136 Tasting Notes
Overall, this is a nice cup of tea. I don’t know if I’ve just become used to strong Assams, but the strength was a little lighter than I expected…strong enough for the morning, but maybe not for the first cup. However, it is very smooth, and, as with other Twinings products, great for the price that you pay.
Solid everyday tea…good strength and flavor, what most people are looking for when they see “English Breakfast Tea.” I usually go to it for my second cup of the day, after starting with a stronger Assam. I haven’t had this one in a while, just commenting on it now because I’m looking forward to adding it back. I have a lot of it back in North Carolina, and I’m heading back the end of the week. I’m definitely planning on starting my first day back to work with this one! :)
This could definitely be added to the regular rotation as a nice afternoon black tea. It has the Yunnan flavor, but a little lighter than I expected…so it’s not one I’d grab in the morning when I’m looking for a stronger black tea. It’s really smooth, which also adds to the enjoyment. You can’t go wrong with Twinings for quality inexpensive teas. :)
This is a good inexpensive bagged green tea. I drink quite a few bagged black teas, but I go with loose leaf teas for green most of the time. If I do go with a bagged green tea, it’s usually this one or the Choice Premium Japanese Green Tea. It’s somewhat vegetal and pleasantly bitter, and a decent strength and flavor. It’s grassy, tastes like a Japanese tea to me, which of course I love.
I like jasmine green tea every once in a while, but it’s not my favorite. This was in a green tea variety pack that I purchased, and I made it today because my sister really likes jasmine green tea. It’s a nice balance, the jasmine flavor is not overwhelming. I said that I would buy more of it after trying it initially 3 weeks ago, and I do like drinking it, but there are so many other teas that I love…I honestly can’t see myself choosing it regularly. I wouldn’t turn it down if it was offered to me, but I won’t be buying it. I generally prefer black and green teas that do not have added flavors. I do like a lychee black tea I bought a couple months ago, but, just like the jasmine green, I get tired of it after a while. I never get tired of the unflavored black and green teas. My sister will enjoy this one more, so she gets the rest!
This is another free sample, only the second time I have tried tea with tulsi, the other one was a green tea from Teabox. The tulsi seemed to mix better with the Darjeeling green tea. I pretty much only taste the tulsi in this one, it masks what looks like a Darjeeling black…maybe tulsi would mix better with a stronger Assam. I enjoyed the tea, but would not buy it.
I thought I had finished my gyokuro yesterday, but I just realized that I still have 1 oz left from a green tea variety pack I purchased! :) I almost went for the gyokuro again today, but I figured that I better try to make it last. It was a good change going with sencha today…the extra grassiness and bite are enjoyable…and so is the significant difference in price compared to the gyokuro…great everyday tea.
It’s dangerous having this tea in my cupboard. I purchased 2 oz about 6 weeks ago, and I’m finishing it up now. I tried to make it last, but it’s so good. It’s the perfect mix of sweet and vegetal/grassy, and so smooth. It doesn’t have any bitterness, which I sometimes want, and can get from a cheaper sencha. The 2 oz of tea cost me $20 (not counting the tin), which is very steep, so I’ll most likely look elsewhere for a gyokuro in the future. I steeped it for 1 minute for the first steep, and then 2 minutes for later steeps. It is good warm, instead of hot, as recommended…I drink fast, so I do not have any trouble finishing a cup before it’s cool. I’ve seen a recommendation for using heated mugs with this tea, since it is meant to be served warm instead of hot. Would anyone recommend any slightly cheaper gyokuros? Thanks!
I’ve gotten back in the habit of drinking a lot of Assam and Yunnan black tea, so I wanted to take the day off from them and do a lighter black tea this morning. I bought 200 grams of this one, and I’m definitely happy with my purchase. I steeped it too long when I first tried it last week. Today, I limited the first steep to 2 minutes, then increased every subsequent steep by 1 minute. I had initially thought it was strong for a Darjeeling tea, but it was just because I steeped it too long. It’s nice and balanced…not weak, but kind of what you would expect from a Darjeeling. Limiting the steep time allowed me to catch the fruity flavor a little bit more, which was very enjoyable…good for sipping in the afternoon…not enough to get me going, but, I don’t want to depend on caffeine to get me going…at least not all the time. :P
This tea is very interesting. It’s smoky like a gunpowder green tea, but smoother, with just a hint of pleasant bitterness. I just read that they use Chinese plants in India for this tea, so that makes sense, because it kind of tastes like a cross between gunpowder green and Darjeeling. Teabox said to steep for 4-5 minutes, but I limited my first steep to 2 minutes, then increased by a minute for the second and third steeps, and another minute for the 4th steep…it easily held up to 5 steeps, impressive! Very good tea, enjoying my first Kangra tea experience!
