When I first began to look for better teas to drink than Lipton or
Tetley, one of the very first I tried was Twinings Orange Pekoe, a
blend of Ceylon teas. I found it to be very smooth and rich and it
quickly became my favorite. It was my "all purpose tea" from 1993 to
1997. Around that time, the place where I bought my tea stopped
carrying it, and I was becoming more interested in Twinings English
Breakfast and Twinings Earl Grey, which are still two of my favorites
today. I also tried a number of different teas over the past few
years.

Recently a local supermarket had a too-good-to-pass-up sale on Twinings
products. I stocked up on English Breakfast and Earl Grey. There was
also some Orange Pekoe on the shelves, so I decided it might be a good
time to revisit an old favorite. I suppose my tastes have changed
over the years; I tend to like stronger blends than I used to, but the
Orange Pekoe is just not as good as I remembered it. Somewhere along
the way Twinings added the modifier "Ceylon" to the name of this blend,
and it does taste a lot like I remember Ceylon Breakfast to be (another
blend I haven't had in quite a few years). It is just not as smooth as
I remembered it, and there is a slight astringency to it that wasn't
there before. It is probably just me, but I started to wonder if
perhaps Twinings didn't change the recipe when they changed the name.
Has anyone else noticed a change in this tea, or is it just my
tastebuds? It is not a bad tea, but I probably will not buy it again.

Rob