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It’s been a while since I had bread pudding, but this definitely tastes like it. Strong sweetness to this naturally, with raisin flavor and bread and custard notes. This is like a party in my mouth. The flavors explode, and it isn’t at all subtle. It’s right there OOMPH Bread Pudding!

Very delicious. I wish I could get a pound of this to drink every day. Good stuff.

It’s 12:30, and I just finished breakfast. Yes, breakfast. At Noon-Thirty. Don’t judge me.

Anyway, that means it’s Earl Grey time!

This is another one from that Earl Grey box I ordered from Staples. I’ve already had the regular Bigelow Earl Grey and think it’s lovely, so I was interested to try this “deluxe” version.

Brewed 212F/4min/12oz.

Taste is… meh. It isn’t very strong. Maybe I should have decreased the water amount for the tea, but then that has never been a problem with the usual Bigelow EG. Also, this is a very dark liquor. I don’t see how it could be a case of the tea being brewed too weak. It’s just the flavor is weak. Adding a Splenda to see if that helps.

It helps a smidge. The main difference between pre-sweetener and post-sweetener is it’s a more palatable “Meh”. Yinz know I like that big, in-your-face bergamot, and this ain’t it. This is a mellow, gentle EG, which as I always say, may be great for some people, not so much for me. I like to be able to taste the bergamot oil, not just have it be an aftersip thing. I will say the black tea base on this is decent, but it slightly leans bitter, even with the Splenda added.

Overall? I hate to say it, but I much prefer the original Bigelow EG. This one is smoother and subtler, but when I’m drinking my breakfast cuppa (whenever that may be) I want something strong. This misses strong by a bunch. It’s not bad tea, mind you. It doesn’t taste bad at all. More that it doesn’t taste period. I think I’ll have to save this for days when I want a cup to soothe me, rather than wake me up.

This gets a C.

This not only has anise in it, it is HEAVY on the anise.

I’m so glad this was in a sampler pack and not a full box.

EWWWW. I hate licorice anything.

I couldn’t bring myself to do more than take a few sips. I don’t think it’s bad tea, I just despise licorice.

Ew.

Got dumped.

Cuppa #3

This is heavy on the spice. I’m only getting a bit of chocolate, but it’s playing off nicely against the spice. There’s big cinnamon and nutmeg, and a surprisingly nice base. Wow, I wasn’t expecting this to even be drinkable. Hell, I half bought this just to see how bad it could be. But it’s actually good? Out of my three mugs so far today, this is the best.

You know what this tastes like? Pumpkin Spice Hot Chocolate. I’ve never had that before, but the flavor tastes very much like if you blended hot chocolate and pumpkin spice. It’s tasty. I can’t believe I’m recommending a bagged Pu, but this is really good. I mean, as with all these bagged teas, I will never beat out loose leaf, but I really think I could stash a few of these in my purse and enjoy them on the go. Good stuff.

Solid B.

Cuppa #2. And wouldn’t you know, it’s an Earl Grey!

Ok, so fair warning, I have no idea what it means to have an “Aged Earl Grey”, but seeing as how I bought every EG on Staples’ website, it came with the set.

Bit less scientific on this one. K-Water/5min/12oz/1 bag. I know full well that means I am underleafing for my water amount, but I didn’t want to add two bags. My mugs are just too big, I suppose.

Taste is… um, is it supposed to be that… whatever that is. It’s that odd profile again that may or may not be raisin. It’s a flavor that is metallic, but sweet. Someday I’ll figure it out.

EDIT It occurs to me my Keurig may need descaling. That could be why so many black teas have that weird flavor to them. I will start preparing my black teas via kettle and see if there is a difference in flavor.

Anyway, the bergamot I love so much is very lacking here. It’s there, just not as much as I like. I like a bold bergamot, and this? it’s just too subtle for me. Now, for some people, that might be a bonus, but here, it isn’t doing it for me. I am getting a lovely black tea flavor that isn’t at all bitter or astringent, and only a touch tannic. There’s a bit of wet earth there, if you really start trying to pick apart flavors. Honestly, this tastes more like a good black tea than anything Earl Grey. It’s frustrating because I was excited for the prospect of a really good bagged EG, instead, it’s just too dang subtle for me. Maybe adding sugar/splenda to it would bring out the bergamot, but I’m not really feeling sweetener tonight.

All in all: It’s not a bad tea but it’s not a good Earl Grey

Well, My order from staples arrived today. If you are wondering why I ordered from Staples of all places, it’s because I wanted to place a tea order to try some new Earl Greys, however, my cash wallet was empty for the month. I’ll leave it up to you to figure out how this got paid for.

Anway, box arrived while I was sleeping, and when I woke up, it was waiting for me on my kitchen chair. I love my mom. However, being that I just woke up, and would like to get some stuff done, it was time to try the “Awake English Breakfast” from the Tazo variety pack

Enough about me, ON TO THE TEA.

Now, I should probably begin by saying that I tried to be as scientific about this as possible, regarding the brewing instructions on the package. I wanted to try it their way first. So water was from Keurig (somewhere around 210F), 5min/8oz/one bag.

I want to begin, while it’s cooling, to say that it was very odd that this didn’t seem to want to steep right? I stuck the bag in the tea… and nothing happened. Nothing happened for three minutes; the water remained clear. I then dunked the teabag a bit, and POOF the tea appeared. Not sure if this is a common trait among this type of tea or this brand of tea, but I wanted to include it here.

The flavor is… not bad. Actually, not bad at all. Not good mind you, this will never beat anything loose-leaf, and especially not my tippy Yunnans. But for a CTC black, it’s decent. I’ve had worse. I’m getting strong tannins, and a large hit of astringency. There are also notes of wet leaves, leather, and possibly raisin? It’s that same bitey/sharp note I always have trouble identifying in tea. It is a little bitter, but as an English breakfast, I think that’s to be expected. However, you guys all know my sweet-tooth, and I didn’t require sweetener.

All and all, what do I think? Well, as I said. It ain’t great. But it’s decent. Actually, I’d put this slightly above average, when in comparison to other bagged English Breakfast teas. Not that I’ve had a bunch, but it’s better than the others I’ve tried. Never gonna beat a loose-leaf, but if you need something quick and easy, give it a shot.

C- overall, B for it’s kind.

Welp, this sample has been sitting in my drawer since I last ordered from Mandala, aka a year ago. Not sure how that will affect the taste of the tea, but here goes.

Now, I know, like most oolongs, this is likely meant to be gong-fu. But as you all know, I really don’t do gong-fu, so it’s brewed western style with low steep times. I did give it a rinse though first for 10 seconds.

Brewed: 195F/12oz/5g/30sec (first steep)

Taste is… very complex. I’m getting a strong roasted flavor, along with sweetness, and… onion? Like, is this supposed to taste like onions? It’s odd. I’ll have to look.
Wow, so caramelized onions are listed as a flavor. It’s an odd profile, but not unpleasant. There’s a bit of honey there too, but it’s muted. It really does taste like caramelized onions!
As it cools, the bitey onion flavor mellows out, leaving a lingering sweetness behind. There’s a note of toast? I really hate trying to describe these complex cuppas. My palate isn’t nearly refined enough for this type of tea. Just take my word that it’s complex and hard to pin down all the flavors. It should be noted that I rarely drink oolong, and I don’t think I’ve ever had a roasted oolong before, so this is uncharted territory for me.

Overall, this is pretty good. Definitely different from my usual fare! I’m not going to give a numerical rating as I have no idea how to judge this compared to other oolongs. I may have to branch out and try some different oolongs in my next order.

Ok, just a quickie to start tonight off, I’m gonna begin this by letting yinz know this is somewhat outside my comfort zone as far as teas go. It’s got coconut and banana, both of which are not my favorite flavor profiles, but I wanted to, how should I put this, I wanted to try something that I wouldn’t normally drink tonight. So Cheshire Cat it is.

I steeped this Western, Keurig water, 4.5g/12oz/9min. One of these days I will invest in a water thermometer so I can gauge what temp my Keurig brews water at. Today is not that day. Tomorrow has potential, but don’t hold your breath.

Taste without sugar is… Ok, I don’t know what that is. There’s heavy woodiness from the Honeybush, and I can taste the banana and coconut. But I think I would like it better with Splenda.

Flavor with one Splenda? Much better. The sweetness is bringing out the coconut and the banana while calming down the WOOD! a lot. Yes, this is much better. This is something I believe I could enjoy. As I said, it’s out of my safe zone; it’s not like anything I would drink on a regular basis. But maybe that’s the problem. Maybe I’ve been drinking too many “safe” teas. Perhaps I need to put myself out there and experiment. After all: not all new foods can be tried via a dream.

(To explain, I don’t usually try new flavors or foods outside what I know I like. The exception is when I wake up from a dream where I was eating something I don’t normally eat, and then I can’t be satisfied until I try that new food IRL. That’s legitimately how I learned I liked several new foods, including buffalo wings, blue cheese, and salt and vinegar chips. I have weird dreams guys!)

Anyway, back to the tea. This is really good. It’s something different, and while I can’t compare this to other banana teas (this is my first), I think it’s a good starting point. The banana isn’t overwhelming, and it meshes well with the other flavors. Just realize that it has a heavy wood leaning, so if drinking lumber isn’t your thing, I would avoid it.

I said this would be a quickie. I lied. OOPS.

So I still had a whole thing of water left over from the ETS tea (which I had no desire to re-steep), so I figured I’d go for this instead.

Mmm, yes that is much better. There is a gentle sweetness to this tea, along with strong umami flavors and other savory notes. Warm hay and sweetgrass present, and there’s just enough coconut there to give it some complexity. It’s just tropical enough that it is pleasant, but not overpowering. Very tasty. I don’t drink enough of these 52teas Green Teas, as I only have the Breville 1-Touch to use as a kettle, and I get downright paranoid about dropping it on the trek from my bedroom to my kitchen. (Yes, my Breville is in my bedroom. I don’t have enough counter space in my teeny apartment kitchen.) Pretty much anything you see me brew up on here of the Black or Herbal variety, the water comes from my Bunn. (It’s a hybrid device with an attachment for just making hot water.)

Anyways, this is tasty. Another hit from Anne. Great job, as usual.