Tea Reviews

Tea is a lovely and extraordinarily varied beverage that I very much enjoy drinking. This post is my attempt to review various teas I’ve consumed for my future reference.

This post also includes herbal teas and other substances steeped in liquid to extract flavour. I’m aware these aren’t technically ‘tea’ – that is coming from the Camellia sinensis species – but don’t particularly care about the semantic distinction for the purpose of this post.

I usually use cow’s milk where applicable, though also enjoy other options. Soy, almond, and oat being the best I’ve tried. Oat particularly has a rather pleasant creamy texture. As I find alternative milks are often rather sweet, I will often forgo adding sweeteners when opting for them.

With regard to brewing temperature, I’m not generally too fazed. I don’t use boiling water, but beyond that don’t take much care. The impact of water temperature on flavour is small, and getting temperatures dialled in is bothersome enough that I don’t make the effort unless dealing with exemplary tea.

I will note that I am frequently guilty of oversteeping my tea, usually due to getting into the rhythm of a task. For instance, the previous sentence was spurred by the sudden realisation while writing this post that I had neglected my brewing cup of tea and had unintentionally stewed it.

If I’m having a relatively fancy cup of tea, or the context allows/requires it, I do take much more care, but for a cheap casual teabag, the effort largely isn’t worth it.

As an aside, I am consistently disappointed by the quality of tea-offering websites. The standard seems to be broken WordPress websites that I feel dubious of entering any payment information into. It seems the more interesting the teas, the worse the websites.

Black

English Breakfast - Twinings (★★★⯪☆)

Bag

This in my mind is ‘tea’ – the definitive article. It isn’t anything particularly special but is a safe bet and enjoyable. I usually choose to consume English Breakfast with a teaspoon of sugar.

When I was little, my father took me on a hike down to a little hidden-away secret spot he knew. It was several hours to drive down to the place and several more to hike in.

As such, we woke up early the morning of so we could get down there with time to walk in, and he asked me if I wanted a cup of tea. Because I was young, I very much considered tea an ‘adult drink’, so I hesitantly said yes.

He gave me a nice hot mug of English Breakfast with lots of sugar and milk, which was lovely and warming in the cold morning. I remember cupping my hands around it for the warmth and sipping from it in front of our house just before we left. My mind always goes back to that moment when I have a cup of Twinings’ English Breakfast with lots of sugar.

English Breakfast - VAHDAM (★★★★☆)

Bag

The smoothest of any English Breakfast I’ve tried. Very pleasant.

Australian Breakfast - Bushells (★★⯪☆☆)

Bag

This isn’t a tea that takes itself seriously. The provided instructions for ‘The perfect brew’ are quite literally, ‘Pour freshly boiled water over a Bushells tea bag’, ‘Raid the bickie jar as the brew turns rich and dark’, and ‘Add milk and sugar if you like.’ Not even the slightest suggestion of brewing time.

It is casual, accessible, and perfectly drinkable. It isn’t anything you’d write home about, but it is nonetheless a pleasant, casual tea. A tad lesser in quality and cost than Twinings’ English Breakfast, but endearing in its own way.

Australian Afternoon - Twinings (★★★⯪☆)

Bag

A stronger, more defined taste than their English Breakfast, but otherwise quite comparable.

Arôme Vanille - Bois Chéri (★★★★☆)

Bag

My first experience with a vanilla tea. Upon brewing I was pleasantly surprised by its distinct vanilla scent – like sniffing a bottle of vanilla extract from a short distance. I’ll note that I found it necessary to steep it for 7 minutes or longer, as it is incredibly weak otherwise.

I received this tea for free due to another person’s distaste for it, and while I did enjoy it, I would not purchase it of my own volition due to the price and difficulty to acquire. I will pursue more vanilla teas from other providers though.

I must admit that the teabags themselves were poor. They came individually wrapped in paper, but the teabags were often sealed within the paper’s crimping, making extraction a difficult process. More than once the string separated from the bag, causing the contents to spill.

Melbourne Breakfast - T2 (★★★☆☆)

Loose Leaf

Smelt fantastic – a sweet vanilla scent. While the taste was alright, I think it was let down slightly by the artificial vanilla. Interestingly, there were slight hints of the freshness found in mint tea. Resteeped nicely.

Ceylon Morning Tea - Twinings (★★☆☆☆)

Bag

Twinings tout this as fresh, and I must agree. It has some of the freshness one tastes in peppermint tea.

While refreshing, it isn’t my favourite tea. It lacks much note of anything. I can see it as a start to a morning, but only for its slight refreshing notes, not its actual flavour profile.

Yellow Label - Lipton (★★⯪☆☆)

Bag

Serviceable, but very weak.

Earl Grey - VAHDAM (★★★☆☆)

Bag

Strong, potent citrus scent which is mellow in taste.

Darjeeling Summer - VAHDAM (★★★⯪☆)

Bag

The most enticing orange-coloured infusion. Second flush. First time having a tea of this sort, and what I assume is the Muscatel flavour is not as pronounced as I might have expected but is certainly unique and hard to describe.

Oolong

High Mountain - VAHDAM

Bag

Strong fruity flavour of stone fruit. Particularly cherry-esque. The most amazing rich stone fruit aroma.

Green

Pure Green Tea - Twinings (★☆☆☆☆)

Bag

There was green tea buried somewhere in my cup, but it was trapped under some nondescript, unpleasant harshness. It also very much dried out my tongue and throat in a way not dissimilar to having a sore throat while ill.

Mint Melody - VAHDAM (★★⯪☆☆)

Bag

Minty, but overall inferior to VAHDAM’s Pure Mint.

Herbal

Camomile, Honey, and Vanilla - Twinings (★★★☆☆)

Bag

Rather sweet. I fail to taste the artificial vanilla. I often opt for this when out of milk or wanting to avoid caffeine.

Pure Mint - VAHDAM (★★★★☆)

Bag

Opening the packet wafted the most fantastic mint smell. Reminded me of extremely fancy mint chocolate. Not super strong despite an extended steeping period, but quite pleasantly minty.

Hibiscus Rose - VAHDAM (★☆☆☆☆)

Bag

The smell hit me in the same way harsh alcohol like tequila does, and the taste had the same tequila impact, though to a lesser extent. I unfortunately wasn’t a fan of this tea beyond the beautiful pink hue it steeped to.

Turmeric Ginger - VAHDAM (★★★☆☆)

Bag

Strong ginger aroma. Smelt great and had the warm back-of-the-throat feeling. The taste wasn’t as strong as I’d hoped initially, but it seemed to build up as I drank it until it was very strongly turmeric and ginger.

Masala Chai

Not my favourite type of beverage, though I do enjoy them on occasion.

Chai Latte - Avalanche (★★★☆☆)

Sachet

This was an instant packet offering that I drank warm.

It frothed up nicely while preparing and had a fairly typical chai latte taste. A warm, slightly sweet, and spiced drink that feels smooth while slightly tingly. While the sachet contains milk powder, I chose to top up my mug with a slight amount more, as is my preference. Overall it is a very pleasant and completely non-offensive chai latte.

Sweet Cinnamon - VAHDAM (★★★☆☆)

Bag

A divine cinnamon smell which was unfortunately let down somewhat by the rather weak taste. It tasted lovely, but I do wish it were stronger.

I don’t usually bother to resteep teabags, but the teabag’s contents were well-defined, and there were visible pieces of cardamom and cinnamon such that I tried my luck. It resteeped very weakly, though enough flavour was still present to be pleasant.

Earl Grey Spiced - VAHDAM (★★★★⯪)

Bag

On the whole very similar to the base VAHDAM Earl Grey (the smell is almost identical apart from the slight presence of cinnamon), but the depth of flavour is greatly enhanced by the spice. The cardamom, clove, black pepper, and cinnamon bring a lovely roundness to the bergamot.

India’s Original - VAHDAM (★★⯪☆☆)

Bag

Very much a classic masala chai, however a tad plain. It tastes like it is missing something.