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I have enjoyed this tea several times, trying to get some thoughts written down with little success. Therefore, rather than being a review of one cup, this entry is more of an overview.

I have chosen this cup several times for different reasons. It has a strong enough flavour (somewhere between English Breakfast and Orange Pekoe), but it is still smooth and gentle, especially as it cools. I think it is the Assam in the blend that lends it such smoothness (I am told that Assam is ‘malty’, but I don’t know what ‘malty’ tastes like!) I think it’s good for the “brisk awakening” it promises.

The problem, I find, is that it is difficult to think of something interesting to say about it. Don’t get me wrong, I love this tea – it’s a delicious, delightful cup – but nothing really stands out about it. I can’t think of much that sets it apart from other "breakfast’ teas aside from its strength.

The verdict is that this is a wonderful medium-strength cup, but doesn’t do much of anything to set itself apart as something special. Perhaps that is just the way with breakfast teas.

Recommended for those looking for a slightly stronger breakfast tea.

I had heard good things about The Republic of Tea, so when I saw their new chai blend for sale at Chapters, I decided to give the brand a try. 

This definitely is a different sort of chai. The bags have a strong and unique aroma – the spices really come through. They come through in the brewed tea as well, resulting in a ‘peppery’ taste – the result of the ginger in particular. In comparison, the rest of the tea isn’t very strong at all. It’s not as is the other flavours are completely dwarfed by the ginger, they simply aren’t there. The first sign was the almost total lack of colour (in a BLACK TEA). Even after several minutes of steeping (the tin does say ‘Traditionally steeped strong’), there’s only a weak indication of what could have been a good chai hiding somewhere underneath. 

The flavour of the tea is there if you look for it, but it seems to be cowering behind the mild bite of the spices.

I will have to try something different from The Republic of Tea next time, because this cup didn’t strike my fancy.

I grew up drinking Tetley Tea, and still make sure I have lots of it on hand. I have never been able to brew a cup as good as my Mother’s however; mine always seem too strong. To this day, when she offers me a cup of “tea the way it should be”, I can scarcely refuse.

I seem to have done decently on today’s cup. I was in need of a nice, hot beverage because of a mild cold I have picked up, and Tetley turned out to be a good choice. Its warming effect definitely soothed the symptoms! I also managed to find the right balance of milk and sugar.

Today’s Tetley was just right. It was warm, sweet, and flavourful, with no bitterness, even in the aftertaste! I find that if brewed for for a slightly shorter time it makes a more well-balanced cup. It does not take long to overbrew Tetley, resulting in quite a strong cup indeed.

Tetley is a staple for me, something that epitomizes “tea”.

Recommended for those who just want “tea”, plain and simple.

I decided to pick up a Timmie’s Steeped Tea (1 cream, 2 sugars) with my lunch today, as part of my (delicious!) lunch combo. If you’re in a hurry or otherwise not keeping track of time, bagged tea may become over-steeped. Timmie’s steeped tea is a good option for on-the-go tea.

I usually find that the milk – or cream, or whatever they are using at Timmie’s – gives their steeped tea a strange taste. A few times before I have been given a cup of tea that tastes as though the milk in it has spoiled – not today! Today I was greeted by a warm and welcoming cup.

While the cream does have a strong effect on the tea, it is still a delightful drink – although, I should had asked for more sugar. There is an initial sweetness, but it does not linger.

Sadly, I stretched this cup out too long, and the last bits were rather cold, bringing out the tiniest bit of bitterness. I would not say that Timmie’s compares to a home-brewed cup, but it’s definitely a welcome treat on a cold day.

Recommended for those who want a good cup on the go.

English Breakfast is absolutely one of my favourite teas.

STASH makes a lovely English Breakfast. It is mild, with almost no aroma, while still possessing considerable flavour. As it is a black tea, I added milk and sugar, which blend well, and yet seem to remain somehow distinct. This is a gentle tea that, in this instance, I enjoyed unaccompanied – which is to say, without food – but I imagine it would go well with a lighter meal or snack (anything too heavy would distract from the tea).

I enjoyed a second cup without milk, and the flavour is (naturally) more pronounced, with just the tiniest bit of bitterness. It’s still a tea that I can enjoy with only sugar, though.

Recommended for those who like a gentle tea that is still quite flavourful.

I decided upon this tea for a meeting this morning, sipping away as the speakers made their presentations. Despite its sweet and slightly floral aroma, I must admit that this tea was not what I was expecting; at least, not compared to the darjeeling I had tried previously. I returned a few times to the station at the room’s rear to add more sugar or milk, trying to ease its strong bitterness. In the end I simply nursed the cup until the tea had gone, not enjoying it as much as I had hoped.

I’m tempted to write off the bitterness as being a result of the wooden stir sticks that were offered – I don’t usually use them unless I have to, as I find they affect the taste of the tea(s) – but it was rather strong to be a result of just that. The sweetness managed to come through a bit. I think that, perhaps if I prepared it a bit differently, I could enjoy this tea. This cup, however, did not impress.

I recieved a few bags of this chai as part of a gift, along with a tea pot and two other tea samples. It is among the teas that I keep in my “Hot Beverage Station” at work. I decided to finally try this tea yesterday, and again today.

For some reason I remember it being better yesterday – perhaps I gave the water a bit of a stir before pouring? It seems like it was stronger yesterday than it is today; which isn’t to say that it’s very strong. Rather, it’s very gentle, instead of being overpowering (as compared to the STASH brand I also have, which is stronger). It possesses more aroma than flavour – I can smell the lovely spices of the chai, but the actual taste is rather thin and flat.

Strength aside, this tea is delightfully free of bitterness and lends itself well to sweetening. I normally add milk and sugar to my tea – a tiny bit of milk to ease the bitterness, and sugar to sweeten the deal, so to speak. But a lack of milk had me adding sugar only, with favourable results. The flavour of this chai is so mild that adding milk would probably have been a mistake.

Recommended for those who enjoy milder flavours.