Bigelow

A friend loves this one and had included it in a mug gift for me. It’s been hanging out in my “to try” bin for a bit, so I snagged it and heated up some water. The tea bag smells quite a bit like blueberry candies. The tea has a purply- red hue to it and smells sweet. I’m reminded of Sweet Tarts candies while drinking it. I don’t quite taste the blueberry but do taste the acai. This would not be a winter tea for me but I think it would be good in the summer months or as an iced tea.

I was rather surprised at how much I enjoyed this tea. I often find the Bigelow’s flavors I’m okay but nothing to write home about or that I would go out of my way to find. This tea might become an exception. My typical way of preparing it is to bring the water to just under boiling, add two tea bags to my 10 oz tea mug, top off with some half & half and a touch of sweetener, and sip. I do find that letting it cool down a touch enhances the flavor. It might not fool me into thinking that I’m drinking eggnog, but it definitely scratches the itch for that flavor profile.

Nope.
It is very plain black tea with little fruity — generic red fruits, flavour. What a shame, because it smells (when dry); like a raspberry jam.

Thank you anyway Devon that I could try it.

Whew, what a weekend this was.

Well this one was hidden today in advent calendar from Devon ad honestly I have to say, I am not a fan of it.

Theoretically, I would like it. I like coconut as well the almond, however it’s somehow weird. Soapy, at least. It also tastes quite funky. Almonds and coconut are overpowering each other. I see now that Almond bark is another US confection. Also it has got some kind of fruity + dirty taste as others have mentioned.

Pretty much average tea from Devon’s Advent Calendar.

Slighlty fruity, even I can say it is a pomegranate, but the base was completely boring and fruit flavour was like adding a juice into black tea. Cheap black tea.

Had this while out for lunch today. A good, strong peppermint flavour. I liked it.

Getting close to being done with these holiday teas! \o/

Pleasantly surprised by this one, it smelled much sharper dry. But steeped up, it tastes like a combination of a lemon drop and a ginger-spiced cookie. Not like gingerbread, but like a lighter, buttery-er cookie with ginger added. There is a touch of earthy, fresh ginger flavor as well, but it’s not as strong as the dry scent implied. It’s actually quite mellow overall, perfect for relaxing on the couch with the pugs before bed.

This is one I would consider keeping in my cupboard!

Holiday grocery store teas tried: 17/19

For some reason I’m always excited by peppermint bark teas, but they’re always disappointing to me.

This one tastes mostly like peppermint leaf with a bit of added menthol from the flavoring, with an undertone of roasted chicory and a slight sweetness from the licorice root. I don’t really get chocolate at all.

It’s drinkable, but not something I would purchase. A shame, the wrapper is very pretty.

Holiday grocery store teas tried: 11/19

Well, if I remembrer correctly, this blend (caffeinated) is loved in winter of many of you?

I got a decaf version in my Advent calendar from Devon. It made me a little sad, as but shortly after I realised I had strong caffeine intake today already, so it won’t hurt that it is “flat”. Energy drink, two big mugs of black tea — well watching hockey in night hours takes its part.

This is indeed well blended. Quite strong fruity and juicy orange, very nice mix of spices, what one can ask more. I see why it is so popular in winter.

While it is not best tea with winter spices I ever had, it is indeed a good one. Of course, the base was flat. That makes sense, because the green strip.

It seems my love of gourmand perfumes is not replicated in a great many dessert teas. This is no exception. Kind of “funky” or off, it’s drinkable and “ok” but I will not repurchase. Something about the strong black tea with the sweetness gives a “stale” vibe. I tried it black and with cream/sweet, but either way a “meh” experience. I also tried it mixed with a chai, for a slight improvement. Makes an interesting iced tea. But overall, not my thing.

Day 24 of my advent calendar from Kelmishka! I love the idea of this flavor profile, and this blend is enjoyable, but the hibiscus and lemon are strong enough to make it not very mango-y. If the blend had a different name, or those notes weren’t quite so strong, there might be better alignment. As it is, with all the tart, sweet, fruity flavors going on, this might make an interesting cold brew.

Friend was at the store asked if I wanted anything and I said box of chai tea cuz it’s winter…took 2 bags and boiled some water let steep for a while. Added some sugar and stirred. Pulled out the bags. Added some milk as I always do with chai. Worst chai experience ever. Tasted like vanilla which I could not get used to. Poured it out 3 quarters of the way full. Very little actual chai flavors like cinnamon cardamom black pepper etc,etc. Will never buy this again nor will I recommend it. If you see this don’t buy it ever.

In my opinion, the green tea is really an afterthought and gives a kind of chemical taste- or maybe it’s the chai flavoring? I’d like to try a green chai with a richer green vs the leaf dustings off the floor.

Nice and comforting, not much lemon flavor, more sour

Not overly sweet, or overly peach-y, but really smooth and cozy. Definitely one of the better bagged peach teas I’ve tried, and certainly worth picking up if you see it.

I like this tea, which is odd because I don’t like oranges.

What Happened to the chamomile tea? It use to be good. Now it actually taste like an ashtray.

I purchased a ton of this last year to make Tea Trees (trees made out of tea bags) for a Christmas Swap. I finally am getting around to having a mug myself. I’m positive I’ve had this out at a restaurant or at a friend’s home. Bigelow is very common in the grocery stores and discount stores.
I steeped it for just over 2 minutes, probably closer to 4 minutes. It reminds me of Wrigleys Spearmint Gum. Which makes sense as this tea bag is black tea and spearmint. I can’t remember the last time I’ve had a stick of it before. I also am not sure when else I’ve had spearmint aside from tea and that gum.
I feel like I should have used it this summer to make sun tea with some of my fresh peppermint. Pretty sure my oldest kid will like this one. The others in the home don’t care for mint flavoring. I know that visitors would recognize it and pick it out of the tea stash. Pretty sure it’s a favorite of my mother in law’s too. It’s not a favorite tea but a “make do with what you have tea” for me.

This was a pleasant surprise. I don’t normally love teas with spearmint. I find it too strong on the menthol and unable to taste anything else, but in this case, this tea seems to have layers. The spearmint, the peppermint, and I think lemon, all work well together. At this point it’s quite a few years old, but it still tastes lovely.

… this green supermarket tea on the other hand, is terrible. I’m not sure if this box that I got (from work for free) was just super stale or old, but it was awful. Flat, watery, burnt-tasting. I really did not enjoy it at all and it truly had no redeeming factors. Could be that it was old and stale, but it was an unopened box and very disappointing.

Edit: the tea expires in July of 2023, so 8 months away from now.

Sipdown September is off to a strong (albeit easy) start with a sipdown of this tea. We had to get this when we both had a bad case of covid, were too weak to make anything else, but really needed tea to help with the coughing and sore throat. We plowed through whatever bagged ginger tea we had on hand very quickly, so we added this to a grocery order to replenish. I held on to a handful of bags after we got better because it’s convenient for sick days, but at this point there’s only one left and I’m trying to make a dent in my stash so it was time to say goodbye.
I actually chose this tonight because a) I was craving something lemony and b) I’ve got a migraine, which the ginger helps with. So this was a perfect send-off for this tea, whose purpose in this household has largely been dedicated to health and recovery. That said, I really like the flavor too! It’s very heavy on the lemon, a bit sweet, and not especially tart. At first I thought the sweetness came from hibiscus, but there isn’t any in this blend – I’m probably tasting the licorice root. The ginger is gentle, mostly at the end of the sip, and lingers long after. I would enjoy this as a refreshing blend even if I didn’t need a get-well boost.

Peachy but not offensively sweet or one note.