.

This one of the better Twinings chinese blacks. It isn’t amazing but it isn’t terrible. Its smooth and mild and has the least dusty taste compared to others. It isn’t strong enough for me in the morning but it is a nice relaxing tea at night. I’d love to try their loose version of this, maybe its got more of a bite.

Eh… I’m not a fan of this one. It tastes dusty somehow, and oversteeped no matter how short the steep time. I was trying to stay awake to write, so I thought I’d give this a try (my last cup was bad, as I thought I had oversteeped it.) I don’t know… there’s an unpleasant backdrop to this tea that doesn’t work for me. It is mild, but the bitter taste comes through even with milk and sugar. I don’t think I’ll be finishing my box!

I love this tea, actually drink it often even though I have not logged. I love the aftertaste, it lingers long after a sip goes down. The finish of this and Darjeeling are close. I was somewhat surprised to see that this is no longer offered in England. I still have so much to learn about tea!

One of my favorite teas. It is a great black tea that isn’t bitter. It is very smooth and just a nice cup of tea.

A very mild, pleasant tea, not bitter, a bit drying on the tongue and palate (I did not experience this when steeped for only 3 minutes). It is a subtle flavor, perhaps better without milk or cream, which can make it taste bland. I prefer the more flavorful Ceylon Orange Pekoe.

Profile: Liquor is a dark, coppery brown. Aroma is malt and wet leaves, like a combination between a pu-erh and Yunnan black. Taste is somewhat malty, with slight sweetness and the forest-floor earthiness of a Gunpowder green. Aftertaste is brief, but pleasant. Mouthfeel is smooth, with no astringency or bitterness.

Other notes: It is obvious that this is a blend, but the flavors mesh well with one another. Steeping is easy and very forgiving.

Verdict: Excellent for a bagged tea. I enjoyed the earthy sweetness and was surprised by the mellowness of the cup; it is light and refreshing compared to morning blends.

Twinnings are the only teas I drink bagged anymore, and out of them Prince of Wales is by far the best. It’s a nice mellow black tea, with or without milk. A pack of sugar is nice with it, and it has a caffine kick for those long nights of studying, or early in the morning before I go to class. Easy to brew, and delicious!