ref: Twinings English Breakfast loose tea

This week I thought I would put off my next tea shipment for a bit and save
money on shipping by purchasing a tin of Twinings loose leaf tea. The last
tea I had by Twinings was Earl Grey last year.

Before putting it in the cart at the grocery store, I checked the label for
a freshness date. There was a "best before" stamp but the code in that
section did not resemble a date at all. There was only one other choice
for loose tea, besides a Twinings Earl Grey, an 8 oz box of Lipton loose
tea. Looking at the picture on the front of the box of Lipton, I could see
fannings and bits of leaves and twigs. I opted for the Twinings since I
thought it was be of reasonable quality.

Well, I was wrong. I opened the tin and broke the foil seal to find
fannings and dust. There was barely any scent. I decided to try it anyway
in case I could make it work if I cut down on the amount and steeping time.
After I put the tea in my bone china teapot, I could see tea dust all over
the handle and around the opening of the pot. After the tea steeped for 2
1/2 minutes, I pulled out my Chatsford (fine mesh) filter basket. I poured
some and found it stale and too strong...tannic. I watered it down to make
it somewhat drinkable. It was worse than drinking teabag tea. When I
looked in the bottom of my pot, there was a lot of sediment from the
powdered tea...it was as though I'd made french press coffee and been
drinking that from my pot. My tea cup was badly stained and had sediment in
the bottom. I had to use oxy-clean and a denture tablet the get the stains
out.

Bottom line: I'm not buying Twinings again. I have bought their tea on and
off since I was in my early teens...more than twenty years. I've stayed
away from their teabags for a couple of years now but I still expected the
loose leaf tea to be usable in a pinch. Yesterday morning I wished I'd
bought the Lipton loose leaf --if you can believe that! I brought the tea
back to the store and got a refund. I was offered an exchange and I
declined.

I'll be placing my next order this weekend.

Renee

I like the Twinings for the English market better than the American
market. A good English Breakfast tea is messy and not neat. Dump the
infusers. Brew in a large teapot and use external strainer. The
expiry date has no meaning in a well sealed tin. I buy my Twinings at
discount stores where I can get the London tins for $3/200g. English
Breakfast teas are blends of fines so just find one where you like the
taste. Some people add sugar and cream to reduce the bitter taste.
Use a dark color teapot for any breakfast teas because of the tannins.
I use a 1 liter glass pot for all my teas. You judge breakfast blends
more by the color than infusion times. I like the price and the London
taste. Don't get into a twit over commercial teas. If you don't like
one there is always another.

Jim

Frank & Renee wrote:
> ref: Twinings English Breakfast loose tea
>
> This week I thought I would put off my next tea shipment for a bit
and save
> money on shipping by purchasing a tin of Twinings loose leaf tea.
The last
> tea I had by Twinings was Earl Grey last year.
>
> Before putting it in the cart at the grocery store, I checked the
label for
> a freshness date. There was a "best before" stamp but the code in
that
> section did not resemble a date at all. There was only one other
choice
> for loose tea, besides a Twinings Earl Grey, an 8 oz box of Lipton
loose
> tea. Looking at the picture on the front of the box of Lipton, I
could see
> fannings and bits of leaves and twigs. I opted for the Twinings
since I
> thought it was be of reasonable quality.
>
> Well, I was wrong. I opened the tin and broke the foil seal to find
> fannings and dust. There was barely any scent. I decided to try it
anyway
> in case I could make it work if I cut down on the amount and steeping
time.
> After I put the tea in my bone china teapot, I could see tea dust all
over
> the handle and around the opening of the pot. After the tea steeped
for 2
> 1/2 minutes, I pulled out my Chatsford (fine mesh) filter basket. I
poured
> some and found it stale and too strong...tannic. I watered it down
to make
> it somewhat drinkable. It was worse than drinking teabag tea. When
I
> looked in the bottom of my pot, there was a lot of sediment from the
> powdered tea...it was as though I'd made french press coffee and been
> drinking that from my pot. My tea cup was badly stained and had
sediment in
> the bottom. I had to use oxy-clean and a denture tablet the get the
stains
> out.
>
> Bottom line: I'm not buying Twinings again. I have bought their tea
on and
> off since I was in my early teens...more than twenty years. I've
stayed
> away from their teabags for a couple of years now but I still
expected the
> loose leaf tea to be usable in a pinch. Yesterday morning I wished
I'd
> bought the Lipton loose leaf --if you can believe that! I brought
the tea
> back to the store and got a refund. I was offered an exchange and I
> declined.
>
> I'll be placing my next order this weekend.
>
> Renee

Space Cowboy wrote:
> I like the Twinings for the English market better than the American
> market. A good English Breakfast tea is messy and not neat. Dump
the
> infusers. Brew in a large teapot and use external strainer. The
> expiry date has no meaning in a well sealed tin. I buy my Twinings
at
> discount stores where I can get the London tins for $3/200g. English
> Breakfast teas are blends of fines so just find one where you like
the
> taste. Some people add sugar and cream to reduce the bitter taste.
> Use a dark color teapot for any breakfast teas because of the
tannins.
> I use a 1 liter glass pot for all my teas. You judge breakfast
blends
> more by the color than infusion times. I like the price and the
London
> taste. Don't get into a twit over commercial teas. If you don't
like
> one there is always another.
>
> Jim


I also like the Twinings for the UK market better than what is produced
for the USA. I've never used Twinings UK loose, but there is more tea
in the English teabags, resulting in a stronger brew. Twinings English
Breakfast is one of my all-time favourites.

I never use an infuser with any loose tea. I don't think you can get
the full flavour when an infuser is used. If I don't have the time or
if I'm too lazy to deal with loose leaves in the pot, I'll just use
teabags.

Twinings English Breakfast is a small-leaf tea, but I don't recall it
being as dusty as you've described, though I have not used their loose
tea in quite some time. As for the stains on your cups and teapot,
that may have as much to do with your water quality as the tea itself.
The easiest way to clean your cups and teapots is to use baking soda.
Make a paste, and rub it in and let it sit for a minute or two, and the
stains will come right off.

One of the risks you run when you buy loose tea in American
supermarkets is that it is often not very fresh. The code on the tin
probably refers to a date but you need to be told how to "crack" the
code. If you contact Twinings, I am sure that they will tell you.
BTW, you did not miss a thing by not buying the Lipton loose tea. It
is better than their bagged tea, but it is still terrible. Undrinkably
harsh, IMO.

If you need tea "in a pinch", visit your local Indian or Asian market.
They have imported teas that are very good and extremely cheap. Even
the Lipton tea sold there is the version produced for the international
market, which is far superior Lipton's US product.


Rob

Space Cowboy wrote:
> I like the Twinings for the English market better than the American
> market. A good English Breakfast tea is messy and not neat. Dump
the
> infusers. Brew in a large teapot and use external strainer. The
> expiry date has no meaning in a well sealed tin. I buy my Twinings
at
> discount stores where I can get the London tins for $3/200g. English
> Breakfast teas are blends of fines so just find one where you like
the
> taste. Some people add sugar and cream to reduce the bitter taste.
> Use a dark color teapot for any breakfast teas because of the
tannins.
> I use a 1 liter glass pot for all my teas. You judge breakfast
blends
> more by the color than infusion times. I like the price and the
London
> taste. Don't get into a twit over commercial teas. If you don't
like
> one there is always another.
>
> Jim


I also like the Twinings for the UK market better than what is produced
for the USA. I've never used Twinings UK loose, but there is more tea
in the English teabags, resulting in a stronger brew. Twinings English
Breakfast is one of my all-time favourites.

I never use an infuser with any loose tea. I don't think you can get
the full flavour when an infuser is used. If I don't have the time or
if I'm too lazy to deal with loose leaves in the pot, I'll just use
teabags.

Twinings English Breakfast is a small-leaf tea, but I don't recall it
being as dusty as you've described, though I have not used their loose
tea in quite some time. As for the stains on your cups and teapot,
that may have as much to do with your water quality as the tea itself.
The easiest way to clean your cups and teapots is to use baking soda.
Make a paste, and rub it in and let it sit for a minute or two, and the
stains will come right off.

One of the risks you run when you buy loose tea in American
supermarkets is that it is often not very fresh. The code on the tin
probably refers to a date but you need to be told how to "crack" the
code. If you contact Twinings, I am sure that they will tell you.
BTW, you did not miss a thing by not buying the Lipton loose tea. It
is better than their bagged tea, but it is still terrible. Undrinkably
harsh, IMO.

If you need tea "in a pinch", visit your local Indian or Asian market.
They have imported teas that are very good and extremely cheap. Even
the Lipton tea sold there is the version produced for the international
market, which is far superior Lipton's US product.


Rob

> I buy my Twinings at discount stores where I can get the London tins for
$3/200g.
I don't have access to any stores that sell the UK market packages without
ordering online.

>English Breakfast teas are blends of fines so just find one where you like
the
> taste.
I've bought more than a dozen types of breakfast blends that included CTC
(crush-tear-curl) from Culinary Teas, Special Teas, and Upton Teas in the
last 7 months and none of them had as much powder in the blend as this did.

>Some people add sugar and cream to reduce the bitter taste.
I've timed my breakfast teas depending upon the type of tea so that it's not
bitter and I only add sugar when I want to.

> Use a dark color teapot for any breakfast teas because of the tannins.

I bought a brown better for breakfast teas but I prefer the bone china since
it doesn't overheat the tea.

>You judge breakfast blends more by the color than infusion times.
To me this means you'll get a tannic cup and you'll have to add sugar.

>Don't get into a twit over commercial teas. If you don't like
one there is always another.
Get into a twit? Other people have posted reviews about teas they've bought
commercial and otherwise. I got my money back from the retailer so I'm
not "worked up" about it. I wouldn't call this getting into a "twit" since
I'm sharing an experience. I'm disappointed since I've bought this blend
before and I KNOW the quality has gone down.

I want my English Breakfast to produce a messy gritty head of foam
which is only possible with tea dust. The more powder the better.
I'll scoop off a spoonfull and add it to my teacup. I like the taste
of a little grit. It's breakfast tea and not evening. I don't add
milk or sugar because I like the strong tannic taste which will only do
when you need a kickstart in the morning. I use the color to indicate
when you should drink. Some breakfast teas infuse immediately and
others maybe a few minutes. You're in a twit if you're returning a
$5/100g tin to the store for a refund. You spent that much firing up
your SUV or Hybrid. Buy the tins, dump the tea, and use for storage
for your website purchases which comes in ziplock bags if you're lucky.
Your taste in tea will change and you'll move from vendor to vendor.
Twinings is just another tea on my shelf waiting it's time in my pot.
I get my discount British brands at Ross,TJMax,BigLots.

Jim

Frank & Renee wrote:
> > I buy my Twinings at discount stores where I can get the London
tins for
> $3/200g.
> I don't have access to any stores that sell the UK market packages
without
> ordering online.
>
> >English Breakfast teas are blends of fines so just find one where
you like
> the
> > taste.
> I've bought more than a dozen types of breakfast blends that included
CTC
> (crush-tear-curl) from Culinary Teas, Special Teas, and Upton Teas in
the
> last 7 months and none of them had as much powder in the blend as
this did.
>
> >Some people add sugar and cream to reduce the bitter taste.
> I've timed my breakfast teas depending upon the type of tea so that
it's not
> bitter and I only add sugar when I want to.
>
> > Use a dark color teapot for any breakfast teas because of the
tannins.
>
> I bought a brown better for breakfast teas but I prefer the bone
china since
> it doesn't overheat the tea.
>
> >You judge breakfast blends more by the color than infusion times.
> To me this means you'll get a tannic cup and you'll have to add
sugar.
>
> >Don't get into a twit over commercial teas. If you don't like
> one there is always another.
> Get into a twit? Other people have posted reviews about teas they've
bought
> commercial and otherwise. I got my money back from the retailer so
I'm
> not "worked up" about it. I wouldn't call this getting into a "twit"
since
> I'm sharing an experience. I'm disappointed since I've bought this
blend
> before and I KNOW the quality has gone down.

On 3/5/2005 10:34 AM, Frank & Renee wrote:
> ref: Twinings English Breakfast loose tea
>
> This week I thought I would put off my next tea shipment for a bit and save
> money on shipping by purchasing a tin of Twinings loose leaf tea. The last
> tea I had by Twinings was Earl Grey last year.
>
> Before putting it in the cart at the grocery store, I checked the label for
> a freshness date. There was a "best before" stamp but the code in that
> section did not resemble a date at all. There was only one other choice
> for loose tea, besides a Twinings Earl Grey, an 8 oz box of Lipton loose
> tea. Looking at the picture on the front of the box of Lipton, I could see
> fannings and bits of leaves and twigs. I opted for the Twinings since I
> thought it was be of reasonable quality.
>
> Well, I was wrong. I opened the tin and broke the foil seal to find
> fannings and dust. There was barely any scent. I decided to try it anyway
> in case I could make it work if I cut down on the amount and steeping time.
> After I put the tea in my bone china teapot, I could see tea dust all over
> the handle and around the opening of the pot. After the tea steeped for 2
> 1/2 minutes, I pulled out my Chatsford (fine mesh) filter basket. I poured
> some and found it stale and too strong...tannic. I watered it down to make
> it somewhat drinkable. It was worse than drinking teabag tea. When I
> looked in the bottom of my pot, there was a lot of sediment from the
> powdered tea...it was as though I'd made french press coffee and been
> drinking that from my pot. My tea cup was badly stained and had sediment in
> the bottom. I had to use oxy-clean and a denture tablet the get the stains
> out.
>
> Bottom line: I'm not buying Twinings again. I have bought their tea on and
> off since I was in my early teens...more than twenty years. I've stayed
> away from their teabags for a couple of years now but I still expected the
> loose leaf tea to be usable in a pinch. Yesterday morning I wished I'd
> bought the Lipton loose leaf --if you can believe that! I brought the tea
> back to the store and got a refund. I was offered an exchange and I
> declined.
>
> I'll be placing my next order this weekend.
>
> Renee


The timing on this couldn't have been more perfect. The only places here
that sell loose tinned tea are the Marshall's chains, so when I saw this
(and Earl Grey, and a third I can't recall - EG decaf, maybe?) at a
supermarket Thursday, I grabbed a tin.

I don't know enough (yet!) to know if what's in this tin is "fannings
and dust" so can't comment on that. When I pulled back the foil there
was a strong, clean, tea scent - it smelled fine.

When I poured the water into the infuser in the teapot, it was, well...
"foamy" is what I would call it. I lifted the infuser, replaced it, and
it dissipated.

The tea was good - boiling water, 1 tsp/cup, 3 1/2 minutes (it may have
been 4 - I wasn't paying that close attention) and tasted good. It's not
my new favorite EB (Upton TB18 - Ceylon English Breakfast Wilson Select)
but was very drinkable - I wouldn't rush to buy it, but wouldn't avoid
it, and if I were out of EB would get it. Not tannic, and no stains on
my china tea cup, or sediment in it.

I wonder if you got a bad, or old, tin? (The code date is totally
useless - they shouldn't bother with telling you were to find the date
on the tin if they aren't going to include the decoder ring.) Or if *I*
got the old tin, and it's the new ones to avoid!

Resa

"Rob" > wrote in message
oups.com...
>
> I never use an infuser with any loose tea. I don't think you can get
> the full flavour when an infuser is used. If I don't have the time or
> if I'm too lazy to deal with loose leaves in the pot, I'll just use
> teabags.

A teabag is way more restrictive than is a Chatsford brew basket which is
what Renee used.

--
~~Bluesea~~
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