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Ah, Stash English Breakfast…where do I start? This is the second tea of my recent bagged tea purchase. The other was Stash Earl Grey. Of the two I liked the English Breakfast best but barely. I want to be complimentary here. Like the Earl Grey, this isn’t bad tea. But like the Earl Grey this tea suffers simply because it come from a tea bag. Prepared one tea bag per 8 oz water I found this tea to be weak and tasteless. 2 bags gets a little closer to enjoyable but still not “strong”. The flavor is simply unassuming and a little bland. There is no astringentcy or bitterness at all. That’s probably a good thing for a first morning cup or an all day drinker. No surprises, no worries. Just tea. There is nothing here to make me want another cup but I would not object to it either.
It’s ok to drink but not remarkable. This is a solid “b student” kind of tea. You know, it gets the job done with the right motivation, but will never stand out and be noticed.

Whoop! I snagged the last two boxes of black tea in 50 miles of me! I may not be kidding. The local stores here, in my neck of Mexico, generally stock green tea or various herbal tinctures (in tea bags only). What little black tea makes it south of the border is not enough for the tourist gringo demand. In fact, this is the first black tea I have seen in a couple of months and both boxes are Stash.
One is Earl Grey and the other is English Breakfast. As my boyfriend says, warm and wet, with a tag to remind you are drinking “tea”. I hesitate to say this is “bad” tea. It isn’t. In fact, the tea is quite a good base. It is sweet and not bitter with a pleasing saltiness and a hint of bergamot and a gentle lemony nose.
But that gentleness is really the problem here. The tea is weak and lacks body and the bergamot flavor compliments the tea strength perfectly.
I made this first cup with 8 oz boiling water and steeped for 4 minutes. To get more flavor I will try using two tea bags and 5 minutes steep next. If it takes two tea bags to get enough flavor for one cup of tea then this is expensive tea to drink. Still, with nothing else in my cupboard, this is Mexico so I am happy to have it. Recommended with reservations.

Bolder Breakfast was one of the first teas I tried in an effort to wean myself from coffee. This is a nice robust cup that stands up to a little sweetener and milk but is not bitter or astringent at all. The black and pu-erh teas compliment the chocolate and vanillaesque mallow petals but still retain their “teaishness”. The tea is quite nice black but a little sweetener and milk make it taste like a woodsy Yohoo drink. This is a yummy cup that even non-tea drinkers will enjoy.

I like Republic of Tea Milk Oolong fairly well prepared per the package instructions but it wasn’t memorable. However, recently I wanted tea and found a few grams of this in the back of the cupboard. I didn’t have quite enough for a full cup so I tossed about a gram into my cup and prepared it “grandpa” style. Oh my! It was a lovely way to bring out full fruity and floral notes. The milk and vanilla notes were largely gone after the first cup but continued steeping and more water brought out the flavors of spring and summer. I think that measly gram could last an entire day and still be flavorful in the last cup. I do recommend this tea but I think it best served "grandpa"style.

I have had this tea for a while but I wasn’t impressed at first. I think my tastebuds were baked by too much strong coffee and nicotine. Since I’ve given up those vices I am enjoying my tea much more. I am not in love with Taylor’s and Harrogate Earl Grey but I do like it very much. The tea base has always seemed a little light to me but the bergamot has a good amount of intensity. Over all the tea has a wonderful floral nose and a light citrus after taste. This tea also holds up well to a second steeping. The second steeping is lighter on the citrus of course but hints of vanilla and actual tea taste come through. Both the first and second steeping are good hot or cold but room temp might be the best of all.