Yesterday I went to Costco and bought three gift boxes of Bigelow tea
assortments.

I gave a box to a friend this morning.

Then I went home and opened some of the tea. I was surprised to see the
low weight of tea in a box of 20 tea bags.
Range: 20g, 3 of 25g, 33g, 34g, 38g, 42g... per box.
They were packed 4 per envelope, 5 envelopes per box.

Some of the bags were very skimpy when you looked at them, before
putting them in hot water. And they didn't swell up to much, either.

Bottom line - not very tasty, but rather wimpy.

I am doubtful that the weights are accurate, as listed on the boxes.

At any rate, when a consumer purchases a tea bag, it's a reasonable
assumption that it should provide at least a 6 oz. cup of tea at nominal
strength.

Comparing the volume of the skimpiest looks to be about 1/10 the amount
of a Lipton tea bag.
I went online to determine the typical amount of tea for a cup... around
2.5 grams.

Is this a bad year for tea?

Any other experiences out there?


I am looking for my Costco receipt, in hopes of finding it, and
returning the tea for a refund.

"Eric3" wrote in message
news
Yesterday I went to Costco and bought three gift boxes of Bigelow tea
assortments.

I gave a box to a friend this morning.

That's nice.

Then I went home and opened some of the tea. I was surprised to see the
low weight of tea in a box of 20 tea bags.
Range: 20g, 3 of 25g, 33g, 34g, 38g, 42g... per box.

You opened a box of 20 teabags in 5 envelopes and are giving us eight
(including the 3x25g) weights? This does not compute. Do you mean 8 boxes
are in a gift set and each box has 20 bags for a total of...um...160 bags
per set? If so, the range of weights is normal because you're talking about
an assortment.

They were packed 4 per envelope, 5 envelopes per box.

This strikes me as odd because I've only known Bigelow to pack each teabag
in it's own foil envelope.

Some of the bags were very skimpy when you looked at them, before
putting them in hot water. And they didn't swell up to much, either.

Skimpy when you looked at them? So? Not all of my teabags from various
companies swell up, either.

Bottom line - not very tasty, but rather wimpy.

Now, you're talking. Which did you try? It might be characteristic of that
particular blend especially if you didn't brew it long enough in water that
was hot enough.

I am doubtful that the weights are accurate, as listed on the boxes.

Whatever.

At any rate, when a consumer purchases a tea bag, it's a reasonable
assumption that it should provide at least a 6 oz. cup of tea at nominal
strength.

Yes, and I've had several boxes by Bigelow that say 1 bag will make 2 cups.

Comparing the volume of the skimpiest looks to be about 1/10 the amount
of a Lipton tea bag.

Lipton? gagging

Be careful of comparing apples to oranges. The real question is are you
comparing teas that are alike? And, really, who cares how much a box of 20
bags weighs as long as the price is right for the flavor delivered? If you
bought the Teas For All Seasons assortment that includes flavored tea,
blends, and herbals, they really mustn't be compared to regular Lipton
because they're all different and none are as robust which may also account
for tasting "wimpy" as you mentioned above.

I went online to determine the typical amount of tea for a cup... around
2.5 grams.

What's your source? Most that I've seen recommend 2 or 2.25 grams of LOOSE
TEA (herbals aren't real tea) as in whole or broken leaves. The tea in bags
is fannings or dust which typically release flavor quicker so less is
required.

Is this a bad year for tea?

Any other experiences out there?

I am looking for my Costco receipt, in hopes of finding it, and
returning the tea for a refund.

Personally, I wouldn't worry about it. Check the brewing instructions to
make sure you got it right and enjoy the variety of not-regular-Lipton that
you have at hand. If you want, look for similar teas by Lipton to compare
FLAVORS (not weights since we're talking bags and not loose teas).

--
~~Bluesea~~
Spam is great in musubi but not in email.
Please take out the trash before sending a direct reply.

"Eric3" wrote in message
news
Yesterday I went to Costco and bought three gift boxes of Bigelow tea
assortments.

I gave a box to a friend this morning.

That's nice.

Then I went home and opened some of the tea. I was surprised to see the
low weight of tea in a box of 20 tea bags.
Range: 20g, 3 of 25g, 33g, 34g, 38g, 42g... per box.

You opened a box of 20 teabags in 5 envelopes and are giving us eight
(including the 3x25g) weights? This does not compute. Do you mean 8 boxes
are in a gift set and each box has 20 bags for a total of...um...160 bags
per set? If so, the range of weights is normal because you're talking about
an assortment.

They were packed 4 per envelope, 5 envelopes per box.

This strikes me as odd because I've only known Bigelow to pack each teabag
in it's own foil envelope.

Some of the bags were very skimpy when you looked at them, before
putting them in hot water. And they didn't swell up to much, either.

Skimpy when you looked at them? So? Not all of my teabags from various
companies swell up, either.

Bottom line - not very tasty, but rather wimpy.

Now, you're talking. Which did you try? It might be characteristic of that
particular blend especially if you didn't brew it long enough in water that
was hot enough.

I am doubtful that the weights are accurate, as listed on the boxes.

Whatever.

At any rate, when a consumer purchases a tea bag, it's a reasonable
assumption that it should provide at least a 6 oz. cup of tea at nominal
strength.

Yes, and I've had several boxes by Bigelow that say 1 bag will make 2 cups.

Comparing the volume of the skimpiest looks to be about 1/10 the amount
of a Lipton tea bag.

Lipton? gagging

Be careful of comparing apples to oranges. The real question is are you
comparing teas that are alike? And, really, who cares how much a box of 20
bags weighs as long as the price is right for the flavor delivered? If you
bought the Teas For All Seasons assortment that includes flavored tea,
blends, and herbals, they really mustn't be compared to regular Lipton
because they're all different and none are as robust which may also account
for tasting "wimpy" as you mentioned above.

I went online to determine the typical amount of tea for a cup... around
2.5 grams.

What's your source? Most that I've seen recommend 2 or 2.25 grams of LOOSE
TEA (herbals aren't real tea) as in whole or broken leaves. The tea in bags
is fannings or dust which typically release flavor quicker so less is
required.

Is this a bad year for tea?

Any other experiences out there?

I am looking for my Costco receipt, in hopes of finding it, and
returning the tea for a refund.

Personally, I wouldn't worry about it. Check the brewing instructions to
make sure you got it right and enjoy the variety of not-regular-Lipton that
you have at hand. If you want, look for similar teas by Lipton to compare
FLAVORS (not weights since we're talking bags and not loose teas).

--
~~Bluesea~~
Spam is great in musubi but not in email.
Please take out the trash before sending a direct reply.

Back when I was drinking tea from bags, I had some sort of Bigelow or some
other type of bagged tea, and after one of my many break ups with my
girlfriend I packed all my crap and put it in storage. It stayed there for
nearly a year, and in the meantime I got some more of the same tea. Then I
got the stuff out of storage and put the old tea in the pantry with the new.
I quickly realized that the new stuff had substantially less tea in each bag
than the old stuff. Each was individually wrapped and gave a weight on it.
The old ones were listed at 1.1 oz each and the new ones 1.0.

So I believe it!



"Eric3" wrote in message
news
Yesterday I went to Costco and bought three gift boxes of Bigelow tea
assortments.

I gave a box to a friend this morning.

Then I went home and opened some of the tea. I was surprised to see the
low weight of tea in a box of 20 tea bags.
Range: 20g, 3 of 25g, 33g, 34g, 38g, 42g... per box.
They were packed 4 per envelope, 5 envelopes per box.

Some of the bags were very skimpy when you looked at them, before
putting them in hot water. And they didn't swell up to much, either.

Bottom line - not very tasty, but rather wimpy.

I am doubtful that the weights are accurate, as listed on the boxes.

At any rate, when a consumer purchases a tea bag, it's a reasonable
assumption that it should provide at least a 6 oz. cup of tea at nominal
strength.

Comparing the volume of the skimpiest looks to be about 1/10 the amount
of a Lipton tea bag.
I went online to determine the typical amount of tea for a cup... around
2.5 grams.

Is this a bad year for tea?

Any other experiences out there?


I am looking for my Costco receipt, in hopes of finding it, and
returning the tea for a refund.

Back when I was drinking tea from bags, I had some sort of Bigelow or some
other type of bagged tea, and after one of my many break ups with my
girlfriend I packed all my crap and put it in storage. It stayed there for
nearly a year, and in the meantime I got some more of the same tea. Then I
got the stuff out of storage and put the old tea in the pantry with the new.
I quickly realized that the new stuff had substantially less tea in each bag
than the old stuff. Each was individually wrapped and gave a weight on it.
The old ones were listed at 1.1 oz each and the new ones 1.0.

So I believe it!



"Eric3" wrote in message
news
Yesterday I went to Costco and bought three gift boxes of Bigelow tea
assortments.

I gave a box to a friend this morning.

Then I went home and opened some of the tea. I was surprised to see the
low weight of tea in a box of 20 tea bags.
Range: 20g, 3 of 25g, 33g, 34g, 38g, 42g... per box.
They were packed 4 per envelope, 5 envelopes per box.

Some of the bags were very skimpy when you looked at them, before
putting them in hot water. And they didn't swell up to much, either.

Bottom line - not very tasty, but rather wimpy.

I am doubtful that the weights are accurate, as listed on the boxes.

At any rate, when a consumer purchases a tea bag, it's a reasonable
assumption that it should provide at least a 6 oz. cup of tea at nominal
strength.

Comparing the volume of the skimpiest looks to be about 1/10 the amount
of a Lipton tea bag.
I went online to determine the typical amount of tea for a cup... around
2.5 grams.

Is this a bad year for tea?

Any other experiences out there?


I am looking for my Costco receipt, in hopes of finding it, and
returning the tea for a refund.

I have heard (but have not confirmed this myself) that British tea bags and
some Canadian ones have a little more tea in them becuase the taste for a
stronger cuppa is more popular there. I wish I had a sensitive gram scale,
I'd do some experiments, though that would entail buying a box of Lipton and
other assorted tea bags...

Oh, speaking of LIpton...regardless of what you think of their teas, the
history of the company and the founder is fascinating. I read about it in a
book called The Tea Book (no author...it was one of those full of pictures)
and it was very interesting. I guess the original founder was quite the
marketing genius, but it seems that the tea they sold was better then...


(Trying to remember...seems to me one of the incidents where they showed his
marketing genius was thus: He was on a ship and for some reason they had to
throw the entire cargo of tea chests overboard (or cargo of some sort of
luggage, can't remember exactly) ..weight problem or something...anyway, he
made sure Drink Lipton Tea was stamped on the side of each so that wherever
they landed it would bring his company name. I never would've thought of
that...)


Melinda
"Eric3" wrote in message
news
Yesterday I went to Costco and bought three gift boxes of Bigelow tea
assortments.

I gave a box to a friend this morning.

Then I went home and opened some of the tea. I was surprised to see the
low weight of tea in a box of 20 tea bags.
Range: 20g, 3 of 25g, 33g, 34g, 38g, 42g... per box.
They were packed 4 per envelope, 5 envelopes per box.

Some of the bags were very skimpy when you looked at them, before putting
them in hot water. And they didn't swell up to much, either.

Bottom line - not very tasty, but rather wimpy.

I am doubtful that the weights are accurate, as listed on the boxes.

At any rate, when a consumer purchases a tea bag, it's a reasonable
assumption that it should provide at least a 6 oz. cup of tea at nominal
strength.

Comparing the volume of the skimpiest looks to be about 1/10 the amount of
a Lipton tea bag.
I went online to determine the typical amount of tea for a cup... around
2.5 grams.

Is this a bad year for tea?

Any other experiences out there?


I am looking for my Costco receipt, in hopes of finding it, and returning
the tea for a refund.

"Falky foo" wrote in message
. com...
Back when I was drinking tea from bags, I had some sort of Bigelow or some
other type of bagged tea, and after one of my many break ups with my
girlfriend I packed all my crap and put it in storage. It stayed there
for
nearly a year, and in the meantime I got some more of the same tea. Then
I
got the stuff out of storage and put the old tea in the pantry with the
new.
I quickly realized that the new stuff had substantially less tea in each
bag
than the old stuff. Each was individually wrapped and gave a weight on
it.
The old ones were listed at 1.1 oz each and the new ones 1.0.

So I believe it!

Excuse me, but I'm reasonably confident that it was another co. and/or you
might need a memory check as I've never known Bigelow to put the weight on
the individual packets and even if they did, 1.1 oz or 1.0 oz is a heck of a
lot of tea for a teabag intended to brew 1 or 2 cups.

If, OTOH, the total content weight of the box dropped .1 oz, that doesn't
bother me since they may have found other sources that provided the same
flavor at a lower weight.

--
~~Bluesea~~
Spam is great in musubi but not in email.
Please take out the trash before sending a direct reply.

"Falky foo" wrote in message
. com...
Back when I was drinking tea from bags, I had some sort of Bigelow or some
other type of bagged tea, and after one of my many break ups with my
girlfriend I packed all my crap and put it in storage. It stayed there
for
nearly a year, and in the meantime I got some more of the same tea. Then
I
got the stuff out of storage and put the old tea in the pantry with the
new.
I quickly realized that the new stuff had substantially less tea in each
bag
than the old stuff. Each was individually wrapped and gave a weight on
it.
The old ones were listed at 1.1 oz each and the new ones 1.0.

So I believe it!

Excuse me, but I'm reasonably confident that it was another co. and/or you
might need a memory check as I've never known Bigelow to put the weight on
the individual packets and even if they did, 1.1 oz or 1.0 oz is a heck of a
lot of tea for a teabag intended to brew 1 or 2 cups.

If, OTOH, the total content weight of the box dropped .1 oz, that doesn't
bother me since they may have found other sources that provided the same
flavor at a lower weight.

--
~~Bluesea~~
Spam is great in musubi but not in email.
Please take out the trash before sending a direct reply.

"Falky foo" wrote in message
. com...
Back when I was drinking tea from bags, I had some sort of Bigelow or some
other type of bagged tea, and after one of my many break ups with my
girlfriend I packed all my crap and put it in storage. It stayed there
for
nearly a year, and in the meantime I got some more of the same tea. Then
I
got the stuff out of storage and put the old tea in the pantry with the
new.
I quickly realized that the new stuff had substantially less tea in each
bag
than the old stuff. Each was individually wrapped and gave a weight on
it.
The old ones were listed at 1.1 oz each and the new ones 1.0.

So I believe it!

Excuse me, but I'm reasonably confident that it was another co. and/or you
might need a memory check as I've never known Bigelow to put the weight on
the individual packets and even if they did, 1.1 oz or 1.0 oz is a heck of a
lot of tea for a teabag intended to brew 1 or 2 cups.

If, OTOH, the total content weight of the box dropped .1 oz, that doesn't
bother me since they may have found other sources that provided the same
flavor at a lower weight.

--
~~Bluesea~~
Spam is great in musubi but not in email.
Please take out the trash before sending a direct reply.

"Melinda" wrote in message
...
I have heard (but have not confirmed this myself) that British tea bags
and
some Canadian ones have a little more tea in them becuase the taste for a
stronger cuppa is more popular there. I wish I had a sensitive gram scale,

I called the local gourmet shop last week only to be told that a digital
scale runs in the neighborhood of $70+ . Thinking of all the tea I could
buy with that amount of money, I decided to stick with my measuring spoon.

I'd do some experiments, though that would entail buying a box of Lipton
and
other assorted tea bags...

And, you're not a masochist, right?

Oh, speaking of LIpton...regardless of what you think of their teas...

It's just the regular stuff that I don't like. Their flavored, greens, and
herbals are okay IMO.

the
history of the company and the founder is fascinating. I read about it in
a
book called The Tea Book (no author...it was one of those full of
pictures)
and it was very interesting. I guess the original founder was quite the
marketing genius, but it seems that the tea they sold was better then...


(Trying to remember...seems to me one of the incidents where they showed
his
marketing genius was thus: He was on a ship and for some reason they had
to
throw the entire cargo of tea chests overboard (or cargo of some sort of
luggage, can't remember exactly) ..weight problem or something...anyway,
he
made sure Drink Lipton Tea was stamped on the side of each so that
wherever
they landed it would bring his company name. I never would've thought of
that...)

Kewl story - thanks for posting it .

--
~~Bluesea~~
Spam is great in musubi but not in email.
Please take out the trash before sending a direct reply.

"Melinda" wrote in message
...
I have heard (but have not confirmed this myself) that British tea bags
and
some Canadian ones have a little more tea in them becuase the taste for a
stronger cuppa is more popular there. I wish I had a sensitive gram scale,

I called the local gourmet shop last week only to be told that a digital
scale runs in the neighborhood of $70+ . Thinking of all the tea I could
buy with that amount of money, I decided to stick with my measuring spoon.

I'd do some experiments, though that would entail buying a box of Lipton
and
other assorted tea bags...

And, you're not a masochist, right?

Oh, speaking of LIpton...regardless of what you think of their teas...

It's just the regular stuff that I don't like. Their flavored, greens, and
herbals are okay IMO.

the
history of the company and the founder is fascinating. I read about it in
a
book called The Tea Book (no author...it was one of those full of
pictures)
and it was very interesting. I guess the original founder was quite the
marketing genius, but it seems that the tea they sold was better then...


(Trying to remember...seems to me one of the incidents where they showed
his
marketing genius was thus: He was on a ship and for some reason they had
to
throw the entire cargo of tea chests overboard (or cargo of some sort of
luggage, can't remember exactly) ..weight problem or something...anyway,
he
made sure Drink Lipton Tea was stamped on the side of each so that
wherever
they landed it would bring his company name. I never would've thought of
that...)

Kewl story - thanks for posting it .

--
~~Bluesea~~
Spam is great in musubi but not in email.
Please take out the trash before sending a direct reply.

"Melinda" wrote in message
...
I have heard (but have not confirmed this myself) that British tea bags
and
some Canadian ones have a little more tea in them becuase the taste for a
stronger cuppa is more popular there. I wish I had a sensitive gram scale,

I called the local gourmet shop last week only to be told that a digital
scale runs in the neighborhood of $70+ . Thinking of all the tea I could
buy with that amount of money, I decided to stick with my measuring spoon.

I'd do some experiments, though that would entail buying a box of Lipton
and
other assorted tea bags...

And, you're not a masochist, right?

Oh, speaking of LIpton...regardless of what you think of their teas...

It's just the regular stuff that I don't like. Their flavored, greens, and
herbals are okay IMO.

the
history of the company and the founder is fascinating. I read about it in
a
book called The Tea Book (no author...it was one of those full of
pictures)
and it was very interesting. I guess the original founder was quite the
marketing genius, but it seems that the tea they sold was better then...


(Trying to remember...seems to me one of the incidents where they showed
his
marketing genius was thus: He was on a ship and for some reason they had
to
throw the entire cargo of tea chests overboard (or cargo of some sort of
luggage, can't remember exactly) ..weight problem or something...anyway,
he
made sure Drink Lipton Tea was stamped on the side of each so that
wherever
they landed it would bring his company name. I never would've thought of
that...)

Kewl story - thanks for posting it .

--
~~Bluesea~~
Spam is great in musubi but not in email.
Please take out the trash before sending a direct reply.

I can definitely relate to that, it's why I've quit buying teapots etc. for
the most part. I have all I need (except future gungfu yixings and those
will come gradually) so why get another, when that moola can go for tea.
I'm not in it for collecting teapots, lol.

Melinda


"Bluesea" wrote in message
...

"Melinda" wrote in message
...
I have heard (but have not confirmed this myself) that British tea bags
and
some Canadian ones have a little more tea in them becuase the taste for a
stronger cuppa is more popular there. I wish I had a sensitive gram
scale,

I called the local gourmet shop last week only to be told that a digital
scale runs in the neighborhood of $70+ . Thinking of all the tea I could
buy with that amount of money, I decided to stick with my measuring spoon.

well it might not have been bigelow, and it might not have been 1.1 to 1.0,
but the weight had dropped 0.1 whatever the numbers were.

And let's be real. You seem to have this strange need to look past the fact
practically every product you buy is made cheaper or contains less of what
it did in years past. Tea is no exception.



Excuse me, but I'm reasonably confident that it was another co. and/or you
might need a memory check as I've never known Bigelow to put the weight on
the individual packets and even if they did, 1.1 oz or 1.0 oz is a heck of
a
lot of tea for a teabag intended to brew 1 or 2 cups.

If, OTOH, the total content weight of the box dropped .1 oz, that doesn't
bother me since they may have found other sources that provided the same
flavor at a lower weight.

--
~~Bluesea~~
Spam is great in musubi but not in email.
Please take out the trash before sending a direct reply.

well it might not have been bigelow, and it might not have been 1.1 to 1.0,
but the weight had dropped 0.1 whatever the numbers were.

And let's be real. You seem to have this strange need to look past the fact
practically every product you buy is made cheaper or contains less of what
it did in years past. Tea is no exception.



Excuse me, but I'm reasonably confident that it was another co. and/or you
might need a memory check as I've never known Bigelow to put the weight on
the individual packets and even if they did, 1.1 oz or 1.0 oz is a heck of
a
lot of tea for a teabag intended to brew 1 or 2 cups.

If, OTOH, the total content weight of the box dropped .1 oz, that doesn't
bother me since they may have found other sources that provided the same
flavor at a lower weight.

--
~~Bluesea~~
Spam is great in musubi but not in email.
Please take out the trash before sending a direct reply.