Darjeeling

Last night I was opening some teabags and dumping the leaves into my big bag of dried, used leaves. It was disturbing.

So for some reason I decided to do the oatmeal thing again but with one of these teabags. I can actually taste how terrible it is through what should be delicious honey and cinnamon cereal. It’s not like it went bitter from then being cooked in grains for 90 seconds…it tastes like dirt.

Guess its partner is going to meet the bag of dried leaves too cause I am not drinking this. Poor Darjeeling.

I have been drinking my bagged black teas with milk and sugar for as long as I can remember. Twining’s Darjeeling has always been one of my favorites.

Since I have been drinking tea more seriously lately, this is the first time I’ve had it in a while. The initial aroma is pleasantly sweet and malty. Unfortunately, when sipped plain, it is overly bitter. I am beginning to believe that it is just not as good as I remember.

After trying some plain, I added in my typical sugar and milk and it brought back some of my former feelings. However, I can now detect the undertone of tea that just isn’t quite the quality that I thought or hoped for.

I still will drink this tea, but probably not with the regularity I once did.

Reading over the reviews of this tea, I felt I need to speak up. This tea $3 a box. If you handed me a random tea and said “I only payed $3 for the whole box”… I’d probably dump it out in your house plant and pretend to drink from the empty cup whenever you looked.

Now, with that said, I don’t feel that this tea is that bad at all. It has the very classic and stereotypical flavor of darjeeling. It can be quite bitter very quickly if you don’t watch it, but the aroma and full bodied flavor is definitely way above par for the price if the brew is good. I’m very sensitive to bitter tastes, and like to add too much sugar and some milk to this tea- this makes it VERY malty (obviously, but more than expected), and has lingering aftertaste of green grapes(?).

Taken black, it’s a great anTEAdote to all the aforementioned sugary treats.

Not my cup of tea

Bagged
Aroma when Dry: Sour, bright, slight fruit, layered
After water is first poured: musty, slight sour note, earthy
At end of steep: bright, sweet-sour, slight floral
Tea liquor:
At end of steep: dark, earthy brown-red
Staple? Type yes, will look into loose leaf of this and others next
Time of day preferred: any
Taste: slight sour, tangy, astringent, then dusty. Hints of woodiness
first notes: slight sour, slight dirt and fruit, tangy
As it cools? notes mellow, sourness balances out, tea bitters slightly
Additives used (milk, honey, sugar etc)? No
Lingers? with astringency, and tang

I’ve had this tea before and really enjoyed it, out at a restaurant. Once. The first time I had it. But then every time I’ve tried it after that, it has had a bitter taste to it that just stops any enjoyment of it.

I bought a box of it, determined to see if I could recapture that first cup. This morning it gets standard breakroom treatment – splenda and a creamer tub. Bleah.

Tried adding a second packet of Splenda. Still not really good, but tolerable.

I will have to try a shorter steep.

(Waxed my spinning wheel last night. It looks so much better. Waiting on bobbins and a driveband tension knob to be able to spin.)

I’m not sure why this tea appears twice on Steepster, so I’m just going to post the same review under both of them.

I first tried a bagged Darjeeling tea from Lupicia. It was a Second Flush and pretty light. I probably watered it down too much, which I tend to do sometimes with Lupicia teas.

But this Twinings bagged version was a completely different experience, and not for the better! This wasn’t watered down at all. It created a nice brown liquor and seemed to be a normal cup of tea. I drank it straight without milk or sweetener.

It’s not the worst thing I’ve ever tasted, but I did not like its taste at all. It’s hard for me to pinpoint what it is I don’t like. I think it’s just the taste of the tea itself. It’s not that it’s bitter or astringent. It just tastes…not good.

The first sip is unassuming, average, black tea. But then it’s just yucky. I couldn’t finish my cup. But my boyfriend drank his and the rest of mine down and said, “It just tastes like tea. I don’t know what you don’t like about it.” And neither do I.

But this is not one I’d buy again. Now I want to try the Lupicia version again for further taste comparison.

Anyone know why this is called the “champagne of teas”? It does elicit the same reaction from me as champagne: Blech. I’ll give it that.

I almost never have teabags in my apartment but I am currently stuck at home for the next couple of weeks and my parents have a gigantic amount of teabags. So I thought I would review some and try to restrain from sounding like a loose tea snob. This darjeeling isn’t terrible considering its twinnings but its still pretty bland with a flat muscatel flavor. It has a slight sweetness but it borders on tasting like dust. I drink it straight, milk and sugar would just make it a glorified milkshake in my mind. Meh.

(Guest post from my mom Joi!)

There are certain varieties (and brands) of tea that I always have on hand. Always. Twinings Darjeeling Tea is one of the ones I’m most loyal to.

I just realized, I can’t imagine NOT having Darjeeling tea on hand. Unheard of!

Did you know that Twinings was founded in London, England in 1706? Talk about longevity and on the job experience. Little wonder they’re one of the best tea brands in the business. You pick up a bit of knowledge over hundreds of years, I’d imagine.

Darjeeling tea is one of those teas that tastes exceptional iced or hot. For people like me, who drink tea all day and all night, this is a must. If I had to choose my favorite way to enjoy a cup of Darjeeling, however, it’d be hot. Now here’s the kicker, I’m a honey fanatic and add honey to most of the cups of hot tea I drink. However, even I wouldn’t dream of adding anything to a cup of Darjeeling tea. It’d seem…well, wrong. This tea has a hint of sweetness without adding anything at all. That, as well as its beautiful fragrance, make this one of my favorite teas.

This Heavenly intense black tea is from the foothills of the Himalayas, and it doesn’t let you forget its exotic background for one second. Some teas are perfectly content to have a subtle, almost shy, personality. They don’t make a lot of noise, you know. They’re just happy to be in your presence. If you want to add a little fruit, fine. If you want to stir in a little honey, great. If you want to eat cookies or pie as you sip, wonderful. Have at it. It’s all about you, and these subtle teas insist on being your second in command.

Then there’s Darjeeling Tea. Darjeeling Tea is the star of the show, with a delightful diva-like presence that I LOVE. If you’ve never tried Darjeeling Tea, you have to grab some Twinings Darjeeling Tea and prepare to fall in love.

You’ll find yourself following the same ritual I do:

- I open the box of Twinings Darjeeling Tea
- I put my nose to the box and inhale the wonderful aroma
- I joyfully brew up an amazing mug to enjoy, sometimes two
- I wonder how I ever got along without Darjeeling

It’s a wonderful ritual and one I highly recommend. :)

I like this the best with a little splash of milk.

Horrible; made me retch. Could someone direct me to a tasty darjeeling?

I’ve had this tea several times over the past few days, with varying results. If oversteeped, it can have a bitter edge I don’t like, and milk and sugar does not overcome it. The first time, and this last time, I think I got it right, about 3 minutes, 15 seconds steep time, and the taste is sweet, a little flowery but not perfumy. I might call it a dessert tea. It does have a drying after-affect on the tongue and palate, however, like Assam teas.

I tried this once before, as was far from blown away by this tea. I decided to try this tea one more time, I admit, because I was drawn back to the pretty purple box and the elegance of the name of this tea. Darjeeling. It just sounds like a word made up to be used in poetry.

Ah well. I was optimistic for the first sip, and I was initially surprised by my earlier memory of this tea. As I get near the middle of this cup, I start wanting to get this stale, papery aftertaste from off of my tongue. Quite a shame, as the initial taste of the tea and the smell coming off of the tea is very warm and inviting. I think I notice the aftertaste more with this tea because of the underwhelming strength of this tea. Unlike what I’ve read about this tea, I really do not notice any particular bitterness to the drink, even after steeping this cup for a little over four minutes.

Dull, slightly unpleasant, I have a suspicion that this tea would taste better iced. As a hot drink, this tea leaves me feeling disappointed.

This tea was… all right. That’s pretty much all it was. I think I may have steeped it too long, or at too high of a temperature… or something, because it was just too bitter, even with two teaspoons of sugar. I don’t drink Darjeeling often, but I wasn’t under the impression that it was supposed to taste like it was oversteeped. So, I added some milk, and it seemed to be all right after that… but again, that’s all it was. Somewhat disappointing, but perhaps worth a second try. I’m pretty easy. ;)

This tea is mediocre. The price should be lowered so that it fits in better with all the other “ordinary teabags” instead of being shelved with the “fine teabags.” (Before you laugh at the irony, just realize that some teabags really are better than others, even though none can compare to loose-leaf.)

If the branding seduces you into expecting the highest quality you can get from a bag, you’ll be disappointed in the unappealing flavor.

If you treat this as “just another teabag” and add milk + sugar, you’ll be pleased — but then again, you could be equally pleased with a cheaper teabag.

Probably the worst alleged Darjeeling I’ve ever tasted. Very disappointing. No muscatel. Just stale, weak tea.

Profile: Liquor is a dark, partially opaque brown. Aroma is malty and sweet. Taste is malty as well, but an overpowering bitterness masks any sweetness. Aftertaste is brief and unpleasant. Mouthfeel has an excessively astringent bite.

Other notes: The bitterness and astringency become progressively more dominant as the tea cools.

Verdict: This is a poor example of Darjeeling tea, without any of the characteristic fruitiness or muscatel notes. Instead of a pleasantly crisp bite, it is excessive and masks any flavor but malt. I will not drink this tea again, and I would advise steering clear of it.

The first time I made a cup of this tea I thought I made it wrong.

Here I am, many cups later, realizing that no matter how I make this tea, it just tastes like dishwater. YUCK.

I’ve steeped it for two minutes, three minutes, up to five minutes. I’ve added Splenda and real sugar and honey. I’ve microwaved my water and made it in a traditional tea kettle. Nothing helps. Nothing makes it better.

I want to like this tea because I’ve had good Darjeeling tea, and other Twinings teas I’ve had have always been consistent and good. (Their Irish Breakfast is one of my favorites.) But this… this is just unsalvageable. Every time I try to make another cup and put all preconceived notions out of my head so I can try and enjoy it… Dishwater. I suppose it has a slight bitterness that one could point to a light black tea with, but the flavor is just so flat and unsavory that I’m not willing to dig that deep to keep drinking it.

This is the only tea you will ever see me time the brewing of precisely. I’ve admittedly ruined many a cup by forgetting to set a timer for 5 minutes, and employing my usual “make it, set it down to cool to a drinkable temp, and walk away, sometimes forgetting it for upwards of 20 minutes” method. Beyond 5 minutes, it gets so bitter as to be utterly unenjoyable. But, at 5 minutes, it makes a good cup.

And this is about my 4th cup of tea today. It’s just been THAT kind of day, apparently…