What are people's opinions of Twinings Darjeeling? I got a tin awhile back,
it doesn't seem too bad. (I mean in general...I imagine it wouldn't stand up
to highly expensive fancy whole leaf darjeelings for instance.)

Has anyone tried it?

Melinda

--
"The country has entered an era in which
questions are not asked, for questions are
daughters of disquiet or arrogance, both
fruits of temptation and the food of sacrilege." Djaout

I didn't like Twinings Darjeeling. I am not a Darjeeling fan in
general, preferring a stronger cuppa. I prefer Jacksons' Darjeeling,
as it makes a slightly darker, less astringent brew.

Don't worry about whether Twinings is the "best" or if it holds up to
more expensive teas. If you like it, that is all that matters.

Rob

In rec.food.drink.tea Melinda wrote:

> Has anyone tried it?

I've tried the Ceylon and the Breakfast Tea, and they were both
what I'd term "emergency black tea". The problem I found was that I
had to steep for a very short period of time, like 30s, in order to
avoid a tannic cup, but the resulting tea was a bit on the weak
side. Cheap tea can be found online for less than Twinings, and
with better quality.

Ian
--
http://www.bookstacks.org/

Twinings English Breakfast is one of my all-time favourite teas. I
always let it steep for four full minutes. I take it without milk or
sugar, and do not find it to be tannic at all.

Twinings also makes the best Earl Grey I've ever tasted. I like their
Ceylon teas (Ceylon, Ceylon Breakfast, Ceylon Orange Pekoe), but not as
much as the English Breakfast. "1706" and "Classic" are both
excellent. Classic is very strong, as is Traditional Afternoon. I've
never quite understood why Traditional Afternoon is so very strong -
stronger than any of the breakfast blends.

I do not like Twinings Darjeeling, or their Irish Breakfast. Lady Grey
is not bad, if you like light, citrus flavoured teas; not really my
thing.

Twinings teas may not be up to the connoisseur's standards, but I think
that they have struck the right balance of being far better than most
mass-produced teas, while still being widely available and within the
budgets of most people. For anyone who is new to the world of tea,
Twinings is an excellent place to start experimenting to get an idea of
what you like. Later, you can move on to more expensive and exotic
teas if you like, or you can continue to enjoy the products of a
company that has been providing the world wtih quality teas for nearly
300 years now.

Twinings is blended in London and packed in the US in North Carolina.
I'm not sure if that is good or bad for freshness. It's another
Dareeling on the market in a tin. Dajeeling has been around for so
long you get what you pay for. I like the Brooke Bond Supreme and
Lipton Connoisseur better but they're also more expensive. When it
comes to Indian teas I stick with the commercial stuff and let other
people waste their money on the n flush estate stuff. My local tea
shoppe is going to stock organic Indian estate teas so I'll have to
fork out some money or just buy cups to go.

Jim

Melinda wrote:
> What are people's opinions of Twinings Darjeeling? I got a tin awhile
back,
> it doesn't seem too bad. (I mean in general...I imagine it wouldn't
stand up
> to highly expensive fancy whole leaf darjeelings for instance.)
>
> Has anyone tried it?
>
> Melinda

This is in general what I was looking for, thanks to those who replied. I
know that my tastebuds are my final judgement of course, but I have tried
three Darjeelings: a sample from Upton..(I think it was....I don't remember,
it was one of the more expensive Dars they had last spring/summer) which I
was trying when I was just getting started (basically) in loose tea
altogether, I have a bag of Dar. from World Market which doesn't seem as
strong or flavorful as the Twinings (that's OK, it was on sale...) and then
I've tried the Twinings. I remember my first experience with loose tea ever
was some years ago in college when I bought some Twinings English Breakfast
(I was using a teaball then) and I remember I liked it. I also overdosed on
their Earl Grey at one point too...I still don't care for Earl Grey.

In general I was looking for a general opinion of their Dar because it is a
tea that I am not familiar with. And I thought that Twinings, being a blend
of different estates etc and having such a long history, might be a good
generic "place to start". And it was fine it seemed to me...it's not like
other black teas but it's not supposed to be.

I don't know why (maybe it's my eclectic sources so far, lol) but the Dars
I've tried seem quite different from one another, more so than say, multiple
Keemuns. I can pick out "Keemun-ness" from different ones of those, I'm
trying to get a handle on "Darjeeling-ness"! :O Thanks to all that wrote
and thanks for the recommendations on Twinings Late Afternoon (I haven't
tried that one but I'll have to...I like a strong tea) and the talk about
the other couple of English Breakfast types that I might want to look into
(though I haven't seen a different Lipton...I still can't find an Indian
market, have to call my local Indian restaurant I guess.)

Melinda


> Twinings teas may not be up to the connoisseur's standards, but I think
> that they have struck the right balance of being far better than most
> mass-produced teas, while still being widely available and within the
> budgets of most people. For anyone who is new to the world of tea,
> Twinings is an excellent place to start experimenting to get an idea of
> what you like. Later, you can move on to more expensive and exotic
> teas if you like, or you can continue to enjoy the products of a
> company that has been providing the world wtih quality teas for nearly
> 300 years now.
>

"Melinda" > wrote in message
...
> This is in general what I was looking for, thanks to those who replied. I
> know that my tastebuds are my final judgement of course, but I have tried
> three Darjeelings: a sample from Upton..(I think it was....I don't
remember,
> it was one of the more expensive Dars they had last spring/summer) which I
> was trying when I was just getting started (basically) in loose tea
> altogether, I have a bag of Dar. from World Market which doesn't seem as
> strong or flavorful as the Twinings (that's OK, it was on sale...) and
then
> I've tried the Twinings. I remember my first experience with loose tea
ever
> was some years ago in college when I bought some Twinings English
Breakfast
> (I was using a teaball then) and I remember I liked it. I also overdosed
on
> their Earl Grey at one point too...I still don't care for Earl Grey.
>
> In general I was looking for a general opinion of their Dar because it is
a
> tea that I am not familiar with. And I thought that Twinings, being a
blend
> of different estates etc and having such a long history, might be a good
> generic "place to start". And it was fine it seemed to me...it's not like
> other black teas but it's not supposed to be.
>
> I don't know why (maybe it's my eclectic sources so far, lol) but the Dars
> I've tried seem quite different from one another, more so than say,
multiple
> Keemuns. I can pick out "Keemun-ness" from different ones of those, I'm
> trying to get a handle on "Darjeeling-ness"! :O Thanks to all that wrote
> and thanks for the recommendations on Twinings Late Afternoon (I haven't
> tried that one but I'll have to...I like a strong tea) and the talk about
> the other couple of English Breakfast types that I might want to look into
> (though I haven't seen a different Lipton...I still can't find an Indian
> market, have to call my local Indian restaurant I guess.)
>
> Melinda
>
Melinda,

If you shop at Upton's, try their Makaibari Estate Organic TGBOP1 TD41.
It's reasonably priced and very good, from IMHO one of the finest producers
in Darjeeling. It will give you a clear idea of what Darjeeling should
taste like. This stuff is my "house" Darjeeling.

One other hint: treat this like a fine oolong - keep the water at 190-200F
and keep the steep short (2 minutes max). Play with it a little to see what
you like, but this and all Darjeeling will become tannic quickly if
oversteeped.

Regards,
Dean