Tea Reviews

	The Everyday Tea Drinker Guide To Good Taste On A Budget *If you are cold, tea will warm you. If you are too heated, it will cool you. If you are depressed, it will cheer you. If you are excited, it will calm you. ~Gladstone, 1865* I dedicate this page to all who understand the joy of a good cup of tea.
	My Tea Reviews A-R These are my impressions of a few of the teas I have tried. They were generally obtained at the local grocer or ethnic food mart with a few exceptions. Most of them are every day teas for everyday people. I have listed the reviews by company name in alphabetical order. Return to main Tea Review page Go to Tea Reviews S-Z
	Ahmad This is a 50 year old English company that I have only recently discovered. While I have only tried a few of their teas, based on just that small sampling I would not be hesitant to try any of their others blends. This is very good tea. At first I could only get this brand online. I have since found it in some specialty food stores. Darjeeling A fine black tea grown in northern India at ‘the foothills of the Himalayas’. Also known as the champagne of teas, such a title can mean this tea is a little more expensive. Ahmad’s blend is my first Darjeeling. It has a very distinct taste that I am really enjoying. This is obviously a black tea but with a slight grassiness, similar to a fine green tea. Possibly this has something to do with its fermenting time as it seems close to an oolong in taste. In the cup it is amber and not nearly as dark as Ahmad’s Earl Grey. This is a very enjoyable cup of tea but the brew can become bitter if you steep for too long. The instructions say 3 to 5 minutes steep time. I say stay on the low end of the limit and go longer only after tasting. Whereas Ahmad’s No. 1 tea is simply smooth goodness, this blend has a bit more attitude, refined though it may be, that I found interesting. Definitely recommended. Earl Grey I have a weakness for Earl Grey tea. It began years ago and shows no sign of easing up any time soon. I have tried this bergamot-flavored tea in bag form. The black tea taste comes through very well, as the bergamot does not overpower it. Twinings Earl Grey is a lot more citrus flavored. I prefer my Earl Grey a little less pronounced. Ahmad does a excellent job of balancing the bergamot with the tea. The citrus flavor is complex and changes with the temperature of the drink. If you are a fellow Grey junkie, you will really like this tea. Earl Grey Green I love this tea! It is my extreme nothing else even comes close favorite. Let me say it again, I love this tea! I first tried it in bag form when Twinings stopped selling their version of this tea in the U.S. a couple years ago (they have since resumed). I was instantly hooked. I have also bought it in loose-leaf form (loose leaf is much more economical). The green tea is very good. The leaves when dry are about the size of half a pine needle. After brewing, they swell and unfurl into full leaves. The bergamot flavoring is just the right amount to give the tea a wonderful aroma and a taste that draws you in and begs you to relax. Not every one likes green tea. I believe it is because they have never tasted a good cup of green tea. Try this a few times and I am pretty sure you will agree that when you go back to black tea it tastes bland and flat in comparison. Can you tell I love this tea? English Tea No.1 A blend of black teas lightly flavored with bergamot. When they say lightly flavored they mean just that. This is not Earl Grey but that is ok. This produces a very dark liquor that is smooth and delicious. My first thought was Twinings Prince of Wales. I enjoyed the first sip while steaming hot and as it cooled it changed flavors slightly and became even better in my opinion. There was no bitterness and no aftertaste. This blend is definitely worth trying. Lemon Green Tea Contains green tea and lemon flavor. Normally when I tear open the foil envelope of a flavored tea I immediately notice the aroma. That is not the case here as I notice only the grassy hint of green tea. Brewing results in a pail green/caramel colored liquor. The aroma of the brew is only slightly lemon scented. First sip brings to mind hard lemon candy. It is not quite the taste of fresh squeezed lemon and it is not the subtle lemongrass influenced flavor of Stash Lemon & White. This is bold and bright with a bit of green tea after taste. I can’t quite make up my mind about this tea. On the one hand it isn’t exactly natural lemon tasting, on the other I keep brewing another cup. Bentley My wife brought home a wooden tea chest filled with Bentley tea. All of it is labeled as pure Ceylon tea. The chest was wrapped in plastic. The whole package was $10 in an after Christmas sale, so the box is nice enough for the price paid. The individual tea bags were in paper wrappers. The smell of the raspberry tea dominated when the box was opened. This fact is bound to have affected the tastes of the teas mentioned below, so keep that in mind. Earl Grey While this was actually a pleasant cup of tea, if it had any bergamot oil/ flavoring in it I couldn’t detect it. As an Earl Grey it fails miserably but as a mellow cup of black tea it was enjoyable. English Breakfast I never purposely grab this classic. I have nothing against it. The problem is it just isn’t memorable in my opinion. This blend is no exception. It is beige. Nice enough I think… I just can’t remember. Green This reminds me of a green tea I used to get at a local Chinese restaurant. So I give it extra points for bringing back pleasant memories. While I think this is nowhere near the quality of Ahmad green tea, it is miles above Stash green. The taste has very little grassiness and is not harsh like some green teas. It did have a peculiar I can't place it quality about the taste but that may be due to being surrounded in the box by the smells of the other flavored teas. Orange spice This is just nasty harsh. It irritated my throat. The taste was heavily cinnamon flavored. I detected no orange and little tea taste. I removed this from the chest so as not to ever accidentally drink this again! Peach I fully expected to hate this tea. It surprised me. The peach aroma is inviting but it did not mask the tea flavor. Bentley behaved themselves. Instead of the overpowering nasty drink I was expecting, this was a wonderfully subtle cup of tea. Raspberry My only previous experience with raspberry tea was ice tea at Olive Garden. I asked them to take it away and bring me something I could drink! So I was leery of trying this tea. Unlike the Peach, the Raspberry is very detectable in the taste but it was enjoyable. I would like it more if it were less flavored, however, when I finished the cup I immediately wanted another. I must add, a friend of mine tried this tea and immediately swore off trying any Bentley tea ever again. What I am saying is your mileage may vary. Bigelow Founded in 1945 by Ruth Campbell Bigelow, R.C. Bigelow, Inc. is based in Fairfield, CT. Bigelow tea is readily available in almost every super market and super center in America. Earl Grey This is the tea that started my lifelong passion, or addiction whichever the case, for Earl Grey. I have used the regular and decaf versions of this black tea in bag form. It used to come in a heavy cardboard container with a metal top and bottom. The lid was oval-shaped metal that you had to pry open. Now it comes in an ordinary cardboard box but the bags are individually sealed in foil envelopes. I haven’t bought it in a few years so I am not sure if they are still using actual bergamot in the blend or if they have switched to flavoring like most companies. The original blend is still my favorite black tea. I recently found an old box in the back of the cupboard. Even way past the expiration date it tasted so very good. Hello old friend! *( see update below) Constant Comment Originally blended at her kitchen table this is the tea that launched Ruth Bigelow’s tea empire. This is also the tea that started my passion for tea beyond the Lipton iced tea my family consumes (the Earl Grey addiction came later). This is a black tea with orange peel and spices. If you are just starting out looking for teas or if this is one you just missed, I highly recommend you try this legend for yourself. (* see update below)** Update - I recently purchased a new box of both Bigelow Constant Comment and Earl Grey. The first of either I had bought in a while. I was sadly disappointed as the brew was very weak and bland compared to my memories of it. In large part the problem was the oversized Starbucks cup I have been using recently. The bigger issue for you to consider is Bigelow has repackaged their teas to contain only 1.65g per bag instead of the 2g bags I remembered. To get the same taste I used to get in an 8oz cup it is now necessary to cut the cup size down to just 6.6oz. Will this hurt Bigelow sales? Stash has used the smaller bag size for years so maybe not but I will now find it harder to recommend Bigelow tea. Ethnic Gourmet* A division of Hain Celestial Group, Inc., which sells Celestial Seasons tea. Honey Lotus Oolong This is the only tea I have seen so far by Ethnic Gourmet. It was also my first oolong tea, so I had nothing to compare it with when writing this review. If this is any indication, I will try others. The three flavors (honey, lotus blossom, and oolong tea) blend wonderfully together. The combination suggests, but not quite, a light peachiness. Ordinarily that would not appeal to me but here it is very pleasing. With Jasmine tea the flowery taste is too much, not so with the lotus. The only downside to this tea is I am still not sure what oolong tastes like, as I can’t single it out of the blend. I will buy this tea again. Sweet and pleasant. Update - Sadly, it appears this tea is no longer being sold. What a shame. Golden Moon Tea This is not a mass produced tea. This loose leaf teas can be found online at www.GoldenMoonTea.com. At first you might be inclined to think a specialty tea is too expensive compared to off the shelf tea. Box tea runs 11-25 cents/cup verses 30 cents or more for specialty tea. So yes, specialty tea is more expensive but when you consider that you will pay $1.89 per cup or glass on average for a mediocre tea in a restaurant, specialty blends are actually a real bargain for a good tea. I highly encourage you at least once to pamper yourself and give a premium tea a try. Coconut Pouchong Beautiful long green tea leaves (grand pouchong - a very lightly fermented oolong) and essence of coconut. While I like coconut, I was pretty sure it did not belong in tea. Approaching this tea with caution, I was more than pleasantly surprised. The liquor is very light yellow-green, almost clear, in the cup and the aroma is wonderful. The coconut taste was very smooth and creamy with a natural sweetness. I added some sweetner, as this is my custom, and it was almost too sweet. Half a packet would be perfect. When brewing, I caution you to use a 2" tea ball as the leaves really expand. I filled the tea ball three times and got a total of 9 infusions out of the sample packet before a co-worker made me throw it away. Patting the leaves dry to use again the next day was too much for him. I just couldn't bring myself to part with this tea as it is very addictive. Each cup tasted as good as the first. The closest I have to a negative comment is the flavors blend so perfectly it was a little difficult to separate out the taste of the tea. Honey Pear Ingredients include good quality black tea and pollen pieces. I didn't like the smell of this tea in the package - to me it was very medicinal. The liquor is dark caramel colored. The taste is a lot better than I expected. Nice and smooth, slightly sweet and did not have an overpowering aftertaste. Not caring much for fruit teas it is hard for me to give this a fair assessment. I shared it with three co-workers and they all liked the smell and the taste. One of them commenting that it smelled like a Jolly Rancher. So the vote went one loved it, two liked it, and one (me) didn't hate it but didn't like it either. Got at least two infusions out of each tea ball filling - approximately one rounded teaspoon. Nepalese Afternoon Tea Of all the Golden Moon Teas I sampled, this is the one I was looking most forward to trying. They say, “The infused nectar evokes serene notes of lotus, honey, and fragrant sandalwood”. I was hoping to have found a replacement for Ethnic Gourmet’s Honey Lotus Blossom Tea, which is no longer offered. This tea is not that replacement. The ingredients are organic black tea. Where they get the honey, lotus, sandalwood, imagery escapes me. This is a good mellow black tea. It is not bitter and has no nasty aftertaste. I did enjoy the cup but it is not what I was anticipating. Rose Tea Black tea with rose flavor and petals. My first rose tea. I finished the cup but did not desire a second. It is probably good. I just don't care. My wife on the other hand enjoyed this tea a lot. Sencha I am not a Japanese green tea fan. I prefer Chinese green tea but this is much more pleasant than I expected. The dry leaves have the traditional dried grass smell. In fact they look like grass clippings, however, once brewed it expands significantly into full leaves. The liquor is a pale green. The taste is smooth with no bitterness. If more traditional green teas tasted like this good quality tea I might learn to really enjoy it. Sugar Caramel Oolong This is a fun tea blend. With burnt sugar and caramel as ingredients this is obviously a sweet tea. I can envision this as a replacement for hot chocolate in the early morning or just sitting in front of a fire on a cold day. Twinings China oolong I would not recommend to just anyone. This oolong is a lot easier to suggest. If you are looking for a traditional tea this ain't it but if you are looking for a fun dessert tea this would do nicely. Harry & David Estate Teas Harry & David Operations Corp. was officially established in 2005, however, the company really had its beginnings much earlier, just after the turn of the 20th Century. Then after the depression they began selling fruit through the mail. That makes them one of the nation's oldest catalog mail order companies Apple Chai Tea reviews are very subjective and this tea proves it. I gave a friend a box of this tea and he loves it to the point of rationing it so as to make it last forever as we are not sure where to buy it. A fellow coworker originally gave it to me. I did not like it at all. The taste is not reminiscent of any Chai tea I have ever had before and the apple I find overpowering and overly sweet. I gave it a fair try and still don't like it. Pumpkin Spice Rooibos Contains rooibos, cinnamon, ginger root, and artificial and natural pumpkin essence (whatever that means). Ok, since this is a red tea it isn’t technically a tea. I include it here as it is the best use of red tea I have tried. It looks good in the cup. It smells good. It tastes good. The tin it comes in is a keeper for future use. This was given to me and I have no idea where to buy it but if you find some, it is worth trying if red tea interests you. Hedley’s Peach Apricot Flavor Contains Ceylon tea with flavoring. I have never seen this brand in the store. My son got it in a gift basket. There were ten bags in paper envelopes all wrapped in cellophane. Upon opening, the envelope had no distinct smell. The bag seemed on the smallish side but the tea dust did expand quite nicely when brewed. The brew itself is dark and typical in appearance of other Ceylon black teas. The aroma was lightly flowery and pretty. I added a packet of sweetener and tasted. Immediately tasted peach, then the apricot. Even using my 10oz mug this seemed strong enough to my tastes. It was very sweet. I should have used less sweetener. This is an inexpensive tea and I must admit, I rather enjoyed it. Kalahari Café Hazelnut Mocha The ingredients of this Artisan Chocolatte Black Tea are, dark roasted cocoa, organic black tea, cinnamon, licorice, chicory, cardamom, ginger, cloves, and natural hazelnut flavor. My only negative comment is this has a pepperiness about it that I would like to see toned down a lot. Otherwise this is an interesting but non-spectacular dessert drink. Kroger Brand Green Tea Perhaps the worst example of green tea I have ever tried to drink. In a blind taste test I would be hard pressed to distinguish between this tea and a cup of cheap latex paint. Yes it’s that bad. Lipton Brisk I only mention this here as it is the yardstick most of us in America use to measure all other teas. Love it or hate it Lipton iced tea is as American as apple pie. I personally am not a fan of it hot, but iced it satisfies like nothing else. Green Tea Since these reviews are mostly about grocery store bagged tea, I am not sure how I almost missed this obvious choice. This is green tea in a 2g bag. The box contains 20 bags in standard Lipton paper envelopes. The tag is taped to the bag making it too easy to tear the bag. The brew is a light yellow-green. I found myself really enjoying the light flavor of this tea. It is very smooth without a lot of bite. It has a mild grassy taste. I left the bag in the cup a little too long the first time and it became very astringent. I immediately brewed a second cup and removed the bag at the proper time. The second brew remained very pleasant to the bottom of the cup. I preferred this over Tazo Green Tips (which I also liked). You don’t have to search very hard to find this, it is inexpensive, and it is a good green tea choice. Spiced Chai Flavored black tea. The bags came sealed in paper envelopes. Nice spicy smell as I opened it. The tag was taped to the bag and so I accidentally tore the tag off the string and ripped the top of the bag. The brew is dark and cloudy from the spices. The aroma is cinnamon and pleasant. This didn’t taste like other Chai teas I’ve tried which have a strong clove/pepper taste to me. This is more cinnamon but not harsh. You can taste other spices but they are very subtle. If you like a cinnamon tea, I would think you should be pleased with this offering. Numi Makers of organic teas. Mint Puerh An organic green tea blend with Moroccan mint. A slightly oxidized tea, that is then ripened and aged for months. This is my first puerh tea. I applaud Numi for using a generous 2g of whole tea leaves in each bag. However, I am not a fan of mint tea – it is like drinking tea with gum in your mouth. To my tastes, this would be a much more pleasant drink with none or half the mint although it is not completely overwhelming in this blend. When hot, the tea has a very earthy taste similar to Twinings Oolong. The earthiness becomes less pronounced as the tea cools. I imagine this is not for everyone but it is an interesting quality tea. Package contains 16 tea bags. Organic India An organic tea company Tulsi Tea Also labeled India Breakfast. Contains organic black tea and Tulsi. I had never heard of Tulsi before trying this tea. It is apparently a very common herb in India grown in nearly every home garden. Also known as holy basil it has a sort of clove aroma. A friend commented it was reminiscent of sassafras. It makes for a pleasant cup of tea that is as familiar as it is unique. Normally served with milk, I enjoyed it with only sweetener. The one negative I had is each bag contains only 1.7g of tea. I really longed for the black tea flavor to come through a little more pronounced. This would subdue the tulsi making for a more enjoyable cup of this otherwise delightful tea. Prince of Peace Founded in 1983 by Kenneth Yeung, POP has its headquarters in San Francisco, California and specializes in importing and distributing gourmet products. Premium Peony White Tea This is inexpensive tea. Don’t let that stop you from trying it. Up until I discovered this brand I considered Stash white tea to be the best of what is available locally. I have changed my mind. I enjoy drinking this tea. I also like that the bags come packed inside a zip lock bag. I also enjoy knowing that every time I buy a box I am helping to support an orphanage in China for special health needs children. That in itself is enough reason to try this brand. More mellow than black tea but similar in taste. Republic of Tea I know nothing about this company and they seem to want it that way. Earl Greyer Green Tea At 3% there is way too much bergamot flavor for way too little tea (1.6g) to produce what I consider a good cup of tea. Smells nice. More Tea Pages Home Loose leaf or bags? Tea Storage Iced Tea Hot Tea Acid Reflux and Tea Tea Economics 101 Tea Reviews Tea Links Well there you have my thoughts on several teas. I would be interested in your thoughts of these or any other tea that has captured you imagination or sent you screaming towards the drain. Feel free to drop me a note.