Constant Comment

I’m pretty riding the fence any time I drink this tea. On the one hand it’s pretty decent for a bagged black tea. But on the other hand compared to some of the good loose leaf I’ve had it doesn’t come close.
Even if the taste doesn’t make you scream out for joy, the smell is quite nice. Definitely a scent that would be soothing and relaxing on a cold or stressful day.
I taste and smell the orange flavor for sure. It lingers as the aftertaste for quite awhile too. The spices are right there in the background when you take a sip.
Wouldn’t write home about this tea, but it’s a decent cheap tea bag.

I’ve sampled this from a package of Vanilla Chai by Bigelow and was intrigued by the scent of this tea. However, I felt I was hit with the strong aroma and taste of cloves. I am not a fan of cloves, although I did enjoy how unique the flavor was. I did sense hints of orange, and nothing else. I am now curious to taste older versions of this flavor after having read many reviews by loyal Bigelow tea drinkers having this for 50+ years. I was honored to have sampled Bigelow’s first and original tea flavors.

It’s strongly flavored but extremely drinkable and never overpowering. If you add a hint of sugar a rich cinnamon flavor comes through. A great mug to warm you up.

Bigelow has always been my least favorite brand of tea, so I’ve never tried this one before. But Bigelow was my only option this morning, so I decided to give Constant Comment a try. It was a pleasant surprise: not amazing by any means, but not undrinkable either. There’s a mild orange flavor and a tiny hint of spice layered on top of a smooth, nondescript base. It also didn’t go bitter even though I left the tea bag in while drinking it. Not something I’ll buy for myself, but I’d drink it again.

Oh, this one always reminds me of my mother, and even though it is a “grocery store” tea, I love it. Bold black tea with a hint of orange spice. It’s also one of the few teas I always drink with milk and/or sugar.

Updated review 2018, 60: Now that I’ve tried more teas in the world, especially loose leaf, this tea is not great. Oh, it brings back so many great memories! But… I had to add almondmilk to it. It was too bitter to enjoy. I had attributed that to steeping too long (see below), but now it was too bitter for me after one sip. I’ll keep it around for the nostalgia. :)

Original review 2014, 80: This is a great, basic, spiced tea. It’s a staple in my tea cupboard, and will be unless I miraculously find an orange spice tea (with caffeine) that trumps it. My only caution is that it can turn bitter if you steep it for too long. I usually don’t take the tea bag out of my mug, so I suck this one down to avoid any astringency.

Living in our little burg, sometimes it is easier (and this time of year, far more lovely) to take eight miles of winding back roads to the small town on the east of us than to navigate main drag traffic two miles to the west of us. The trees have overgrown the little county road and turned it into a tunnel sprinkled with leaf confetti in October and November. Occasional deer and flocks of wild turkeys, too.

And the grocery store at our destination is a slightly seedy but clean King Cash Saver—they just have several items you can’t find at the mainline big town stores. One of those treats this weekend was a box of Constant Comment, on sale, no less!

It’s tea with a secret sauce of orange rind and spices, if you’ve never had it. Some of that secret sauce is nostalgia; remembering drinking it with my mom. And some of it is just plain, unassuming “just tea” with a little autumnal kick. You need to try it once. More cloves and allspice, I’m guessing, than cinnamon or cardamom. It isn’t chai-y at all.

My all time favorite tea. This is what we usually drink after Sunday dinner at Grandma Sherrill’s house. I’m looking forward to drink this on Sunday out of her Christmas tea set!

Apparently this is one of Bigelow’s best selling teas ever, and I can see why. I tried it for the first time at church (typical) and found the strong cardamom and orange overtones to the otherwise pleasingly mild black tea addictive. A box of 20 later, this is a permanent member of my cupboard. Some people may want to add cream as it has a bit of Earl Grey-like dry spice to it, but it’s wholly fantastic by itself. I like it strong, so I steep this one about 3 minutes – you can get a nice color at just 2, though.

While I generally prefer loose leaf, there’s something comforting about Constant Comment. I have heard the founder of Bigelow speak and appreciate the stories about how this company was founded. This is great as a latte – though I use two tea bags for stronger flavor.