Leaf Tea (Loose Leaf)

I got this at the Middle Eastern market where I go to buy all my cheap teas. I just got it a month ago and the expiration label already says Feb 2012 so that was clearly my mistake.

It is strange that the leaves in this loose leaf pack are ground up so fine, it’s like they just used the same tea that they would use for teabags. Is it necessary to be THAT cheap?

Anyway I digress. I steeped this for 4 minutes with boiling water and it is generically average, mundane is definitely the word that comes to mind (see my rating scale on the right). I wouldn’t choose to bring this with me on a desert island but if it was there I would most likely drink it. :)

I think it might be a Ceylon, there is a bit of briskness in the cup, a slight bitterness. I did run off to get some soymilk to throw in this, but oddly enough I liked it better plain. I don’t know if this is my tastebuds adapting or what.

I’ve been thinking about doing an art project with tea and this would be a likely culprit. Though I reckon the tannins in tea would eat away at paper and such over the years.

A treat—-was able to pick up an experimental ounce bulk at my getting-better-all-the-time favorite little health food store. Looks just like PG tips—ground fine, but used in the same proportions, seems to be just a tetch lighter and brighter in flavor (not in appearance). Would have to do a side-by-side comparison to be sure, and tea geeky as I am, I’d love to do that, but time is going to be a tight commodity this week. (Sigh. Not a great thought for an early Monday morning.)

I ran across this several months ago, and having an interest in British teas (and the cheap price tag) I picked up a box. Just today I finally tried a cup.

As soon as I opened the bag I had second thoughts. It looked worse that the tea in the teabags that I get at many of the local restaurants… the tea was tiny and granular. I wondered for a second if maybe it was instant. Rereading the box I realized it was not, but didn’t see how it would stay in a strainer. I got the finest mesh one in my possession and brewed up a cup to see how it would go.

It brewed very darkly! It looked more like coffee than tea. Typically, when learning about a cup of tea I start with it plain, then add things in to see if creamer or sweetener enhances the flavor. This one I just went straight to the doctoring up phase.

And you know what? It was actually pretty good. It’s not something I’d really look forward to having, but if it were rainy or cold out and I just wanted a basic cuppa, it would hit the spot! So I guess I’ve learned my lesson about preconceived notions…. this one will end up staying in my pantry until I finish it!

A typical English breakfast blend, similar to PG Tips. It is a finely ground tea, fannings rather than leaf. The first taste is a brisk Ceylon, followed by the maltiness of the Assam. But the tea is rather harsh and somewhat bitter aftertaste, even with honey and two packets of splenda, as well as half and half, to tame it. Oh well, at least it is not bland and tasteless like Lipton or Tetley. When I visited friends in England fifteen years ago, I thought this tea tasted great, so much better than American tea.

When I bought this tea, I wondered why the box was labeled “Leaf Tea” rather than “Loose Leaf Tea”. I soon found out when I opened the foil bag inside keeping the “leaves” fresh.

Leaf Quality:
I opened the bag, and what I found was unexpected. The tea was very finely cut/ground, more so than CTC. Some pieces were larger than others, but the tea could be compared to grains of salt. Some pieces were very dark while others were a lighter brown. They smelled better than it looked; almost like a crisp orange pekoe or English breakfast. However, this tea would have gone better in bags, as it is pretty difficult to filter tea so finely ground.

Brewed Tea:
The tea dust produced a dark brown cuppa, with a slight reddish hue. It smelled malty, and a bit chocolaty. There wasn’t much character in the tea. Perhaps there was some Assam in this. It was crisp, just as it smelled, and I had brewed it a bit strong (I have a feeling this tea can withhold longer steepings).

I decided to add a lemon slice, and a tiny squeeze of lemon juice. This lightened the color a bit, and made the tea more pleasant. As I mentioned before, this tea lacks the character that other teas possess. There wasn’t anything in particular that stood out to me. However, I’m sure this will make a nice iced tea.

This is not my favorite tea, but it was nice to drink something to soothe to my sore throat and my terrible cough.

This tea instantly transports me to my days at Oxford, senior summer of high school. I am by no means an old fogey, but I am a sentimental human who misses England terribly!

It is basic, strong, black tea, ground finer than most loose leaf. I like it strong, with whole milk, no sugar. Not much to say flavor-wise, but I have a soft spot for it. What can I say?

Paul McCartney mentions that he and John Lennon would try to smoke this in his dads pipe. Hmm? I like the loose leaf Typhoo good with milk or without, very powdery and dark, but compared to cheap American tea it is way more flavorful. It tastes like black tea should. The Typhoo tea bags I have found to be way less consistent in quality.

Attempt #1 at making Snapple: Tried this iced with Lemon Green from English Tea Store and a bunch of sugar. Not bad, but a kind of weird aftertaste.

This one is good. It has a pleasant, hay-like smell in the pouch, and brews up nice and stout. It’s somewhat powdery, so unless your mesh is extra fine, it will leave some little bits of tea in your cup, if it matters to you.

I bought some of this tea at a local British specialty store. I think I might have put too much (about 3 tablespoons) tea into the coffee filter when I made this (I was in a rush).
It tastes like your generic bland black tea. It’s very bitter if you care for that in a tea (a little too bitter for me). Also, it’s more of ground tea than loose leaf. It looks like someone just emptied out the ground black tea from the Typhoo bagged tea and packaged it as loose leaf tea.