37 Tasting Notes

45
drank English Breakfast by Bigelow
37 tasting notes

I’ll drink this if nothing else is available. But I would rather have almost any other black tea. This is just not all that great. Still, sometimes when you’re at a convention or a hotel, you take what you can get.

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74

Nice full leaf green tea. Was pleasantly surprised when I picked a canister of this up at the local middle-eastern grocery on a whim. The leaves almost bloom when brewing, and it makes a nice smooth green tea. The leaves are large enough in dried form that they don’t fall through the holes in any of my infusers, and the canister seals back up nicely after use. My only negative reaction to this tea was that when I tried to use it to make some green-tea iced tea, it did not brew up as clear as I had hoped. It had a bit of a cloudiness to it. But that did not take away from the flavor, which was very nice. I am normally not much of a green tea drinker, but I could definitely drink this again, and will.

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44
drank English Breakfast by Stash Tea
37 tasting notes

Meh. It is not as good as most bagged black teas. In fact, as far as English Breakfast tea goes, the only bagged teas I have found so far that are inferior to the Stash bags are Bigelow and the generic “store” brands. This tea brewed up too weak, and tasting stale, even though I bought a box with a current freshness date on it. Also, the thing I hate the most about it is that the strings always seem to pull loose from the staple in the bag! I guess my bottom line is that I would take this over some generic brand or a cup of Bigelow, but not much else. It’s better than nothing. But not a LOT better than nothing, mind you.

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58
drank Prince of Wales by Twinings
37 tasting notes

Seems a bit too mild and weak for my tastes (I have enjoyed Twinings British Breakfast and Irish Breakfast before, so perhaps I just like stronger teas). Seemed “refined” but maybe a little too watery. My friends in the UK thought it was funny that we could get this tea here in the US, but it’s apparently hard to find in the UK… perhaps they think it’s too watery, as well. Would I buy it again? Maybe… but not if I could find something more robust. It’s better than some, but not as good as most, if you follow my line of thinking.

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40

Definitely can taste the dense smokiness of this tea — it tastes a bit like burnt pine sap. Not my favorite.

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 4 min, 0 sec

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87

Loved this when I found it on a trip to the UK last year, and brought home an extra box… only to discover that not only is it not available in the US, it is not going to be available again in the US, either! I even went so far as to email Twinings and they told me that the demand for this tea was not high enough to produce it in the USA… but it appears it is still in demand in the UK, and I learned it can be found at almost any Tesco store. My response to Twinings was that of course it’s not in demand in the US… when you stop producing something, eventually the demand dwindles to zero, and people won’t discover it because it is no longer being sold. So it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy, if you ask me. I would love to have a LOT more of this tea. It is definitely one of my favorites. But it appears that for a box of 80 bags, it would cost me $10.40 USD plus $4.50 USD shipping to have a box shipped from the UK. Bummer. If anyone knows how to get it less expensively, send me a note!

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 4 min, 30 sec
redtea81

If you live in the united states, I would encourage you to check out the web site www.teadog.com . They sell many teas that are hard to find or not sold in the u.s. (and they have a good supply of them). I checked for the Twinings 1706 and currently they have 17 in stock. Admittedly, their price + shipping would be more expensive than ordering from the UK but on the flip side you don’t have to wait several weeks to get your order . I recently ordered a package of Tetley that is made in UK (and not sold in the u.s.). Happy shopping to you! :)

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75
drank Lady Grey by Twinings
37 tasting notes

Tried this again, and thought it smelled a bit like… yes, Froot Loops. Thought I was crazy, and then I read some of the comments here that said the same thing. A bit too weak for my tastes, and even brewing it longer doesn’t make it much stronger. Still, a nice refined tea, and my wife and daughter both like it because it’s light and is good sweetened. Also, I think the fact that it tastes more like orange has been added (as opposed to the bergamot of Earl Grey) makes it a more pleasant drink.

Preparation
4 min, 0 sec

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75
drank Lady Grey by Twinings
37 tasting notes

Nice tea with cornflowers and other citrusy spices. Very pleasant. Even my wife, who does not like most teas or other hot beverages, likes this one (with a bit of sugar and milk). It doesn’t have the astringent taste the Earl Grey has, and it is pleasant and mild. Although frankly, I prefer the English Breakfast and Irish Breakfast teas sold by Twinings. My local store has this along with English, Irish, and Earl Grey all available in the metal tins, which is nice. I’ve also had this in the variety pack. Frankly, I prefer it loose, because it just looks nicer and you can see the blue flowers in the mix. Seems to need to steep just a little longer than the breakfast teas do, in order to have the strength be comparable.

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 4 min, 45 sec

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70
reviewed PerfecTea Maker by Teavana
37 tasting notes

I’ve had mine for about 6 months, and it does not leak, nor does it clog. I have had no trouble cleaning it, and it seems durable. It’s plastic, and does show smudging/fingerprints unless you clean it thoroughly with soap and water after use, and if you use the device with too small a cup you will have an overflow (I haven’t measured, but it holds more than a teacup… more like a travel mug), but those are my only complaints. I’ve tried it with finings (taken out of a tea bag) and with whole leaf tea, and either work very well — although the loose tea looks nicer when it is brewing. I have seen a similar device at both Distinctly Tea and at DAVIDsTEA in Canada, and I also saw a larger version at Teavana. This one is just perfect for my uses — a full container results in a nearly-full travel mug.

shotwell

Update — Broke my PerfecTea the other day. I dropped it and one of the feet broke off. Tried to repair it with some dremel work and a spare piece of similar plastic I had lying around, but it only lasted one more day. Guess I will need to buy another one, or something similar! Will definitely buy another… and I’ll be more careful with it this time.

Relmaster

My perfect tea is on it’s last legs as well ..Lol !! I was thinking about getting the ingenuiTEA by adagio.. http://steepster.com/teas/teaware/15373-adagio-ingenuitea
It comes very highly recommended by most “Steepste’s” !!!!

shotwell

Good thought — I may try out the ingenuiTEA as well. Really liked my PerfecTea, until the legs broke. I have also seen a similar tea maker at davidsTEA in Canada. You can bet I’ll look for weak points in the design, though, before I spend my money on one!

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80

Picked up this at Distinctly Tea in Waterloo, Ontario, for about $19 USD. It is a single small double-walled glass with a finum infuser basket and cover/lid. It is perfect for a small glass (5 oz. or so) of tea. Seems to be most appropriate for a green tea or oolong tea (certainly not for a tea with milk). The glass remains relatively cool to the touch even after pouring hot water in it. My only complaint is that it’s pretty small, and basically only good for a single cup at a time. The finum brewing basket fits nicely and has a removable ring with handle at the top, and a plastic lid that doubles as a rest for the filter basket after the tea is done steeping. It’s a classy little item… but I have also seen the Bodum version of something like this in single and multiple-glass sets, and might consider that one instead.

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 3 min, 45 sec

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