New English Teas

Since EG isn’t a favorite, and since this is a gift-tin grade tea, and since the bag smelled suspiciously floor-cleanery, I planned to dump in the dairy immediately. But I got brave and took a sip before adding anything and the bergamot was surprisingly natural tasting. It’s pretty pleasant with office creamer and the contents of a honey straw.

This is the better of the two options in my QEII sampler tin: still falls in the “just tea” category, but much less acidic than the afternoon tea version and easier to drink straight. Maybe a little cherry wood personality to it.

On its own, this afternoon blend is pretty brash and acidic. However, I remembered to bring some shelf-stable creamer tub-lets to the office and tried a cup with some dairy. That did the trick: it toned down the metallic sharpness, so the blend was perky and fresh. I needed an infusion of perky and fresh. After working hours correcting errors on a huge spreadsheet, I discovered it was still off by three cents.

I am now the proud owner of a Commemorative Queen Elizabeth Tin of New English Teas—a gift from someone who got a kick out of all my Jubilee fan-girling this summer. Inside, three foil pouches with tagless bags.

This English Afternoon has no standout flavors; it’s just tea, but it does lean to the sharpish side—some other reviewers emphasize its acidity, which isn’t bothering me, but does indicate that I might now have a use for several flavored honey sticks that have been gathering dust in my office tea corner.

It’s fun; it’ll do; I can share with office mates.

Had this tea bag in huge bags stash.

I had big disrespect… and it turned out very boring.

The tea… was just weak, just tannic… Tannic water. Flavours – none. Meh.

Not a big fan of this tea. Drinking it straight this morning and it’s a bit rough. I’m sure it would be better with creamer in it, but I don’t have any today. I will finish the little tin I have of it, but don’t plan on buying more. There was also a plain English Tea and and Afternoon tea in the set. I assume they are all similar, low-mid grade teas.

I wanted something simple this afternoon, and this fit the bill pretty perfectly. I used 1 tsp of leaf for my cup, and gave it 4 minutes in boiling water. I added a splash of milk, because that’s what I do. Dry, it has the unmistakable scent of Earl Grey – slightly bitter citrus-floral. It’s a scent I find oddly calming, even though I’m not a particular fan of bergamot generally.

Once brewed, it’s a fairly tame beast. The bergamot is very light and really not much more than a background flavour, and the citrus-inflected sweetness of the ceylon base takes precedence. Of the trio of teas I received, this is the only one that’s not CTC, which I guess makes sense for an Earl Grey.

This isn’t a tea that’s particularly out of the ordinary, and it’s not the best Earl Grey I’ve ever tried, but it’s straightforward and easy to drink, and sometimes that’s really all I want. A middle-of-the-road kind of affair.

First tea of the morning! Like English Afternoon, this one also appears to be a blend of Ceylon teas. It’s actually very similar to English Afternoon, maybe a touch maltier, and with slightly more muted citrus notes. On the whole, though, I’m not sure I’d be able to tell them apart. They’re both CTCs, both very strong, and they have similar flavours.

It’s pleasant to drink, and it doesn’t require any particular thought or concentration, but I’m not sure it’s different enough from English Afternoon to warrant a different name. They’re basically the same tea.

My tin of English Afternoon only mentions that it’s a blend of Ceylon teas, so it’s not the Ceylon/Kenyan blend that a few others have tried…My tiny tin was part of the Alice in Wonderland themed set, but I don’t know whether that alone accounts for the difference.

In any case, it’s a pretty solid CTC black. It brews up a wonderfully inky black-brown, so I added a decent splash of milk to round things out. It’s malty with a crisp citrus edge, so just what I’d expect from a Ceylon, really. Nothing complicated, just good, plain black tea. I’ve been drinking it after lunch to help me deal with the inevitable 3.00pm slump, but it’d also be a good wake-up blend, it’s that strong. For a CTC, not bad.

A truly remarkable blend, by a truly unremarkable company. New English teas are not my favourites – the bergamot is too pronounced in the Earl Grey, the green tea is preposterously bitter and the hibiscus is just rubbish – but this is one is something to rave about. The tea is a kick, as any black, but it doesn’t feel like one. It’s so pleasant and delightful, the 25-bag box I bought shouldn’t last a week.

Still drinking this, but getting annoyed at all the stuff that slips through the infuser basket. I need to bring a finer mesh one into work.

It’s a grey, rainy day. I can’t wait to get home and brew up some Lapsang Souchong. Seems perfect for the day.

Brought this into the office as my new morning tea. I am pleasantly surprised – the unbrewed tea is pretty unimpressive looking, tiny brownish nuggets that upon closer look are tiny curled bits of leaf. Really, it looks like faded Folger’s crystals, and after brewing sill looks like coffee grounds.

The tea is dark brown in color, and quite mild. I set it to brew and ran to the restroom, and by the time I got back to my desk I was a little afraid I had let it overbrew, but it was perfect.

I am happy my tourist tea isn’t half bad!

Not sure if this is the same tea as this listing shows. The tin I have says “pure Ceylon teas packed in Sri Lanka”. Nothing about Kenyan blends. At any rate, I bought this because the tin was awesome and it was on sale. :) This tasting note is for both English Afternoon and Tea Rations. I’m positive they are the same teas.

I wasn’t expecting much from the teabags and they mainly live up to expectations. They have a mild buttery scent but I suspect that is the bags. They are the paper bags without strings like Celestial Seasonings has. The tea is a basic tea bag tea – it’s tea flavored tea. Fannings of tea that steep super quickly and the flavor is unremarkable but not horrible. It does take cream very well and that takes it from an acceptable cup to quite nice but nothing I’d keep on hand.

S’okay. I bought for the tins. :)

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Had the loose version of this instead of EG this morning. I am always surprised that this tea is good, because the loose version just does not look impressive. The pieces are tiny – it reminds me of instant coffee crystals, or burnt Grape Nuts.

I brought some souvenir tins of tea back from England. Two of them are adorable retro WW1 tins with graphics about tea rationing on them. I opened one of those up this morning and brewed up a cup. I am pleasantly surprised – it’s quite good, and I was expecting crap since it was a fairly inexpensive tourist trinket.

You can see the tins I got here: http://www.newenglishteas.com/memorabilia.html

The box says the tea is sourced ethically, which if true, makes me happy.

With cream and sweetener, it smells nice, tastes a bit malty, and isn’t bitter.

Thumbs up! If you are in the UK, want a fun souvenir for yourself or a loved one, I think the tea rations tins are a good choice.

So one of my best friends actually bought me this London tea from London itself which is way cool. And can I just say that the best thing about it is the packaging? It’s a tiny double decker bus! And it came in a box that says “I ♥ London” awww.

This is kind of one of those teas that just screams breakfast and it’s my go-to tea for sipping while eating baked goods and while marathoning Sherlock (which I tend to do more than I’d like to admit) My sister and I found this glorious Cinnamon Toast Crunch muffin mix at the grocery store (and I know, I know, boxed mixes aren’t all that great) BUT WE WERE REALLY EXCITED AND SO WE SPENT THE AFTERNOON BAKING.

This is the perfect tea to cut all the sugar from our baking extravaganza as it is quite strong. Basically your standard brisk black tea, but I enjoy it with some milk. Also packed with a lot of caffeine oops. But hey, what can ya do? I’m currently sitting at the kitchen table stuffing my face with my sister as she enjoys a glass of chocolate milk and I enjoy this tea- my ideal lazy day off.

Not particularly good. Tastes remarkably like the Assam tea from the same brand. Bitter, but pleasant enough.

Easy to find, cheap, and pleasant. Not extraordinary, but does the trick for a late-night cuppa.

Brisk and pleasant breakfast tea enjoyed with morning toast.

I noticed this last time, but now I’m sure. This upsets my stomach! I dont know why it would do that, but a cup of this and I feel a little… acidic maybe? Well, thats it for this tea! No more sick making tea, even if its otherwise unoffensive. Sipdown!

Just a couple more cups of this left. Its not bitter at all, which is by far the best thing to say about it.

This has been languishing in my cupboard for ages. A friend sent it to me last year in a care package, mostly, I suspect, for the tin, which has a cute little image of London on it. This sort of tea is not what I usually reach for.
Still, it seems like an excelent day to drink the teas I do not really care about, and so I brewed some up.
Well, its black tea. Its not bitter, which can be a worry, but its not very impressive. I almost never add milk or sugar to my teas, but I might give this one a try with additives in the near future.

I finally broke into my New English Teas collection boxes for breakfast this morning. The collection has breakfast tea, afternoon tea and traditional tea.

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I wasn’t a fan of New English Teas Earl Grey as for me it was just too mild but hopefully this breakfast tea is full bodied like I’m craving right now.

Served with a drop of milk. This tea smells leathery, rich and sour. Flavour is very rich and definitely full bodied but it’s also musty and woody. Not quite what I was looking for but it will do. The leather and wood aspect is the strongest so I’m toning it down with a little stevia sugar.

That’s better, now it’s a completely different tea. Tastes maltier and less thick and earthy but it keeps it’s richness. In the morning the last thing I want to taste is leather or wood, I want something refreshing and clean.

Overall it’s an average black tea that requires milk and stevia sugar before becoming drinkable. Without sweetener this is rated at roughly 6.5/10 and with sweetener this is rated at roughly 7.5/10. It truly makes a huge difference.